Microsoft Outlook is an email and personal information manager from the Microsoft Office productivity suite. It includes a calendar, task manager, contact manager, note-taking, and web browsing.
Email is now the most common form of communication in the workplace, and it is no wonder that Microsoft Outlook continues to be the world’s leading email client. From small businesses to large multinational corporations, millions of people around the world rely on Microsoft Outlook for their mail communication.
Advantages of Microsoft Outlook
Here are the main advantages of Microsoft Outlook:
1. Multiple email accounts
In case you have more than one email account, it doesn’t mean you have to log in and out all the time to check your incoming emails. With Outlook, you can manage multiple email accounts with just a single interface. All emails will be received and sent through a single client window where you can access all your accounts at once. This saves time and effort.
2. Calendar
Outlook has a calendar where you can create meetings, events or appointments and be reminded about them by setting an alert. The calendar is useful for users who need to organize their schedules or appointments with clients or customers.
3. Tasks
Another feature of Outlook is its tasks function which can remind you about deadlines for projects or other things that need to be done for your business. You can set specific due dates for each task and even assign tasks to other members of your team using Outlook’s functions for contacts and distribution lists.
4. Integration with other Microsoft products
It is possible to use it with other applications such as Excel, Word, or PowerPoint so that a very good integration between them is achieved and thus work becomes easier and more productive.
5. Unlimited e-mail address
Another advantage is that every user has access to an unlimited number of e-mail addresses which are also available at any time and from anywhere in the world, so long as there’s an Internet connection available.
6. Has great features
Another benefit of using Outlook is its efficient workflow features like shared calendars that let coworkers see when you’re available for meetings and when you’re busy.
Disadvantages of Microsoft Outlook
1. Microsoft Outlook is a resource hog
Microsoft Outlook is pretty heavy on resources. The problem with Outlook is that it uses a lot of RAM to function. If you add feeds, mail rules, and so on, you will notice that your Outlook will become even slower and more sluggish.
2. Slow startup time
If you have many emails in your inbox (more than 1 GB), Microsoft Outlook will take a long time to launch when starting up your computer. This can be frustrating if you want to check some emails quickly before going out for lunch or going home.
3. No unread count for folders
Unlike other email clients, Microsoft Outlook does not have an unread count for folders, which can be annoying if you want to know how many unread messages are there in your subfolders at a glance.
4. Cannot create more than one task folder
In Microsoft Outlook, you can only create one task folder. If you want to create another task folder, you need to do so via IMAP or Exchange account instead of using the default PST file format in Microsoft Outlook 2007.
5. Microsoft Outlook is not available for Mac and Linux users
There are many people who use Mac or Linux operating systems on their computers. However, they cannot use Microsoft Outlook in their PC because it is only available for Windows users. This also means that if you want to transfer data from one computer to another, you need to have both computers running on the same operating system.
6. Microsoft Outlook does not let you send large files
If you want to send large files, you will need to share those files through OneDrive or any other file-sharing service. You cannot send large files through emails in Microsoft Outlook.
In conclusion, Microsoft Outlook is a simple email-sharing software that helps to ensure that you are in touch with others and their information. With its intuitive features, this software can be utilized by business professionals as well as anyone who needs an easy way to share email through a network.
Also also read; 12 Advantages of Gmail Over Other Mailing Services