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When we refer to email forwarding, we are essentially referring to forwarding one email address to another email address automatically, or manually. In a nutshell, it is like redirecting mail when you have it sent to one address, but redirected to another address based on where it has been sent from without the person sending the email needing to do anything. It can be very easy way to reuse information in a manner that promotes email communication to be received whether it is sent in one email (inbox) or another email (inbox).
Manual Email Forwarding: Manual email forwarding is when the user reads an email and then selects to forward it manually to another email recipient. This is a commonly executed scenario in daily communication, specifically when communicating information to an individual who is not being included in the original correspondence.
Automatic Email Forwarding: Automatic email forwarding is when the email client or server has been configured to automatically forward email to an email address based on rules that are set on either the email client or the server. For example, email that is sent to [email protected] could then be forwarded to a group of employees.
Conditional Email Forwarding: Some more sophisticated setups allow email to forward only if certain conditions are met, for example, if the sender is a specific email address, the email contains specific words, or is received at specific times of the day.
Domain Level Email Forwarding: In Domain-based setups, administrators can configure all or a portion of a domain to forward emails.
Provides Continuity: In business, forwarding ensures messages get delivered to the appropriate people when someone is out of the office, changes departments, or leaves the organization. Continuity prevents interruptions in communication.
Centralization of Communication: Forwarding multiple email addresses into a central inbox allows an individual or team to handle emails more effectively. For example, although an HR or finance department may have emails coming from different regional offices, they can forward them to one inbox.
Expeditious Collaboration: When teams need to collaborate, forwarding allows teams to respond quickly and share relevant information with every party needed. For example, a project manager can forward questions from the client directly to the development team to eliminate the lag time in responding to the client.
Redirecting Email During Transitions: If a user changes email address, especially during personal or professional rebranding, forwarding ensures emails sent to their previous email address will reach the user at their new email address.
Backup and Redundancy: Some users simply forward important emails to another account to preserve a copy. This provides another level of redundancy, should the original account be compromised.
Imagine a university department where a professor has retired and her departmental email address is still receiving important research and student outreach emails. Instead of disabling that email account, the university’s IT team could use email forwarding to automatically send any emails arriving at her email address to her current successor. This way, there would be no gaps in communication, and no student or colleague would be left waiting for a response from their previous professor.
In another situation, a small business may have an inbox [email protected] forwarded to many different employees in customer support, so that there is always someone to respond.
