One of the main advantages of IMAP is that it makes your e-mail easily accessible from multiple locations and computers. Create mailboxes and file messages into them. Move messages from one mailbox to another.
POP is another standard set of rules for storing and accessing e-mail on a post office server.
POP is simpler than IMAP because you can only store and download messages from a server. IMAP allows you to do more with e-mail directly on a server such as reading and responding to messages. Over the past few years, MIT e-mail users' needs have expanded. Many people need to access e-mail regularly from multiple locations such as at work and at home or while traveling. Yes, IMAP is an alternative to POP rather than a replacement for it.