For over a decade, the business email and calendaring market has been a two-horse race between Microsoft and Google. If you were starting a new company, you bought your domain and immediately signed up for either Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. With the launch of the new Apple Business platform, Apple is officially entering the fray to challenge Google and Microsoft with a free business email service.
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Apple is introducing fully integrated email, calendar and directory services directly through the new Apple Business portal. Businesses can use their own custom domain name or purchase a new one directly from Apple. Users get 5GB of free iCloud storage, but IT teams can easily upgrade users to tiers up to 2TB starting at just $0.99 per user per month.
These new services are designed to simplify operations straight out of the box. Apple includes basic business scheduling tools such as calendar assignment, which is critical for busy executives and assistants, and an integrated corporate directory. This directory will enable employees to connect with user groups and see personalized contact cards on their devices.
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The new business email of Apple will be compatible with any email client that supports IMAP. Apple's calendar service will support any calendar app that supports CalDAV, ensuring full support on Android and Windows.
From the IT side, it is clear that Apple is targeting new businesses and startups. If you are a founder who walks into an Apple Store to buy a MacBook and an iPhone to start your company, Apple can now offer you device management software, a customized domain, hosted email, and a corporate calendar, all under one roof.
While many businesses that are entrenched in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 may not switch immediately, Apple is likely to continue to expand this solution over time. One important factor is that it is free. While Google offered free @yourdomain.com for many years, that was discontinued in 2022. If Google and Microsoft continue to slowly raise prices, Apple's free business email will remain a viable alternative built directly into macOS, iOS, and iPadOS.
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The technical aspect of this announcement is that Apple supports open standards for email and calendar, so there is no requirement for businesses to replace their entire fleets if they have some users on Android or Windows.
