Mail, domains & deliverability
How this is scored
How well the mailbox itself works: custom domains and their DNS set-up, aliases, catch-all, shared and functional mailboxes, distribution lists, mailbox and attachment size limits, IMAP, POP3, SMTP and Exchange ActiveSync or MAPI for Outlook, web and mobile apps, spam and malware filtering, SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MTA-STS, out-of-office and server-side rules, send limits, and the delivery reputation of the sending infrastructure. A self-hosted groupware is judged on the mail server it ships; a suite whose mail app is only a client for another server scores at the level of that client.
0 — No mailbox at all; a product that only sends transactional mail or only reads another provider's mail without a server of its own or a documented one to pair it with.
3 — Mailboxes on a custom domain with IMAP and SMTP and a webmail; aliases, shared mailboxes, filtering and DKIM or DMARC are basic or not described.
5 — Several custom domains with a documented DNS set-up, aliases and distribution lists, shared or functional mailboxes, IMAP and SMTP plus mobile apps, spam and malware filtering, SPF and DKIM signing, mailbox size per plan stated, server-side rules and out-of-office replies.
8 — Exchange ActiveSync or native Outlook (MAPI) support, DMARC reporting and MTA-STS or DANE, catch-all and plus addressing, delegated access and send-as, quarantine an admin can review, send and attachment limits stated, and the deliverability of the outbound infrastructure documented.
10 — A mail platform a large organisation runs on: every protocol above with feature parity stated per client, inbound and outbound gateways configurable, journaling, DANE and MTA-STS enforced, delivery monitoring and bounce analysis for admins, and mail flow documented end to end.
The Small Firm Owner
Mail on our own domain is documented down to the last DNS record — MX hosts, TXT validation, four DKIM keys as CNAME records, a single SPF record and DMARC with monitoring guidance — plus a catch-all mailbox and aliases on the firm's domain, with IMAP, POP3 and webmail in every tariff and DANE as well as MTA-STS named on the BSI-recommended protocol list. We found no public information on Exchange ActiveSync or native Outlook (MAPI); the help pages describe Outlook via app passwords and a CalDAV plug-in. We also found no public information on shared or functional mailboxes for our kanzlei@ address, on out-of-office rules or on send and attachment limits. 2 8 10 14 15 18