Business and Marketing

Small- to medium-sized businesses will be early adopters of the email service, but there's no telling where the e-commerce giant will take it next.

WorkMail demands a cursory investigation.

Last week's introduction of Amazon WorkMail, a cloud-based email and calendaring solution, should merit lots of attention from small- to medium-sized enterprises looking for a cheap workplace solution. Its emergence as a commerce conduit for Internet retailers, however, could be years off .

As the number one player in the public cloud computing market, Amazon is able to offer users of WorkMail powerful capabilities for secure storage of customer and distribution lists, as well as providing them with solid workplace features like calendaring and out-of-office messaging. The new service is not likely, however, to gain a large following of individual users—or, in turn, email marketers—at the outset.

“It doesn't require the purchase of any software, but then you're on your own for technology and security updates,” says Quinn Jalli, SVP of Epsilon's Strategic Initiatives Group. “It could find a lot of traction among smaller companies that have long delayed updating their email systems. There are some companies out there still using Lotus Mail, believe it or not.”

As a marketing channel, it's not likely to be attractive even for engagement with B2B accounts. Jalli says Epsilon's experience shows that 85-90% of recipients on typical B2B email lists prefer to get marketing mail sent to their personal addresses. “That's because of the strict filtering rules set down by most companies,” Jalli says.

But new capabilities are likely to blossom as WorkMail sets down roots. Jalli is convinced Amazon will eventually ratchet up WorkMail's game, and he's not alone. Denise Chan, content marketing manager at Mailjet, feels that WorkMail faces impediments in challenging Gmail, but that it may have things to offer marketers the Google service can't.

“Amazon has a few key strengths they can play on, one of their advantages being the e-commerce space. They already have the framework built and an existing network of sellers that sell through their site,” Chan observes. “They can leverage this competitive edge by integrating customer support, inventory management, or other internal communication tools beneficial to sellers.”

Those who'd like an up-close look at WorkMail can check out a demo in a blog on Amazon Web Services or take advantage of a 30-day free trial being offered by the company.

Business Breaking News: Lenovo Edge 15: Top 3 Business Features

Lenovo's Edge 15 is a reasonably priced business notebook that bends into a handy presentation mode. The laptop's flexible hinge lets you bend it back 300 degrees, getting the keyboard out of the way for a better view of the 15-inch touch screen. It also delivers a handsome, minimalist design; a comfortable keyboard; and an HD webcam that's great for videoconferencing. It does have a few clear shortcomings — particularly, its lackluster battery life. But the Edge 15 is still an extremely solid midrange pick for business users, and it starts at just $569. While you wait for our full review, read on for three features that make it good for work.

Good keyboard

It's hard to overstate the importance of a good keyboard in a business laptop, and that's what the Edge 15 delivers. It has well-spaced, sculpted keys that make touch typing very comfortable. It also includes a full 10-key number pad that makes crunching numbers a breeze, as well as full-size arrow keys for navigating around documents. The keyboard's main weak point is that it's a bit shallow and thus doesn't offer quite as much feedback as more premium notebooks do.

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