Email has become one of the cores of communication for any business and is one of the quickest, most cost effective ways for a business to get things done. However, email does suffer from some limitations.

One of the most common struggles I see small (and large) businesses facing is being able to send files to others over email. With the growth in size for the average file attachment and the advancing technology in email filtering, it is becoming harder and harder to get a file through to someone over email.

One way to overcome this issue is to host the file on a server somewhere and have the intended recipient download the file themselves from the Internet. However this option presents its own issues considering many small businesses may not have a server to host the file. Another issue with this is how to protect the file such that only the intended recipient gets access to the file.

Thankfully there are many free and low cost options provided by third party companies to over come these issues. Below is a short list of some free and low cost options.

drop.io - This one is quick, free and easy. It also supports password protection for your dropped files. You can mange your files and others can retrieve the files through a web browser.

DropSend - This one offers a little application that you can download and run on your computer to send files. Recipients can get their files from a web browser. They have a free package which allows you to send a limited number of files a month.

youSENDit - This one seemed a little complex but it offered a way for others to send files back to you using your account as a drop box. However they only offer a temporary free trial and then you have to start paying if you want to keep the service. On the other hand this one boasts itself as being HIPAA compliant.

pando - This is more of a full featured file sharing application that you download and then share files over their servers. They have a free package and you can upgrade as you need.

Any one of these options can make it possible for you to get documents where they need to go regardless of the limitations of email.

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This is an article I originally wrote for COSE Mindspring. I have posted it here for personal archival purposes. You can find the original article here.