Next Generation Technology
Decreased spam, increased productivity for Next Generation Technology thanks to IMail Server from Ipswitch.
As an IT professional services company in a competitive market, Next Generation Technology, Inc. works hard to rapidly deliver creative enterprise management solutions. The Next Generation Technology team does not have time to waste worrying about its technical infrastructure. Instead of spending time sorting through mountains of spam, maintaining its e-mail server, and installing patches, Next Generation Technology relies on IMail Server so its staff can spend time working on things that matter.
Steven Narro, CIO of Next Generation Technology, explains, “When we’re working on a solution for a customer, we want to deliver it fast, and we want it to be perfect, so we always work late here and don’t want to add to our workload by dealing with spam. That’s why I think IMail Server is such a terrific product. It meets all the requirements that are at the top of everyone’s product evaluation criteria checklist: low cost, low maintenance, and ease of use. I simply do not have the time, or desire, to be concerned about whether business-critical applications are operational; I just want them to work. With IMail, I set it and forget it. It runs day in and day out. We’ve been running IMail since it came out on floppies – more than five years. The only time our IMail Server had to be restarted was during normal system maintenance – never due to application failure. IMail is bulletproof.”
Productivity-draining spam reduced by 95 percent
Like many companies, Next Generation Technology was receiving a flood of spam. The unsolicited e-mail was affecting productivity, sapping computing resources, and in some cases, offending end users. The situation had rapidly progressed from an annoyance to an issue that was impacting the business. Narro recalls, “Everyone in the office here was getting from 80 to 120 spam messages a day, and it was a real problem. Some people were spending 30 minutes or more a day sorting through it. In addition to a significant amount of wasted time and resources, that represents a lot of frustration in the office. When our people were on the road and dialing in to get mail, you can imagine how aggravating it was to download 100 worthless messages in their inbox. In addition to all that, end-user discomfort from explicit e-mail was another huge factor.”
While in a meeting, following another morning of numerous spam deletions, Narro received an e-mail message from Ipswitch Customer Support indicating new anti-spam capabilities had just been incorporated into IMail. Because he had such confidence in Ipswitch and IMail, he left the meeting early to get the update. “I grabbed my laptop left the conference room, downloaded the update, and installed it. All I had to do was stop the IMail Server process, install the patch and start it back up. We had anti-spamming up and running in less than three minutes. And I didn’t even think about whether the update would cause any problems, because every update that I have ever received from Ipswitch was rock solid. After I got the upgrade installed, the amount of spam we received went down to a handful of messages per day. Around the office I was getting all the praise, but it was all Ipswitch.”
The cost of the anti-spam technology was another pleasant surprise for Narro. With a service agreement from Ipswitch, Next Generation Technology receives unlimited support and software upgrades for 12 months. “We got it all at no cost. I am never going to stray from Ipswitch because I know it is not looking to make a quick buck from me; it is just providing great technology and great service.”
Support for multiple domains provides business benefits
IMail Server enables Next Generation Technology to host mail for multiple domains on a single server. These “virtual domains” offer Next Generation Technology a low-cost, low-hassle way to provide a valuable service to its business partners. “We host about 16 virtual domains to provide e-mail service to our partners. Even though we are not providing mail services for paying customers, this service is a benefit to our company. If we have a partner that needs that service, or wants to put up a domain very quickly, we can do that for them. It means a lot to them and it makes our partnership stronger,” Narro points out.
The best part, according to Narro, is that initial setup of the domains is simple, and IMail enables the business partners to manage their own mail thereafter. “Even if I am on the road and I get a call from someone who wants e-mail service for a domain, it is no big deal. I can do it from anywhere in the world in about five minutes. And everything is completely seamless -- it works well with everything we have integrated here behind our firewall. Once the domain is set up, the partner can maintain it and set custom spam filters using Web access. They have full access to configure their domain and accounts via the Web, so I don’t have to be involved.”
There’s more: Speedier file transfers with Ipswitch’s WS_FTP Pro
IMail Server is not the only Ipswitch solution that Next Generation Technology is using to boost productivity. The company’s engineers also use WS_FTP Pro to simplify and speed file transfers. “We support a number of vendors, and we frequently need to transfer files to or from them. Our engineers use WS_FTP Pro. It is very convenient to not have to do anything by the command line. We already have a list of our hosts all pre-configured. So you point, you click; you drag, you drop. It cuts down a lot on our engineering time. It’s all Windows-based so our engineers can work seamlessly. WS_FTP Pro is a great solution for anyone who has to do a lot of file transfer – including Web site updates,” says Narro.
High reliability, low cost of ownership delivers a winning combination
Narro reports that he and his colleagues leverage many of the features of IMail Server including Web Messaging, Web Calendaring, and List Servers. He adds that the combination of high-reliability and low cost of ownership in a full-featured e-mail solution makes IMail an ideal choice for many organizations. Narro concludes, “If someone is having trouble with their mail, and they do not evaluate IMail as a solution for their enterprise mail offering, then they are doing their users and their business a disservice. It is a great product and very cost effective. If they really want to do right by their company and by their coworkers, they should really look at IMail. They won’t go wrong.”