BB Geeks » Small Business Issues

Microsoft deems Exchange My Mail gold certified

Joe — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:53:54 +0000

Exchange My Mail, a hosted Exchange solution, has announced that they have obtained Gold Certified Partner status from Microsoft. This milestone for the company means that they have shown the software conglomerate that they are experts with Microsoft technologies.

To do this, they had to demonstrate proficiency in Microsoft Competencies. Exchange My Mail has passed for Advanced Infrastructure Solutions and Network Infrastructure Solutions.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Microsoft deems Exchange My Mail gold certified

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Microsoft deems Exchange My Mail gold certified

Verizon offering BlackBerry Professional Software

Joe — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:27:03 +0000

Small businesses who run their Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Domino servers in-house are being offered a BlackBerry Enterprise solution through Verizon wireless. The nation’s No. 2 wireless carrier has announced that they will offer BlackBerry Professional Software, which will allow small and medium sized businesses to handle their BlackBerry operations without having to outsource.

“Our small business customers now have a mobility solution that allows user-friendly wireless access to e-mail, calendar, Internet, and intranet applications with advanced security,” said Rob Miller, vice president — marketing for Verizon Wireless. “BlackBerry Professional Software from Verizon Wireless addresses the needs of small businesses for an in-house solution that is affordable, simple to install and easy to manage.”

Employees would gain synchronized access to email, calendars, contacts, notes, tasks, and all the other software and service you’d expect from a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. It provides access for up to 30 users. And it offers “enterprise-grade security,” which will let many IT professionals rest a bit easier.

Verizon Wireless is offering the software for $549.99 for up to five users, and $849.00 for up to 10 users. Additional users will require the purchase of a Client Access License.

You can download the software at www.blackberry.com/go/professionaldownload. It’s technically a free download, though you’ll have to sign up for the service to actually use it.

[CNN Money]

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Verizon offering BlackBerry Professional Software

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Verizon offering BlackBerry Professional Software

BlackBerry gets better for small business

Joe — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:11:04 +0000

If a small business wanted to go BlackBerry, their choices were limited. They could either outsource the job, or buy separate server computers. The latter wasn’t too attractive, since the servers would cost too much for the return they’d provide. Outsourcing has its own set of problems, especially if the company already handles their e-mail in-house. Research In Motion is giving them a third option, though. Now small businesses can purchase software that integrates BlackBerrys with corporate e-mail systems.

The program can accommodate as many as 30 workers, Co-Chief Executive Officer James Balsillie said in an interview last week. Before this, companies that used the BlackBerry had to buy separate server computers, an investment too large and complicated for most small businesses, he said.

Balsillie is targeting small companies because that market is growing faster than sales to larger corporate customers. Small businesses and consumers accounted for more than half new North American subscribers for the first time last quarter. The software also allows the company to compete on another front with Palm Inc., which caters to smaller businesses.

The opening bid for the software is $499, depending on optional features. The kicker: RIM is giving away the $499 version to a business that buys five new BlackBerrys. So this is really a perfect situation for a small business looking to give its employees PDAs.

[Bloomberg]

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

BlackBerry gets better for small business

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

BlackBerry gets better for small business

About Spam Protection for Hosted Exchange Servers

Joe — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:52:12 +0000

Weâ€™ve all gotten the unwanted emails before â€“ â€œVisit our casino!â€ â€œIncrease your size!â€ â€œBuy prescriptions for less!â€ These types of emails are incredibly annoying, but not only that, they can also be incredibly dangerous, especially if theyâ€™re hitting a business mail server. Unwanted, advertorial email is called spam, and most junk mail filters are set to catch a lot of it.

However, spammers are getting smarter, and theyâ€™re finding ways to get around standard protection in Microsoft Exchange hosted servers. The good thing is, most Exchange providers give you protection with your service; the question is, however, how well does it work?

