By Johnny Wright

Have you ever mailed a package to someone and the person tells you they never received it? Have you ever received a package that arrived torn or damaged in some way? Both of these scenarios have happened to me, and it seems to happen more often now than ever before. However, I would argue that sending email attachments isn’t any more reliable than snail mail, especially when you’re trying to send sensitive information or business-critical documents.

Just today I was waiting for a time-sensitive email from an external party after he said he would send it to me right away. A few hours passed and I still had not received it. Typically, when an email fails to arrive quickly, there could be any number of reasons for the delay:

• Emails with attachments (especially large attachments) could be blocked due to server or security issues.
• Emails from outside parties could be mistakenly considered spam and sent into the infamous ‘Junk’ or ‘Spam’ folders.
• Emails are sometimes simply overlooked by the email recipient due to the large amount of emails received on a daily basis.

In case you are wondering, the email that I was expecting was sitting in my Junk folder.

At least with snail mail, you always have the option to pay a little bit extra for tracking and delivery confirmation. Email systems don’t normally come with file attachment auditing options. There is simply no way to tell when or if a file was downloaded, whether the download was successful, or even if the party you sent the email to is actually the person that opened it. Proprietary and confidential information can be inadvertently exposed in the attachments or sent unencrypted outside your company walls.

The typical file attachment is growing in size every day. At the same time, security restrictions are increasing due to a growing focus on protecting confidential and sensitive information. Using email to send large files isn’t a viable option any longer. Imagine if the packages that were lost using snail mail were credit cards, money, or even family social security numbers. Well, emailing private data and sensitive files through regular email is just as insecure. The time has arrived for a different approach–one that is easy-to-use and ensures your mail gets delivered safely, on time, and to the intended recipient.