MaxiCloud is built on JMAP, a protocol standardised by the IETF (RFC 8620 and 8621) and designed to replace IMAP. That technical choice explains how responsive your mailbox feels — and why we present it as a serious alternative to Microsoft Exchange.
The problem with IMAP
IMAP dates from 1986. It was designed for a desktop machine permanently wired to the network, at a time when you read your mail on a single computer.
Opening a mailbox over IMAP means a conversation in several round trips: select a folder, request the message list, request the headers, request the bodies. Each exchange waits for the previous reply. Over fibre this goes unnoticed. On a mobile network, where every round trip costs tens of milliseconds, it adds up visibly — the familiar wait when opening your mail app on the train.
What JMAP does
JMAP bundles several operations into a single request. Where IMAP chained ten exchanges, JMAP makes one. More importantly, it works by state: the client says “here is the state I know”, and the server replies “here is what has changed since”. There is no longer any need to walk the mailbox to discover what is new.
Three consequences you notice in daily use:
- Synchronisation is immediate. A message read on your phone shows as read on your computer with no delay and no manual refresh.
- Startup is fast, even on a mailbox holding years of archives.
- Data and battery use drop on mobile, since there are fewer exchanges and less unnecessary data transferred.
The comparison with Exchange
Microsoft Exchange solves the same problems, but with a proprietary protocol. It works well — at the cost of depending on a single vendor, a markedly higher price per mailbox, and data hosted outside Switzerland.
JMAP achieves a comparable result with an open standard. In practical terms:
| Exchange | MaxiCloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Protocol | Proprietary | Open standard (IETF) |
| Synchronisation | Instant | Instant |
| Hosting | Outside Switzerland | Switzerland, Swiss law |
| Multiple domains | Often charged | Unlimited, no surcharge |
| Ability to leave | Difficult | Your data stays exportable |
That last point is the least visible and the most important: an open standard means you can leave. We would rather keep you because the service suits you, not because leaving would be too expensive.
Do you have to change your habits?
No. JMAP powers our webmail and mobile app, but IMAP, SMTP and POP3 remain available. Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird or eM Client keep working exactly as before.
You get the full benefit of JMAP by using the MaxiCloud webmail or the mobile app; with a traditional client you get the classic IMAP behaviour. Both coexist on the same mailbox, with no special configuration.
Further reading
The specifications are public: RFC 8620 describes the protocol, RFC 8621 its application to email.