Microsoft Outlook Review: Is It Best for Business Email?

Microsoft prioritizes users’ security and privacy. It promises to respect its users’ privacy by not scanning emails or attachments for advertising purposes. Furthermore, Outlook uses Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC), an email authentication protocol that allows owners to protect their domain from unauthorized access.

Microsoft Outlook also boasts a feature that automatically deactivates unsafe links containing phishing scams, viruses, or malware. Personal and business email users benefit from spam and malware filtering as long as they access their email in Outlook mailboxes.

Microsoft Outlook has an advanced security feature that automatically filters harmful links. (Source: Microsoft)

Outlook integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft 365 office software, like Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Plus, you can set files on your device to automatically sync to cloud storage on OneDrive, giving you access from anywhere and enabling you to collaborate on projects with your team.

Outlook also integrates with hundreds of popular business tools, simplifying workflows for increased productivity. For instance, you can send an Excel spreadsheet or Word document directly from the productivity apps. You can also integrate third-party apps and sync your contacts to various platforms, such as LinkedIn, to help you expand your network online.

Microsoft 365’s suite of applications can be accessed directly from the Outlook inbox.
(Source: Outlook)

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Get Microsoft Outlook add-ins and integrations from AppSource. (Source: Microsoft AppSource)

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Built-in Outlook shortcuts for users with disabilities (Source: Outlook)

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Lastly, Outlook integrates easily with apps like Slack, Zoom, Skype, and other team collaboration and meeting software. It also connects with email tools for project management like Asana, email signatures via WiseStamp, Grammarly for advanced editing tools, email tracking software, and more. Plus, there are almost 50 keyboard shortcuts for users with visual impairment, blindness, and disabilities.

Users can schedule Outlook business emails to be sent at specific times. This can be helpful when sending a set of prospecting emails to coincide with a special offer or newly published piece of content, for example. Marketers can use this feature to send a press release at specified times to the journalists and media outlets they want to approach individually.

Another important feature is the ability to create multiple custom professional email signatures. Sales agents can create email signatures with different calls to action based on contact type (e.g., networking partner vs prospect or customer) so that it’s easy to get the recipient to take the next step.

Likewise, among the advanced Outlook features, you will have the ability to create templates and quick parts. These allow you to quickly create personalized emails with content that you send frequently, like cold call sales or lead nurturing emails.

Automatic email scheduling pop-up (Source: Microsoft Support)

Sales agents and busy business owners will also appreciate being able to share and delegate management of their Outlook calendars. This makes it easy for an assistant to set up meetings and presentation times that will be convenient for all parties involved.

You can even use calendars to manage meeting rooms. For example, give a conference room its own unique email address and calendar for scheduling and sharing calendars to the team. See why it made our list of the best shared calendar apps for small businesses.

Microsoft Outlook shared calendar syncing capabilities (Source: Microsoft Support)

For business email, Outlook has the most advanced features by far. Among these are tools that automatically create, read, sync, update, and delete tasks. For example, you can automatically create new tasks for high-priority emails, and copy Salesforce tasks over to Outlook. Plus, you can send emails showing all your completed tasks every day, and even create tasks in Outlook when you get new emails in Gmail.

Build multi-layered workflow automations using Outlook’s AI Builder. There are hundreds of ways to save time, streamline workflows, and increase productivity with Outlook’s Power Automate tools. Check out this list of Outlook Tasks to get a better understanding of all the ways you can use Outlook for business efficiency.

Example of building a workflow with Power Automate (Source: Microsoft)

Even inbox management can be automated when using Outlook for business email. You can create multi-layered rules that automatically forward emails, flag them for follow-up, send them to junk mail, delete them, or send them to a folder to be stored or addressed at a later time.

If you’re using a Windows computer, Outlook may already be installed among your apps. Open the app through the Start menu or the web-based or mobile version of Outlook. If the app isn’t on your device, add it through your device’s App Store. To add your account credentials, get your IMAP (or POP/POP3) and SMTP settings from the email account you set up with your web hosting provider.

For more support or specific instructions about how to add your email account on PC, Apple, or mobile devices, check out detailed instructions for how to set up Microsoft business email on Outlook. Alternatively, your email host or web hosting provider will likely also have detailed instructions for setting up your business email on Outlook, Gmail, and mobile apps.

To send an email, click on New Email in the top bar’s Home menu, fill in the “To” box with the recipient’s email address, and type out your message. Unless your device is offline, Outlook will automatically check for new messages and sync your folders (when using Outlook on multiple devices, such as mobile and PC).

Click on “New Email” in the top left corner to start a new Outlook business email.

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Type a subject line and the body of your email, then hit Send.

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To organize your emails, delete unnecessary messages, flag important emails, and organize emails in specific folders. You can also customize the view of your inbox, such as adding a reading pane to quickly see the content of an email or a To-Do Bar showing your upcoming meetings and tasks.

Organize your Outlook view by clicking on the View tab in the top menu bar and choosing Customize from the … (more items) menu.

• Manage multiple email addresses: You can manage multiple email accounts in Outlook, including importing items from other email management software. Simply add an account and input the credentials of the email addresses you want to create inboxes for. This way, you can see and manage all your emails in one place to save time.
• Delete emails: To delete emails, click on the Trash icon located on the upper left side of the menu. To flag messages for follow-up, click on View, then click on Flag Status for the email you want to flag.
• Categorize for follow-up: Add a “From” element to flag every email from a specific sender—this can be very helpful for small customer service teams that may need to escalate a customer’s issue. Alternatively, you can view messages in “conversations” and see all emails exchanged in a given thread.
• Add folders: When using Microsoft Office for business email, it’s easy to add folders to organize emails you want to keep, such as for projects or from important senders. Simply right-click on Inbox, and then click on “New Folder.” Type in the name for the new folder, and when there’s an email you want to move to that folder, simply right-click the email, select Move, then choose the folder you want to move the email to. You can also simply drag-and-drop emails from your main inbox into folders.
• Set up rules: For business or personal emails, there is a Rules feature where you can create rules based on either the sender or recipient of messages. This will dictate the email to be automatically moved to specific folders you set.

For more guidance on how to use Microsoft Outlook for business email, read our tip list of the best Outlook features for business users.

The Outlook app itself is free—you can create an Outlook.com email account (e.g., yourname@outlook.com) and use the app for personal email. However, this lacks the professional credibility that having an email on your own domain offers. The cost of Outlook for businesses starts at $6 per user, per month, and includes not only business class email but web and mobile versions of the Microsoft 365 office suite as well.

Getting Outlook for your business is easy, and it also comes with other software most companies need, like Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Simply visit Microsoft and click the tab for business plans, choose the plan that’s right for your company, connect (or set up) your business email address, and start using web-based and mobile apps to manage your professional emails.

The choice between Gmail vs Outlook depends on a few factors. Gmail is great for ease of use and better for collaborative teams (as is Google Workspace). Outlook has more advanced business email features and offers the ability to manage other users’ inboxes and calendars. Microsoft Outlook is also better for businesses using Microsoft 365 Office products like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.