Email is a crucial component of everyday business for workers at
companies of all sizes. As a result, IT professionals at small and
medium-sized businesses must deal with a number of tasks, including
archiving email to meet compliance and regulation needs, fighting
spam and blocking malicious content. Check out the latest news,
tips and other email resources -- specifically geared toward small
and medium-sized businesses -- to help you make informed
decisions.
For free advice and resources on more IT and business topics,
visit our list of
SMB IT Management Guides.
Table of contents
Email
security buying decisions
Despite
filters, spam continues to wage war on businesses
RSS
eases email burden
Email
upgrades are more than messaging
Email
etiquette policies: Big savings and productivity
More
resources
[Joel Dubin, CISSP, Contributor]There are many ways to protect email, and to send and receive it
securely. But for a cash-strapped SMB with little or no dedicated
information security staff, there are three approaches:
These approaches can be handled with your existing staff,
require no new specialized skills or training and are easy to
implement. They also don't require someone on staff 24/7, usually a
luxury for thin IT departments at SMBs; they can be set up to page
someone on call instead of a night crew.
Learn more in "
Email security buying decisions." Also:
-
Email encryption: Five steps to success (SearchSMB.com)
Email encryption is no longer the complex mystery it once was for
SMBs. To demystify it, follow these five simple steps. -
The role of firewalls and VPNs in email security
(SearchSecurityChannel.com)
A guide to understanding how VPNs and firewalls combine to increase
email security, tailored to issues facing consultants and systems
integrators working to secure their customers' email
systems.
[Shamus McGillicuddy, News Writer]Email inboxes full of spam are costing companies money and
driving employees crazy.
Nucleus Research Inc., a Wellesley, Mass.-based firm, found that
U.S. companies are losing $71 billion annually to lost productivity
caused by spam.
The findings were based on a Nucleus
Research survey of 849 business users of email. Users reported
that they spend 1.2% of their time dealing with spam in their
inboxes.
Find out more in "
Despite filters, spam continues to wage war on businesses."
Also:
-
Combating image-based spam (SearchSMB.com)
Spammers are a sneaky lot, and their latest innovation, image-based
spam, presents yet another security and management concern for
SMBs. This tip explains the dangers of image-based spam and what
you can do to combat it. -
Firm thwarts spam with multilayered shield
(SearchSMB.com)
A medium-sized law firm blends internal and hosted technology to
choke the flow of spam and emailed viruses.
[Paul Gillin, Contributor]If you're an IT professional, chances are good that email is a
big part of your everyday routine. Whether it's email
administration, daily communication or project management, email is
a technology you can't live without.
But email is terrible for project management. If you've ever
used it on a project with more than a few participants, you know
what I mean. Have you ever been caught in one of those volleys in
which two people have a conversation while 10 others are copied on
every exchange, just because they happen to be on a mailing
list?
Email is a great way for two or three people to get something
done, but it's a lousy way for five people or more to collaborate.
Unfortunately, people tend to use the tools they've got. They force
email to work in collaborative applications, even though it was
never intended for that.
Learn more in "
RSS eases email burden." Also:
- Sold on Web 2.0 (CIO Decisions)
Midmarket CIOs are finding that Web 2.0 offers a host of e-commerce
tools to engage customers, improve product lines and bring greater
alignment between IT and the business. Four CIOs tell us how. - How can attackers exploit RSS software
flaws? (SearchSecurity.com)
RSS syndication feeds are a convenient way to get your news, blogs
or other favorite content, but these popular tools are often left
exposed. In this SearchSecurity.com Q&A, Ed Skoudis explains
how malicious hackers can attack RSS software and distribute
malicious code.
[Carol Hildebrand, Contributor]Email is unquestionably a critical communications tool for the
vast majority of SMBs. The total market of SMB users was 243
million individuals in 2006 and is projected to reach 278 million
seats in 2009, according to Osterman Research Inc. in Black
Diamond, Wash. Upgrading your existing email suite, then, should be
a top priority. And when the time comes, there are a number of
evaluation criteria to consider.
First, SMB CIOs need to consider more than just the messaging
medium when weighing upgrade options, said Erica Driver, principal
analyst at Forrester Research Inc. in Boston. "The discussion is no
longer about just email; it's an entire collaboration platform,"
she said.
Vendors such as Microsoft and IBM have put together
communication suites that include not just email, but instant
messaging, social networking and collaboration tools as well.
"Email is the commodity product of the suite, but the CIO needs to
look at the application strategy of the entire suite," Drive
said.
Find out more in "
Email upgrades are more than messaging." Also:
[Tom Pisello, Contributor]Email has become one of the most important communication and
collaboration tools for businesses. Email volume has doubled during
the past five years to more than 40 billion person-to-person emails
daily, according to Framingham, Mass.-based research firm IDC.
Moreover, the volume is expected to continue to at least 18% every
year for the next five years.
For the average email user, more than 30% of a given day is
spent creating, organizing, reading and responding to email. This
contributes to information overload, which hinders corporate
productivity and competitive advantage. Thus, users are becoming
more dissatisfied with mail as a productivity tool.
Spam is another issue. It comprises 20% of total email volume in
organizations without proper protection in place. Although spam
does not take long to process, typical users waste about 10 minutes
reading and/or deleting these emails each day, costing
organizations approximately $1,250 per user in lost productivity
each year.
Learn more in "
Email etiquette policies: Big savings and productivity."
Also:
- Managing mobile computing policies
(SearchCIO.com)
Many organizations rely heavily on mobile workers, such as sales
and technical support staff members who bring in revenue and keep
customers satisfied. According to industry experts, the first step
in mobile computing success is to create and maintain formal mobile
policies and support. - Messaging techniques spawn new security
policies (SearchSecurity.com)
Gartner IT Security Summit: As people use a growing variety of
messaging programs in the workplace, companies are being forced to
create new policies to minimize crossover threats.