Assessment 2: Individual Report on Email Providers and Business Needs

This report provides an in-depth analysis of email providers, focusing on their suitability for business communication. It compares and contrasts various email services like Gmail and ProtonMail, highlighting their features, security aspects, and vulnerabilities. The report also explores the skills required for effective online research, emphasizing the importance of source authentication, search query refinement, and understanding intellectual property rights. Furthermore, it delves into the essential digital communication skills needed for success in today's business environment, including content creation, website design, and customer relationship management. The conclusion summarizes the key takeaways, emphasizing the role of digital technologies and the importance of developing relevant skills to achieve business objectives. The report draws on various academic sources to support its findings.

ASSESSMENT 2:
INDIVIDUAL REPORT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Email providers and their applications and suitability for businesses....................................3
Skills required for online research..........................................................................................6
Digital communication skills..................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Information and communication technology refers to the most essential part of a
business, for meeting day to day operational tasks (Huda, 2019). This technique helps
organisations in establishing a safe as well as secure communication flow with internal and
external stakeholders. The present assignment is going to make a report on type of email
providers a company can use to develop communication for suitability of business. For this
purpose, concept of online research and communication process is also explained in further part.
Email providers and their applications and suitability for businesses.
In order to make share information effectively within different departments, information and
communication technology is considered as best tool (Le, 2015). It provides a number of benefits
for making decisions and utilise organisational data, improve productivity of business and more.
Among these advantages, the best beneficial part of ICT in developing connection between
employees, customers, employers and other stakeholders. For this purpose, it provides a digital
mechanism i.e. electronic mail (e-mail) to convey and exchange message by using internet
sources. Here, two main servers as sender who sends message and receiver who receive the same
are known sender and recipient respectively (Tour, 2017). Furthermore, e-mail consists a
structured body comprised with three main components as Message envelope (entails electronic
format), Message header (sender/receiver information), Message body (written text, file
attachment, images and other information that sender wants to share with receiver).

Figure 1: E-mail template
There are several emails providers found that provide services for conveying messages
instantly for many people in short period of time (Collins and Halverson, 2018). It includes
Gmail, Yahoo mail, Zoho, Outlook, Proton mail and more. For opening an email account, an
organisation or a user can use any above described electronic mail providers as per business
requirement.
The ProtonMail is incorporated in Switzerland and committed to end-to-end encryption
more securely and automatically (Kasemsap, 2016). It doesn’t allow any third person to read
messages and information sharing between sender and receiver. Here, privacy comes first for
distributing messages. It includes features like open source cryptography (free secure mail),
access to user data, inbox is mainly optimised for productivity and emphasised more on security.
Therefore, it aid organisations and individuals to securely transfer confidential information as
well as prevent from cyber-crime activities also (Gleason and Von Gillern, 2018).

Gmail is another e-mail provider which is widely used by millions of people and
organisation for information sharing. It offers unlimited storage, instant messaging, social
networking and more (Ellaway and et. al., 2015). It is considered as one of the oldest service
provider where users can receive data of more than 50 MB.
The both email service providers are taken as best at its level of features. But in terms of
security, Protonmail seems better than g-mail (Hargittai and Dobransky, 2017.). They can be
further differentiated on the basis of different characteristics in following manner –
Basis Protonmail Gmail
Interface Interface of Protonmail is a
three-pane approach which is
more likely what users expect
and wants from modern email
clients (Siren and Knudsen,
2017). Here, main navigation
is displayed on the left, while
an inbox view in middle and
on right side currently-selected
As comparison with modern
email clients like Protonmail,
interface of Gmail includes a
two-page design. Here, full
inbox view is displayed on
first page and second shows
individual emails (Kasemsap,
2016). Therefore, this
traditional mail is not referred

view is shown. as the most efficient way for
browsing via many emails.
Privacy ProtonMail supports end-to-
end encryption (E2Ee) where
emails cannot be read by any
third party not even by service
provider except account
holder. With a modified
analogy, it provides a lockable
pneumatic container. Here,
after writing a message users
can encode the same with a
cipher before locking it in the
container (Katz and Gonzalez,
2016). Like Gmail ProtonMail
can also unlock the container
but it cannot read user’s
information without the cipher.
Instead of E2Ee, Gmail
supports point-to-point
encryption (P2Pe) where
emails can be only be read by
users and Google itself that
provides advantage with a
lockable pneumatic container
(Katz and Gonzalez, 2016).
Users can here, write a letter,
stick the same within a
container and lock it with a
password through a pneumatic
tube. But Google has access to
unlock the container and read
it. Therefore, in terms of
security, this service provider
fails to provide safety and
leads to cybercrime activities
as well.
Vulnerability There is a less risk of
vulnerability because user’s
account is not connected with
hundreds of services.
Due to largely connection, it
has a high risk of vulnerability.
Skills required for online research
To conduct a research on a specific topic, internet refers to the best source that provides a
large platform to gather information to individual. For this purpose, researchers need to develop
effective online research skills, to meet requirement criteria of study (Siren and Knudsen, 2017).

