More Mailboxes on the Way

09/18/2001

The number of worldwide e-mail mailboxes is expected to increase from 505 million in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2005, according to International Data Corp. (IDC).

By Michael Pastore

The number of worldwide e-mail mailboxes is expected to increase from 505 million in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2005, according to International Data Corp. (IDC).

IDC holds three factors responsible for the projected e-mail boom: Web services, wireless access and workers without e-mail. And despite a shakeout among free Web e-mail providers, IDC believes the remaining providers will see significant growth in mailboxes tied to Web sites.

"Wireless access through e-mail devices and network services will offer new ways for e-mail users to remain connected longer while on the move," said Mark Levitt, research director for IDC's Collaborative Computing program. "Workers such as deskless and mobile workers whose access to e-mail has not come easy will benefit from customized e-mail software, devices and hosted services."

"E-mail usage is growing despite challenges from market substitutes like instant messaging and virtual workspaces that require a change in the way people work and often fall short of matching e-mail's ease of use and global reach," said Robert Mahowald, senior analyst for IDC's Collaborative Computing program. "In addition to the three Ws, e-mail usage will be driven by better integration between e-mail and other business applications and processes that will make e-mail more accessible and therefore more valuable to a broader audience."

A survey of Internet users by The Gallup Organization found that e-mail remains the No. 1 activity for people online, with more than half saying saying it is their most common online activity.

The typical e-mail user is on the Internet seven to eight hours each week, the poll found, and 37 percent of the respondents indicate they go online more than 10 hours per week. Sending and reading e-mail is the most common activity for people when online, much more common than searching for information, paying bills or using instant messages. Nine in 10 e-mail users said they use e-mail at home, and more than 80 percent use it at work. And while a majority of e-mail users said they use the telephone and U.S. mail less often because of e-mail, most are not willing to sacrifice those methods of communication just yet.

As might be expected, e-mail use differs between home and work. Those who use it at work check it much more often, and send and receive many more e-mails. A majority, 51 percent, of those who use e-mail at work check it at least once an hour, including 32 percent who said they check it "continuously." An additional 33 percent said they check e-mail at work a couple times a day, and 11 percent check it about once a day. Only 5 percent check it less than once a day. At home, only 6 percent said they check e-mail at least once an hour, including 3 percent who check it continuously. Most people check their e-mail at home either a couple times a day (30 percent) or about once a day (41 percent). But 22 percent check it less often than that.

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Source of Article: Cyberatlas

Date of Article: September 17, 2001