Inbound & Outbound: What’s The Difference?

You’ve probably heard the terms “Secure Email” and “Email Encryption” more often over the past few years because of the significant presence that data breaches (and it’s counterpart, identity theft) have had on stores, consumers, and even your typical government officials. And it goes without saying that protecting consumer data, government-related data, and anything considered confidential has become a priority of the state.

This newly instituted priority has prompted officials and businesses alike to incorporate secure email encryption, which has become something of a godsend: a way to securely transmit messages and documents across a protected digital platform. Who knew? Apparently not Hillary Clinton or the Director of the CIA, John Brennan.

With secure email encryption comes two antipodal processes that allow both the client and their recipient to exchange sensitive documents and messages: Outbound Secure Email & Inbound Secure Email.

Outbound Secure Email

Outbound Secure Email is the process by which a secure email licensed account is used to compose and send secure messages to any designated recipients.

Simply, if you purchase an email encryption account and send a secure message, you’re sending Outbound Secure Email, because the message is sent directly from the licensed source.

Outbound Secure Email is the most popular, and is considered the standard, form of secure messaging, but it’s only the first of the two available communication processes.

Aptly-named Inbound Secure Email just so happens to be the other…

Inbound Secure Email

Think about Inbound Secure Email like the term Inbound Marketing.

When a company employs an Inbound Marketing strategy, they create content that will attract people browsing the web to visit their website to meet a specific goal or need.

Similarly, Inbound Secure Email is based on the sending and receiving of secure messages on a person or business’ website. This specifically happens when a secure contact form has been placed on a webpage.

This secure contact form allows website visitors to interact and communicate with the business securely, from the sending of sensitive messages to attached confidential documents.

Which Secure Email Solution Is Right For Me?

Fortunately, you don’t have to choose between the two options!

Any one person (or business) can utilize an Outbound Secure Email Solution for the standard sending of messages and documents, and an Inbound Secure Email Solution, which would give website visitors and recipients from outbound sources a means to compose and send their own secure messages.

Regardless of what solution you choose to integrate into your digital security measures, always make sure that it’s compliant with both national and state-wide regulations, is an easy enough process for your clients and customers to use (so that they will use it), and that it comes with a 24/7 customer support number if you’re ever in need of troubleshooting an issue.

Feel free demo NeoCertified’s Outbound Secure Email Solution here and Inbound Secure Email Solution here.