Standing out in the crowd or making a space for yourself has always been the priority for many.  We have always been thriving to create our own Identity and make it personal with a name that resonates with our thoughts and vision.  This craving for Identity has been in the cards since writing and publishing have started worldwide.  It started with the Pen Name for the author, and then somebody started to give a name to articles written in various publications. There have been personal blogs and owning a domain as the Identity in the modern internet world. Once you have a Domain Name, having a unique email address and website is just a matter of configuration.

Registration of Domain

Like the registration of a new company name, you need to register a name for your Domain, which needs to be unique in the entire globe. This Domain is like an address that allows you to build your own Identity on the web, be it for a website or a personal email domain for a mailbox. We will register the domain name with one of the accredited domain registrars, who provides you with an option to search for the domain name to check if it is free for you to purchase and register in your name. For example, you might want to search itsmyidentity.com as the domain name, so you can check if it is free with the domain registrar. If it is not, mostly they will suggest alternatives by changing a few characters like itismyidentity.com or its Identity.co.in.

List of popular and active accredited domain registrars in India:

• GoDaddy
• Hostinger
• Network Solutions
• HostPapa
• Squarespace

Domain Registration Process

1. Register yourself with one of the domain registrars
2. Search for your domain name and ensure it is available
3. .com and .biz kind of extensions are costly; look for .co.in or .net, which are less in demand to get for the best price
4. Finalize the Domain along with the extension that you would like to purchase. Generally, it is good to take two years for one Year if you are sure else, and you can always renew for more at the end of the initial tenure.
5. After the purchase, you will get a summary of your purchase and details of the Domain registered.

Services with Personal Domain

You can host different services with the personal Domain. Some of the services that you can easily host are:

1. Personal Email Domain – like yourname@itsmyidentity.co.in
2. Personal Blog or Website – like www.itsmyidentity.co.in or blog.itsmyidentity.co.in
3. Personal E-Commerce Store – like store.itsmyidentity.co.in

So, it is like you have a company name; now, you need a small office to run your services and an address so that people know where to reach you. Similarly, you need to set up office space and its address to have your email domain and mailbox with a personal email address. You need two things to achieve: Email Hosting Space and Internet Addresses.

You will have enough guidance and documentation with these Email Hosting Space providers to help you to configure your Domain and enable the required services. If you need some help, do drop me a comment, and we can work it out together to enable the services for you. Multiple service providers can help you host your email hosting space and enable the configuration of required Internet addresses so that your domain and email address are reachable for the rest of the world.

Email Hosting Space Providers:

• Microsoft 365
• Google Workspace
• Zoho Mail

I started my personal email domain and email hosting with Google Workspace (which had a free tier, to begin with), and they have scrapped that plan later. I have evaluated Zoho Mail before realizing the benefits and plethora of services that we get with the Microsoft 365 Busines Basic plan for a similar price range. I will help you cut down all the evaluations you may want to do and recommend Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan for your personal or business requirement.

To prove my mettle and understanding of these services, I have been using personal Domain for more than 15 years now and own five different Domains hosted on M365 Business Basic subscription.

Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Bring your ideas to life and connect with others using powerful collaboration, chat, and videoconferencing tools. Communicate with professional email and help keep your personal or business data safe with online storage.  Let’s dwell on the various features you would get along with your subscription plan.

• Email and Calendaring
  • Email hosting with 50 GB mailbox
  • Use your custom domain name (e.g., yourname@yourcompany.com)
  • Business-class email on mobile devices, tablets, desktops, and the web with Exchange
  • Manage your calendar, share available meeting times, schedule meetings, and get reminders
  • Schedule meetings and respond to invitations with ease using shared calendars
  • Set up new user emails, restore deleted accounts, create custom scripts, and more from anywhere
• Web and mobile versions of Office apps
  • Web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote
  • Always up-to-date versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for iOS and Android on up to 5 mobile devices and five tablets
  • Real-time co-authoring so multiple users can work in the same document, simultaneously
• Teamwork and communication
  • Host online meetings and video calls for up to 300 people with Microsoft Teams
  • Chat with your team from your desktop or on the go with Microsoft Teams
  • Bring together all your team’s chats, meetings, files, and apps so you can easily connect and collaborate from one place with Microsoft Teams
  • Create team sites to share information, content, and files throughout your intranet using SharePoint
• File Storage and Sharing
  • 1 TB of OneDrive storage for file storage and sharing
  • Work on a file and save it directly to OneDrive or SharePoint; your changes are updated across your synced devices
  • Share files with external contacts by providing access or guest links
  • Securely share documents and send emails so only those with the correct permissions can access the information
  • Access and sync files on PC or Mac and mobile devices
• Security and Compliance
  • Protect your email against spam, malware, and known threats with Exchange Online Protection
  • Meets critical international, regional, and industry-specific standards and terms, with more than 1,000 security and privacy controls
  • Control who and when someone has access to your business information with security groups and custom permissions
  • Create password policies that require users to reset their passwords after a specified number of days.
• Support and Deployment
  • Around the clock phone and online support
  • Have peace of mind with a 99.9% financially backed uptime guarantee
  • The maximum number of users in the subscription is 300
  • Licensed for commercial use
• Tools to build and manage your business
  • Gather feedback from your customers and employees with Microsoft Forms
  • Plan schedules and daily tasks with Microsoft Teams
  • Track information and work that matters most to your team with Microsoft Lists
• Cost per User
  • INR 125 / Month + GST Extra as applicable.
  • You can add up to 300 users.

For one user, the Subscription will cost (12 * INR 125) = INR 1500 per Year (plus taxes). A Google Workspace Business Starter subscription is available for a similar price range. However, it provides only 30 GB of Cloud Storage that includes your Mailbox and Documents storage, and for online meetings, the limit is only 100 users.  You can use Visa or MasterCard Credit and Debit Cards for payments by registering through the Auto-Debit process as per recent RBI Guidelines.

If you have been looking for such requirements, Microsoft 365 Business Basic is the way to go as it is loaded with various services, premium features and is highly economical.

Check out the following links to know more about Microsoft 365 Business Basic:

• For more information and purchase of the subscription: https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-business-basic?activetab=pivot%3aoverviewtab
• For comparison with other Microsoft 365 Business Plans: https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/microsoft-365/business/compare-all-microsoft-365-business-products

As shared in my earlier post on the Microsoft 365 Family Subscription, which is approximately INR 1000 per user per year and another INR 1500 for Microsoft 365 Business Basic Subscription, together it costs INR 2500, which is almost equal to the yearly Netflix Subscription.  Together with both the subscriptions, you get the following benefits:

1. A Premium version of Microsoft Office, which can be used in 5 Devices
2. 1 TB of One Drive from each of the subscriptions, which makes a total of 2TB
3. 50GB Mailbox with a Personal Email Domain
4. Instant Messaging and Collaboration
5. Business Basic supports Commercial usage
6. SharePoint for Team Sites and Portals