It is a known fact that the majority of e-mail clients are using Microsoft Outlook. For the most part, Microsoft Outlook will function great and do almost everything you need it to 
do. It is rich with customizable settings and most PC users are comfortable with the interface. For some business customers, it is often set up using Exchange Server. Many folks do not know the mechanics of the system and the fact that Outlook uses a very proprietary file type to save your information.
Microsoft Outlook saves all of its information on your hard drive in a file that is called a PST file. The Outlook program itself can only read this file. There is no way to gain access to any of the information by looking at the file by itself. If your Outlook crashes, you have no way to view any of your saved e-mails.
PST files are not always secure. It is very easy for someone to make a copy of the file and take it with them right out the door. They will then have a total copy of all your past e-mails. This can be an issue if you save any sensitive information.
Another reason that PST files are problematic is their strong tendency to get corrupted. If you do not back up this file frequently, you are at high risk of data loss. There are tools that are designed to help recover corrupted PST files but they do not always work. In addition, if you store your PST file on a network server, you are even more prone to corruption. In fact, this practice is actually frowned upon by Microsoft. So if you have a small or large business and you are accessing the same PST from multiple locations, you are a recipe for disaster, especially if you do not back the file up on a daily basis.
Another disadvantage to PST files is if you use a mobile phone to access your e-mail. You can use a syncing app for this purpose but you will not be able to access the PST file from your mobile device. These files are actually quite primitive by today’s standards.
The use of Outlook files not only increases your chances of data loss but also can actually cost your organization lots of money. In the very likely event that your PST gets corrupted, you will often need expert assistance in getting your business back up and running again. Today, a business without e-mail is virtually out of business. Those calls to tech support or your local computer shop are going to cost you because Outlook is so labor intensive to repair. In some cases, a total loss of your e-mail data is possible with no means of recovery.
If you do insist on using Outlook and continue using PST files, you will need to do a daily backup of the files. If you are a home user and do not save much in the way of e-mails, this might not be as big of an issue. There are plenty of other clients out there that do not use proprietary files such as Thunderbird. Backing up and maintaining these e-mail clients can be easier with less chance of file corruption. If you are a power user and need to save months or years of e-mail data, Outlook is not the program for you.
Article by, Joe Z
posted by Ross Deprey
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