In short: Hornet.email is Hornetsecurity's hosted email service: secure mailboxes with calendar, address book and tasks on your own domain, either alongside Microsoft 365 or on its own. It suits staff who need email but not a full Microsoft 365 licence. It comes as Starter and Enterprise packages, and existing Hornetsecurity customers can use the Add-On to add mailboxes.
What Hornet.email is
Not everyone who needs a company email address needs Microsoft 365. Consultants, freelancers, interns, warehouse and production staff often only send and receive mail, yet a full Microsoft 365 licence for each of them adds up. Hornet.email gives these people a secure mailbox on your own domain, hosted on Hornetsecurity's servers, while the rest of your organisation stays on Microsoft 365.
Mailboxes include calendar, address book and tasks, and every Hornet.email mailbox gets the same filtering as Hornetsecurity's other services. One domain can therefore be split between Microsoft 365 and Hornet.email without lowering your security standard.
Packages compared
| Package | Who it is for | Security included |
|---|---|---|
| Hornet.email Starter | Organisations wanting simple hosted mailboxes | Spam and Malware Protection |
| Hornet.email Enterprise | Organisations needing targeted-threat protection and compliance | Spam and Malware Protection, Advanced Threat Protection, Email Encryption, Email Archiving |
| Hornet.email Add-On | Existing Hornetsecurity customers adding extra mailboxes | The same protection your current mailboxes already have |
Hornet.email can be combined with Microsoft 365 on your existing domain or used as a standalone email platform.
How it is licensed
Hornet.email is bought by the number of mailboxes you need, in the package that matches the protection you want. With the Add-On, existing Hornetsecurity customers can add as many mailboxes as they need, which makes it practical for seasonal and contract staff.
Compared with buying Microsoft 365 for these users, the saving depends on which Microsoft plan you would otherwise need. Microsoft 365 licences are supplied by Forever Group's Microsoft licensing team, not on this site, so we can compare both properly. Ask us for a quote.
Features, access and requirements
- Access anywhere: web interface, native mail clients and Outlook on current Windows, Mac and Linux PCs, plus iOS and Android devices, with support for CalDAV, CardDAV and iCal calendar and contact formats.
- Allow and deny lists maintained by authorised users from the control panel or quarantine report.
- Daily mailbox backup, kept for 14 days.
- TLS encryption of mail in transit where the other side supports it.
- Compliance filter and attachment content filter, with size limits.
Availability commitments for SMTP, the Hornet.email interfaces and the web interface are set out in Hornetsecurity's service documentation, which we can provide with your quote. You need control of your domain's DNS so mail for Hornet.email users can be routed correctly alongside Microsoft 365.
Who it suits and how we help
Hornet.email suits organisations with frontline or temporary workers, project-based contractors and volunteers who need a professional address and calendar but not Teams, SharePoint or desktop Office. For staff who are out of the office when your main mail service fails, also consider the Email Continuity Service.
Hornet.email is not a replacement for Microsoft 365 for knowledge workers who collaborate in Teams, SharePoint and Office every day; it is a way of avoiding paying for those tools for people who will never use them.
We plan how your domain is shared between Microsoft 365 and Hornet.email, set up routing and mailboxes, migrate existing mail where needed, and adjust the mailbox count each month as your staffing changes. Ask us for a quote that compares the options side by side.
How Forever Systems supplies your software licences
Forever Systems Ltd supplies business software subscriptions to UK organisations from one account, with one monthly invoice and a UK team who know the products.
- The right edition first time: we check what you need before you buy, so you are not paying for features you will never use
- Monthly or annual terms where the vendor offers them, and help timing renewals and commitments
- Licence changes handled for you: add or remove users, upgrade editions and true-up without starting a new contract
- Deployment and support from engineers who run these products every day, not just a reseller account
- Consolidated billing and renewal reminders so nothing lapses unexpectedly
We work with businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations of all sizes.
Need a licence quote or a second opinion on your renewal?
Tell Forever Systems what you need and we will come back to you by email with options, not a hard sell.
Contact usFrequently asked questions
What is Hornet.email?
Hornet.email is Hornetsecurity's hosted email service: secure mailboxes with calendar, address book and tasks on your own domain, which can run alongside Microsoft 365 for staff who do not need a full Microsoft licence.
Can Hornet.email and Microsoft 365 use the same domain?
Yes. Hornet.email can be combined with Microsoft 365 within your existing domain, so some users are on Microsoft 365 and others on Hornet.email. It can also be used on its own.
Are Hornet.email mailboxes backed up?
Each mailbox is backed up once a day and the backup is kept for 14 days. That covers accidental deletion within a short window; for long-term retention, the Enterprise package includes Email Archiving.
What is the difference between Hornet.email Starter and Enterprise?
Starter includes Spam and Malware Protection. Enterprise adds Advanced Threat Protection, Email Encryption and Email Archiving.