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I just recently moved one of my Mail server (Exim+dovecot) to google apps thinking it would be a good idea. I am interested to hear what the serverfault community think about it, and mostly weight the pros and cons.

Pros:
- No need to maintain your own mail server
- Extra security - we're talking google servers here
- No need to deal with resource hog such as spam - it's google problem now.
- Better connectivity / Better uptime

Cons:
- Security - Can you trust a third party with any sensitive information?
- No access to the mail application and no way to customize to meet your exact needs
- No way to know if google might shut down or charge more money in the long run.

Would be nice to hear what you guys think about moving or not to google apps. Thanks,

Adam Benayoun
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1 Answers1

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I've moved to Google Apps for my family email and for a really small site that didn't get a huge amount of email but needed to be provisioned fast.

The fact that you don't have to manage an email server is a massive plus - I don't know about you but mail servers can get pretty messy - fast.

In saying all that however, if you're not in the US, moving your mail there poses a security risk as the data centres and the company hosting your mail (i.e. Google) are there, leaving you wide open to searches under the Patriot Act (and others of course) - That's my understanding anyway.

With regards to money, I don't think you'll see the standard version slip off the radar soon and the Premium version does give you a tad more control if you want it (not a huge amount, but you know...some :) )

So...

Pros:

  • No need to manage that email server
  • Uptime is bloody good
  • Can be provisioned quickly

Cons

  • Security
    • Patriot Act et al
  • Can't get the finegrained control you might previously have had
Matt Didcoe
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