Study & Research Centre
As more and more e-mail users demand access to their messages from multiple locations, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are having to provide solutions that not only deal with the day-to-day management of multiple mail accounts and users, but also offer the flexibility of remote mail (and folder) access.
The Study & Research Centre (SRC), a leading ISP and software retailer based in Venice, was one of the first Italian ISPs to realize the advantages of remotely accessible e-mail accounts and their importance to the growth of the ISP and e-mail markets. When it needed an NT-based e-mail server that could provide the same levels of service as its existing servers, while offering customers the flexibility of remotely accessible accounts, SRC chose IMail Server 5.0 from Ipswitch Inc.
"The customizable Web mail interface and unrivalled levels of Web access, account administration and security enhancements mean that IMail Server5.00 is the ideal messaging solution for ISPs (Internet Service Providers)," explained Francesco Zadro, spokesperson for the SRC.
"It is easy to install and administer, and from a user’s point of view, IMail’s new features narrow the gap between Web-based e-mail and desktop clients. Users can now easily manipulate existing messages and folders from the Internet."
"We use IMail to service 800 e-mail users across 10 domains as well as for 10 accounts that are outsourced from other companies and organizations. We had to search long and hard for an NT-based e-mail server that offers IMAP4 support," said Zadro.
IMAP4 (Internet Message Access Protocol ver4) allows clients to access mail and folders on a server from any location, and with more and more users requiring access to their mail from multiple computers, it is rapidly becoming a mandatory feature for Internet-standards-based e-mail servers.
By incorporating IMAP4 support, IMail provides users with the added flexibility of accessing their mail anytime, anywhere. Whether in the office, at home or on the road, users can refer to messages in all of their folders regardless of when or where they were originally read or saved.
SRC has been using IMail for one and a half years and currently administers 20 per cent of its accounts using the software.
"The Web mail and remote configuration are two major benefits of the new release," explained Zadro. "But there are many more features which made IMail the right choice for SRC."
These include:
Online Advertising – Advertising is displayed the entire time end users are reading their mail via the browser interface. Ads are displayed at the top of the screen and consist of HTML text and/or graphics, including hyperlinks. Multiple ads are supported on a time-sharing basis and IMail will cycle through up to 1,000 ads, changing the displayed ad every 30 seconds.
IMail User Database – IMail User Manager allows system administrators to create and maintain user mail accounts. User accounts are stored in the registry.
ODBC Databases –Now that IMail supports ODBC (open database connectivity), using an external database for mail accounts is a simple process. Accounts are automatically updated whenever there is a change in the user database, which saves times.
Windows NT Databases – IMail Server provides the option of using the Windows NT user database or a specified subset. This option is available for each virtual host. When selected, IMail Server creates a user mail account the first time a registered NT user receives mail or accesses his or her mailbox through a POP3 client.
Advanced Anti-spamming Features – Administrators can limit the number of messages a user can send each day. In addition, IMail can now authenticate remote users’ names and passwords before authorizing them to relay mail through IMail Server.
Security Features – IMail Server supports the Internet standards for secure transmission of passwords used by the most popular clients, including Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Communicator, Palladin, and Eudora.
LDAP Support – LDAP (or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) has become another popular feature for standards-based mail servers and is more appropriate for many of today’s applications — on both the client and server sides — since it makes fewer demands on system resources. IMail allows users of LDAP-enabled clients such as Netscape’s Communicator to locate LDAP directory information that may include name, phone number, e-mail address, organization, department, and address.
IMail List Server – The IMail List Server enables users to create mailing lists and no-maintenance discussion groups where individual users can exchange information and ideas.
Return Receipt – IMail’s SMTP server has been enhanced to support delivery notifications on return receipts. This is a very useful feature for confirming delivery of important e-mail messages.