To understand the difference in levels of spam protection, youâ€™ve first got to understand the way spam works. People who work for companies that produce spam attack computers using keywords, emailing lists, both solicited and unsolicited (from mailing lists and newsgroups), and search engines. For businesses, any â€œContact Usâ€ email addresses are subject to spammers. As well, a new practice called â€œphishingâ€ is making the online rounds, and can be a huge source for spammers.

Luckily, BlackBerry Exchange hosting providers realize this and they provide protection with their plans. However, what are you really getting with spam protection? How do you set it up so that important emails arenâ€™t being diverted into the junk filter? What are the best anti-spam companies, and who uses them?

When you sign up for an Exchange account with most companies, theyâ€™ll tell you that youâ€™ve got basic anti-spam protection included with your plan. What this means is that the filter will catch most of the obvious junk mail, but may let innocent-looking messages through. Because Microsoft Exchange provides spam protection as well, this is often enough for most companies.

However, for those businesses who want to filter their messages in a more thorough fashion, you can play with the settings with basic spam protection, either only through Microsoft Exchange or through both Exchange and the company itself. You should be able to block messages by keyword, full email address and email company. However, there are pros and cons to this. Some settings may include adjusting the keywords to catch words like â€œViagraâ€ or â€œCialisâ€; but be warned, this may mean that any email containing your targeted keywords will bounce into your junk mail filter. When you have an email with the word â€œspecialistâ€ in it and you have â€œCialisâ€ marked as junk, that important message may never reach your inbox.

You can also choose to block addresses or address endings, like â€œViagra.comâ€, but beware that if you block a spammer with a well-known email provider, you wonâ€™t get any messages from contacts at â€œyahoo.comâ€ either. Also, spammers are getting smarter â€“ they may send you emails with the subject word spelled with numbers or having two letters inverted. These can and will get past your filter.

If that level of protection isnâ€™t enough for your users, you can choose, with many Exchange providers, to purchase a security package that includes either their own brand of spam protection or a third-party provider that must be installed onto your servers. The good thing is, your email is much more protected and supported; the bad thing is, it costs more money and some Exchange plans are expensive enough to begin with.

Luckily, the cost is normally not high â€“ our research has shown that most security packs have a monthly fee of under $2. The best thing do when you see these security packages being offered is to email the provider about whatâ€™s included. Mostly, youâ€™re going to get anti-virus protection, anti-spam protection, and sometimes extra firewall protection. Youâ€™re also going to get a lot more control over your email settings, like you would with any third-party spam blocker.

You should be looking for good email protocol, including white lists (people that you allow to send email to your company), header checking (the ability to examine Internet headers in Outlook and determining characteristics common to spam mail), algorithms that determine spam email (they analyze ingoing and outgoing email for common spammer characteristics, and then filter them out), and phishing filtering, to name a few.

So, what kind of provider is your Exchange hosting company going with? The best way to find out is to ask. If the service is their own security software, ask them for a demo or for a trial period to try it out. Most will provide a trial period with their Exchange plans, anyway.

Also check the site for any testimonials to tell you how well the product works. If the company is going through a third-party provider, find out which one theyâ€™re going with and then do some research on it. Great Exchange spam protectors include:

1. Postini (http://www.postini.com) â€“ a provider of anti-spam and anti-virus protection, this company is highly rated by many Exchange companies. Itâ€™s a constant solution thatâ€™s completely hosted, and doesnâ€™t need software updating or maintaining.

2. GFI Mail Essentials (http://www.gfi.com) â€“ this solution provides excellent spam protection, including image, .zip and .pdf spam. You also get 98% protection with Bayesian filters, which are algorithms set up to catch the majority of spam email.

3. McAfee Spam Killer for Mail Servers (http://mcafeesecurity.com) â€“ a well-known name in the industry, McAfeeâ€™s spam solution provides rules-based scanning, black and white lists, content filtering, a spam scoring system, and more.

4. SurfControl Email Filter (http://www.surfcontrol.com) â€“ this system allows you to manage your spam and junk mail while protecting your companies information. It also includes virus scanning, protection against phishing attacks, and more. It works as a plug-in to Microsoft Exchange.