The main skills that an individual must have in order to conduct online research are – check
authentication of sources, develop and refine search queries, continue pursue information from
internet sites to earn a broad perspective, show emotional resilience, concern on intellectual
property rights to extract information and more. Along with this, users must have knowledge
how to social networking sites and digital tools to collect and share information. These kinds of
skills can only be developed by an individual through working under guidance of seniors or
experts who are experienced in optimising the research skills for conducting a study (Hargittai
and Dobransky, 2017). Through making a discussion about bookmarks to evaluate a website,
check authentication and refine the search queries, individuals can increase their abilities for
obtaining adequate and reliable information from online resources.
Learners also need to enhance knowledge about different domains .com, .org, .edu and
more. This would help in understanding that which sources are credible and way to search data
from authenticate websites. Since for conducting an online research, users mainly gather
information from books and articles that are available on internet sources (Gleason and Von
Gillern, 2018). Therefore, they must give priority to articles which have provided copyright. This
results in preventing from legal penalties that scholarly authors can take if taken data against
their willingness. Henceforth, concerning on different skills and knowledge that e-learners must
have to possess, it is essential for them to take appropriate classes from highly affiliated
institutions to develop such abilities (Ellaway and et. al., 2015).
Digital communication skills
Every organisation or individual in today’s modern and fast developing world is under
pressure for meeting targets of achievement (Huda, 2019). It includes formation of business on
digital format, creation of effective content on networking sites for increasing online presence
and other KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Writing stuff of business information and
developing communication with targeted customers, company’s stakeholders and more, a person
needs to possess an adequate amount of digital communication skills. It includes creating
content, developing design of company’s websites, Customer Relationship Management, social
media and so on. By developing knowledge about these fields, a user can make better use of
digital communication skills (Le, 2015). This would provide advantage for organisation to
connect with targeted audience and make interaction with them to increase sales performance.
Therefore, in order to become an effective digital communicator, learners need to develop a

range of skills. It includes flexibility, a passion for storytelling, empathy, curiosity and a
commitment for lifelong learning (Tour, 2017). By developing flexibility, e-learners can thrive in
digital communication more easily. While by giving a commitment to continuous learning will
update knowledge of them about modern and latest digital technologies. In order to stay long in
e-business, by being inquisitive users can crave more deep understanding of people, process and
different channels of communication (Collins and Halverson, 2018). Therefore, to develop such
digital skills of communication, individuals need to take proper IT classes where they can
enhance abilities in given field and optimise technologies in better way.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from this assignment that with advancement of digital technologies, a
person or an organisation get opportunity to meet target more efficiently. Here, with the usage of
service providers such as Gmail, Protonmail etc. people can share information to others instantly
and protect the same from cyber attackers as well. Along with this, by developing online and
digital communication skills they can achieve their missions easily.

REFRENCES
Books and journal
Collins, A. and Halverson, R., 2018. Rethinking education in the age of technology: The digital
revolution and schooling in America. Teachers College Press.
Ellaway, R. H. And et. al., 2015. Exploring digital professionalism. Medical teacher. 37(9).
pp.844-849.
Gleason, B. and Von Gillern, S., 2018. Digital citizenship with social media: Participatory
practices of teaching and learning in secondary education. Journal of Educational
Technology & Society/ 21(1). pp.200-212.
Hargittai, E. and Dobransky, K., 2017. Old dogs, new clicks: Digital inequality in skills and uses
among older adults. Canadian Journal of Communication. 42(2).
Huda, M., 2019. Empowering application strategy in the technology adoption: insights from
professional and ethical engagement. Journal of Science and Technology Policy
Management. 10(1). pp.172-192.
Kasemsap, K., 2016. Utilizing communities of practice to facilitate knowledge sharing in the
digital age. In Organizational knowledge facilitation through communities of practice in
emerging markets (pp. 198-224). IGI Global.
Katz, V. S. and Gonzalez, C., 2016. Toward meaningful connectivity: Using multilevel
communication research to reframe digital inequality. Journal of Communication. 66(2).
pp.236-249.
Le, B. P., 2015. Academic library leadership in the digital age. Library Management, 36(4/5),
pp.300-314.
Siren, A. and Knudsen, S. G., 2017. Older adults and emerging digital service delivery: A mixed
methods study on information and communications technology use, skills, and
attitudes. Journal of aging & social policy. 29(1). pp.35-50.
Tour, E., 2017. Teachers’ self-initiated professional learning through Personal Learning
Networks. Technology, Pedagogy and Education. 26(2). pp.179-192.