Why a business runs email on its own domain
A free address works for one person. It stops working the moment a second person needs the same brand, a staff member leaves, or a customer asks whether the message is genuinely from you. Email on your own domain solves those problems structurally:
- Ownership. Mailboxes belong to the organisation. When someone leaves, the address is reassigned or forwarded; nothing walks out the door.
- Trust. Banks, suppliers and tender committees look at the domain. Mail from a company domain that passes SPF, DKIM and DMARC is far harder to spoof than a free address.
- Portability. Because the address is tied to the domain, not the provider, you can move hosts by changing an MX record.
- Role addresses. sales@, accounts@ and support@ can be shared mailboxes or a catch-all rather than one person's inbox.
What ontechmail includes
ontechmail is the business email service built by Ontech Solutions in Lusaka. Every mailbox is the same mailbox whichever way you open it: read something in the OMail app and it is read in webmail and in Outlook.
Webmail
Threaded conversations, full-text search with operators, a rich-text composer with attachments, folders, rules, templates, signatures, scheduled send and an undo window.
Any mail client
IMAP on port 993 and authenticated SMTP on 465 or 587, plus autoconfig and autodiscover so Outlook, Apple Mail and Thunderbird set themselves up.
OMail mobile app
Android and iPhone apps with QR sign-in from webmail, push for new mail, search and attachments. Get the app.
Deliverability built in
Each domain gets its own DKIM key; every message is signed and aligned with the SPF and DMARC records the dashboard gives you.
Security
TLS on every connection, two-factor authentication, bcrypt-hashed passwords, spam scoring on delivery and sandboxed rendering of HTML mail. See email security.
Automation
A REST API for sending and reading mail, inbound rules applied by the mail server itself, and open, click and download tracking for outbound campaigns.
How setup works
- Sign up with your domain. Enter the domain and an admin address. ontechmail creates the workspace, a catch-all mailbox and the domain's DKIM key immediately.
- Publish four DNS records. The dashboard shows the exact MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records with copy buttons and registrar-specific instructions. If you host DNS on ontechmail, they are seeded for you.
- Go live. The platform re-checks DNS and switches the domain on as soon as the MX record points at it. Add mailboxes, connect your clients, and send.
The full walkthrough is on the email on your own domain page.
Plans
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Free | 1 domain, up to 3 mailboxes plus a catch-all, webmail, IMAP, SMTP, REST API, DKIM-signed sending |
| Business | On request | Multiple domains, more mailboxes and storage, rules, templates and signatures, per-domain dedicated relay, priority support |
| Enterprise | On request | Unlimited domains and mailboxes, dedicated sending IP, SSO and provisioning API, SLA and onboarding, hosted or self-hosted |
Business and Enterprise pricing is quoted by the Ontech team; write to info@ontech.co.zm.
Hosted in Zambia, or on your own servers
The hosted service runs on infrastructure operated by Ontech in Zambia, which keeps your mail under local jurisdiction and your webmail traffic on regional networks. Organisations with stricter requirements, such as regulators, financial institutions and government bodies, can deploy the same platform self-hosted, including air-gapped. Either way the data, the backups and the signing keys are yours; the data sovereignty page explains what that does and does not mean for compliance.
Moving from another provider
Switching does not interrupt mail. Create your workspace and mailboxes first, connect your clients, and only then change the MX record at your registrar. Mail keeps arriving at the old host until the change propagates, and Ontech can import existing mailboxes over IMAP so history comes across too.
Frequently asked questions
What is business email?
Business email is email sent from an address on a domain your organisation owns, such as you@yourcompany.co.zm, rather than a free public address. It is hosted by a mail provider, works in webmail and desktop or mobile clients, and carries your brand on every message.
Do I need to buy a mail server to get business email?
No. With hosted business email the provider runs the mail servers. You keep ownership of the domain, point its MX record at the provider, and manage mailboxes from a dashboard. ontechmail provisions the mailboxes, DKIM key and DNS records for you.
Can I use Outlook, Apple Mail or Thunderbird with ontechmail?
Yes. Every mailbox works over IMAP (port 993) for reading and authenticated SMTP submission (port 465 or 587) for sending, and ontechmail publishes autoconfig and autodiscover files so most clients set themselves up from just the address and password.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. The Starter plan is free and includes one domain, up to three mailboxes plus a catch-all, webmail, IMAP and the REST API. Larger teams move to the Business or Enterprise plans, which are priced on request.