The MX Record

We recently conducted a series of surveys to existing and former customers. We anticipated that we would learn more about our customers, how they interact with the product, and then we could shape the product to better meet their needs. While we are seeing this type of result, we also found a common theme in two areas that raised immediate concern for us.

The two areas I am referencing are ANTI-VIRUS and ARCHIVING solutions. Do not stop reading yet! This is not a sales pitch! Rather, this is a just a little educational piece for consideration.

ANTI-VIRUS

According to the survey results, approximately 19.7% of all respondents stated that they do not use any type of anti-virus solution. The majority of people recognize the value in an anti-virus solution. But, for those who choose to not deploy an anti-virus solution, they are exposing their infrastructure to imminent attack. One reason why today’s threats are so worrisome is that many of them can evade the security solutions that SMBs may have in place. That can leave these businesses wide open to data theft and damage to their brand.
Moreover, there is little evidence that these threats are going away anytime soon. According to the latest Symantec Threat Report, attackers released Trojan horses, viruses, and worms (collectively known as “malicious code”) at a record pace in 2008.

Even as recent as yesterday, we read news from ComputerWorldUK.com about an organization paying obscene amounts of money to repair the damage left in the wake of a virus attack on an unprotected system. You would never own a car without locks; leave the keys in the ignition, and a put a giant sign in the windshield that says STEAL ME NOW! In the same way, you should not leave your email server vulnerable to attack.

EMAIL ARCHIVE

According to the survey results, approximately 64.1% of all respondents stated that they do not archive their email. An email archive is a repository generally kept in a non-production environment to provide secure preservation of email for compliance and operational purposes. A “true” email archiving system automatically extracts message contents and attachments from incoming/outgoing emails and after indexing, it stores them in read-only format. This ensures that archived records are maintained in their original state. Generally speaking there are four predominant reasons to archive your email. These are: compliance, litigation support, storage management and knowledge management.

Let’s be honest about this, most SMBs are not required to comply with federal regulations on email storage and retrieval. Most SMBs will also not require eDiscovery for litigation support either. So, the best reason for an SMB to archive email is for storage or knowledge management. But, let’s not forget the fifth reason: easy back-up and retrieval.

Email is the number one business tool in use today. We all say that. But, do we really believe it? If we did then I think we would take the necessary steps to ensure that our email is secure from attack and that it would be easy to retrieve in case of hardware failure. The costs of data retrieval from tape back-up, hardware scrubbing, or manual restoration are excessive. Not to mention, there are innumerable reported instances of overwhelming costs associated with litigation and email retrieval.

Deploying and managing anti-virus and email archive solutions is relatively painless and provides your business piece of mind knowing that its most valuable business tool is not only bulletproof but also completely secure and easy to retrieve.

If you find yourself without either of these solutions I would encourage you to contact one of our account managers at 1-877-488-7341 to discuss solutions for your IMail Server.

One of the great features of most desktop email clients is the capability to set up tasks and reminders.  I use this feature in Outlook all the time to help me stay on track with important business meetings and deadlines.  I even place email pop-up reminders on my work calendar to help me remember personal dates like doctor’s appointments, parent teacher conferences and my boss’ birthday.  But I’ve never thought about how reading my email could keep me ‘fit as a fiddle’.  According to a recent article in Time, the American Journal of Preventative Medicine has just published a study indicating that simple email reminders urging healthy eating and physical activity significantly influence behavior for a healthier lifestyle.   Out of 787 office workers who participated in this study, 351 email recipients chose to receive email reminders for one of three focus areas: boosting physical activity, increasing fruit and vegetable intake or decreasing sugars and saturated fats. Barbara Sternfeld, senior research scientist at Kaiser Permanente and the study’s lead investigator indicates that, “these quick alerts remind your brain of the goals you’ve set for yourself”.  What is interesting is that participants who received the physical activity emails increased their exercise regimen by an hour a week over a 16 week period. The study, conducted by Kaiser Permanente and NutritionQuest and funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also determined that participants who focused on a healthy diet reduced the saturated and trans fats they consumed by more than 1 g a day.

So for someone like me who makes a regular visit to the break room for a morning cup of coffee and a Jumbo Honeybun, a daily reminder to take a brisk walk around the block not only motivates me to get in better shape but it also saves me 75 cents on my dollar. Think about how you can set goals for yourself by using your client’s reminder feature.  Most of us already know what we need to do, but a little reminder never hurts.

Note:  IMail Server fully integrates with Outlook or your favorite desktop client

Summer is finally upon us. If you are anything like me, then you already have your time off scheduled. Whether you are planning a vacation or a little ”staycation”, you most likely will want to let your co-workers and business clients know that you will be unavailable.  Sending out a personal email message to each of your contacts may not be possible, but by setting up an auto-responder you can create an illusion that your away message is being personally sent to all the VIP’s who need to know your whereabouts. What makes an email auto-responder great is once it’s programmed, everything happens automatically.  So for me, that means while I’m away from my computer and enjoying my hard earned relaxation, my business contacts know exactly why I am not responding. Typical auto-responders read something simple like ”I am currently out of the office and I will return on such ‘n such date”.  But recently, I ran across a list of so called Best ‘Out of Office’ Automatic email Replies that make the standard auto-response message seem….well, just a little too usual. 

For instance:

	Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.
	You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn’t have received anything at all.
	Sorry to have missed you but I am at the doctors having my brain removed so that I may be promoted to management.
	I will be unable to delete all the unread emails you send me until I return from vacation on 7/18. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

OK, so maybe these aren’t the best email response examples for your use, but the beauty of the auto response feature is you can set up a custom message that is just right for you.  So, regardless of whether you’ll be hiking the hills, sunning on the seashore or relaxing at home, you can eliminate the need to manually respond to your business email messages while at the same time provide the best care for all your email contacts. So go ahead and enjoy a little time off with some good summertime fun!

*TIP: Set a calendar reminder for yourself for the day you return to the office from your vacation to turn off your auto-responder. The last thing you need after a few days away is to suffer the embarrassment of a co-worker having to remind you, “Dude, you’re not on vacation anymore…turn off your auto-responder.”

IMail now offers customers the option to purchase after hours support for the installation or upgrade of your Ipswitch Messaging products. Customers that do not wish to install the product during regular business hours now have the flexibility of purchasing a support package that entitles you to weekend, early-hours and after-hours assistance.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for installation support, customers must be entitled to technical support.  This means your service agreement must be up-to-date or have a valid warranty.  Installation support will be available to customers through direct purchase only.

Scheduling

The customer will work directly with the Tech Support Manager (TSM) or an assigned representative to arrange a date and time for the installation.  At the discretion of the TSM a minimum amount of notice may be required in order to properly schedule technician availability.  Once a date and time have been agreed upon the Tech Support Manager (or assigned representative) will pass customer to Customer Service to arrange billing.

Billing and Payments

Customers will be required to pre-pay for a minimum of one hour but you can pre-pay for additional time if desired.  The order will be processed 24-48* hours prior to the scheduled call, once the appointment has been confirmed by the technician handling the case.  Any hours exceeding the originally allotted time will be billed to the customer and must be paid within thirty (30) days.

Pricing and Part Numbers