Lost email means lost business for a third of companies

Over a third of companies have lost business because of an email not getting through, according to a study by consulting firm Brockmann & Company.

The 475 business users surveyed reported an average of 11.2 spam messages in their inboxes every day. But the battle to keep spam out is relegating wanted email into the junk mail folder, leading to lost business and resent requests which delay business processes, said the author of the report, Peter Brockmann.

"The cure is often worse than the disease: 36 per cent of respondents reported that their company had lost business as a result of an email not getting through," he said in a statement.

Despite the frustrations, those surveyed said email was 50 per cent more important than mobile voice and twice as important as desktop voice calls.

"Although email is very important to business, it is not a very satisfying experience," said Brockmann.