• A global Microsoft outage has hit email and Teams. If you're affected, wait until it's over before you switch providers.
• Dedicated email providers usually have fewer moving parts, and fewer customers affected by any one fault. No provider is immune.

• EhloMail is Layershift's business email, hosted only in Europe, from £2.50 ex VAT per mailbox per month. We can migrate you from Microsoft 365.

Email Is the System Nobody Notices Until It Stops

Nobody thanks their email for working. It sits there quietly, carrying invoices, quotes, password resets and the odd "did you get my last message?" Then it stops, and a small business finds out how much of the day was riding on it.

A global Microsoft outage has hit email and Teams, and BBC News reports that attempts to fix it have not gone as expected. Some NHS GP practices have said they are falling back on the phone to reach each other. If your business is caught up in it too, we hope you're back up and running soon.

Every large platform has days like this, Microsoft included. Running email for a huge share of the world's businesses is hard. The question worth asking on a day like this is whether all your email needs to live in the same place as everyone else's.

When Everyone Shares One Platform, Everyone Shares One Bad Day

The biggest platforms are attractive because they're everywhere. That is also why their faults travel so far. When something goes wrong, it goes wrong for an enormous number of businesses at once, and they all end up refreshing the same status page and waiting for the same fix.

Smaller, dedicated email providers work differently. Email is the whole product, not one feature among dozens in a suite, so there are usually fewer moving parts that can fail together. When something does go wrong, it touches far fewer customers.

No provider is immune. Be wary of anyone who promises email that never goes down, because nobody can honestly say that. What changes is the odds of being caught in a very large, very public outage, and what it's like when you need help. With EhloMail, you reach Layershift's 24/7 support team.

Don't Switch Mid-Outage

If your email is down right now, you don't need to decide anything today. Moving a company's mail in the middle of a crisis is how messages get missed. Get through the incident first.

Then, once things are calm, jot down what it actually cost you: the hours lost, the messages that arrived late, the awkward phone calls. That note tells you whether this was a once-in-a-while nuisance or a risk worth changing for.

If it's the second, these are the questions worth asking any provider, us included:

• Who runs it, and where is your mail stored? You should get a straight answer, not a brochure phrase. If personal data is involved, the ICO's UK GDPR guidance explains what you remain responsible for.
• What does support look like at 2am? Email problems rarely wait for office hours.
• How would you leave? Ask how you'd export your mail and move away. A provider confident in its service has no reason to make that hard.
• What happens if something is deleted by mistake? Ask about backups and restores before you need them.
• What does it cost per mailbox? A clear price, shown without VAT, beats a bundle you have to decode.

Where EhloMail Fits

EhloMail is Layershift's business email service. It's hosted only in Europe, and plans start from £2.50 ex VAT per mailbox per month. You get email on your own domain with spam protection, in three plans (Lite, Standard and Advanced) so you pay for what your team actually uses.

It isn't the right answer for everyone. If your team lives in Teams and SharePoint all day, a move needs real thought. But if what you mostly need is dependable email for a handful of people or a few dozen, a focused provider is often a better fit than a suite you use a fraction of.

Moving From Microsoft 365 Is Something We Handle for You

Many people stay where they are because of the move itself: years of mail, shared mailboxes, everyone's phones and Outlook setups.

We can take that on. If you're coming from Microsoft 365, we can migrate your mailboxes for you. We'll need a CSV file from you to do it, and we'll tell you exactly what it needs to contain. Layershift's 24/7 support team handles the migration and keeps you informed at each step, including what to expect next.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an alternative to Microsoft 365 for business email?

Yes. If email is the main thing you use Microsoft 365 for, a dedicated business email service can cover it, with your own domain and your own mailboxes. EhloMail is Layershift's option, with plans from £2.50 ex VAT per mailbox per month. If your team relies heavily on Teams and SharePoint, plan the move carefully before you change anything.

Is there a European alternative to Microsoft 365 email?

Yes. EhloMail is hosted only in Europe and backed by 24/7 Layershift support. It covers business email on your own domain, with spam protection and three plans (Lite, Standard and Advanced) to suit different teams.

Does hosting business email in Europe make me GDPR compliant?

No, not on its own. EhloMail operates under GDPR data-processing arrangements and is hosted only in Europe. Its platform acts as a data processor for your email, and after a deletion request data is removed from its systems within 60 days unless the law requires it to be kept longer. Choosing a provider that works this way helps, but GDPR compliance also depends on how your business handles personal data. For details, email sales@layershift.com.

Can I move my email from Microsoft 365 to EhloMail?

Yes. Layershift's 24/7 support team handles the migration and keeps you informed at each step. We need a CSV file from you to do it, and we'll tell you exactly what it needs to contain. The migration is staged so your business can keep receiving email while you move. Some messages may be delayed while it completes, but they aren't lost. Contacts, calendars and permissions may need separate handling.

Does EhloMail work with Outlook?

Yes. On every plan it works with Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird and other standard email clients, and with Webmail in your browser. On a phone, use a compatible mobile email client or Webmail.

What should I do when Microsoft 365 or Outlook is down?

Check Microsoft's service health page for updates, then tell your key customers and colleagues which channel to use instead, such as the phone. Hold off on switching providers until the incident is over, then note what the outage cost you in hours and missed messages. That tells you whether a change is worth making.

How much does business email cost for a small business?

EhloMail is priced per mailbox, ex VAT, and each plan comes in several mailbox sizes. Lite is £2.50 a month (5GB). Standard is £3.00 (8GB), £4.00 (25GB) or £6.00 (50GB). Advanced is £5.00 (25GB), £9.00 (50GB) or £14.00 (100GB). Annual billing saves 5%.

If Your Email Is Down, You Can Still Reach Us

We know the awkward part of reading this while your email is down. Fill in our contact form, or email sales@layershift.com from another address, for details about EhloMail, including how it's hosted only in Europe and how it fits with GDPR. A real person from our team will take it from there, whether you want to talk about moving or just want a second opinion.

Whatever you decide, we hope your inbox soon goes back to being the thing you never think about.