5. Cloudmark Exchange Edition (http://www.cloudmark.com/) â€“ a highly-rated company in the industry. Cloudmark offers blockage of 98% of spam through filtering and false criticals. They also give automatic updates so that your service is not interrupted.

Whatever you choose, spam protection is not something to ignore. Your email and data is important â€“ the last thing you need is a system crash initiated by a spammer with nothing better to do. Make sure youâ€™re protected by doing your research on spam.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

About Spam Protection for Hosted Exchange Servers

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

About Spam Protection for Hosted Exchange Servers

Verizon releases new security measures

Joe — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 15:00:55 +0000

When you’re using a BlackBerry enterprise server, there are always security risks. Software has been developed to minimized the infiltration of a server, but hackers are working ’round the clock to beat these systems. Yesterday, Verizon announced their own measures of security: Verizon Wireless Private Network (VWPN — which plays on VPN, which is Virtual Private Network). These private networks will “create the secure tunnels between the mobile device and home office.” So not only does it benefit big businesses (who already have security measures), but it benefits lone BlackBerry users who sync the device with their home computers.

“Private Network takes our enterprise customers’ ability to communicate over a secure network to the next level by recognizing their wireless devices on the network — no matter where on the network their employees or their devices are located,” said Rob Miller, VP of marketing for Verizon Wireless, in a prepared statement. “The Verizon Wireless Private Network gives customers the management tool they need to run their businesses for optimum efficiency and security.”

Now, the service ain’t cheap; it’s $500 to set up. But it seems completely worth it. For anyone who handles sensitive information that syncs with both their BlackBerry and their home computer, a VPN — or VWPN — is becoming an essential tool.

[Information Week]

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Verizon releases new security measures

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Verizon releases new security measures

BlackBerry gives you 25 hours in a day

Joe — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:13:17 +0000

Okay, so maybe that’s not entirely true — though we would worship a device that would slow our orbit around the sun. According to research by Research In Motion, the convenience of a BlackBerry can add an hour of productive time to a person’s schedule. This covers travel times, and times where you just can’t think of what to do next. With the BlackBerry, there’s always something to do, and you can do it anywhere.

Some other interesting numbers were posited in this study. They say that team efficiency is boosted by 38 percent, but we’re not sure exactly what team efficiency is, nor how it is measured. Our only guess is that it relates to the efficiency of ongoing team projects. Once again, we’re not sure if this means they take less time or are of a higher quality.

The research also says that BlackBerry users save their companies an average of $5,000 per year. This takes the salary of a BlackBerry user and figures in the downtime saved — which is 250 hours per year. So while companies may spend loads on IT and maintenance on their BlackBerry systems, they do have some kind of return.

Finally, a savings of $230 per user is estimated for using BlackBerry to access e-mail remotely, as opposed to other methods of doing so.

We dig this kind of research, but considering it was conducted by the BlackBerry’s founder, we’re not so sure everything is completely objective. Still, the overall message is clear: you’ll get more done by using your BlackBerry. Now, if we could just find the “off” button once in a while…

[Tech.co.uk]

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

BlackBerry gives you 25 hours in a day

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

BlackBerry gives you 25 hours in a day

Hosted BlackBerry Enterprise Servers for Small Businesses

Joe — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 14:34:15 +0000

If your small business has its employees use BlackBerry devices, you’ll need to set it up with a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. This is a software package — middleware, for the more tech savvy — that links the company’s server software to the wireless BlackBerry devices. This allows the syncing of personal information manager (PIM) software between desktop and mobile software. PIM data includes e-mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, notes, instant messaging, and web-based applications. Therefore, it is an essential element for companies heavily reliant on BlackBerries for information and communication.

Businesses with an in-house IT department and who host their e-mail on-site may not find much trouble setting up a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. It is compatible with Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino, and Novell GroupWise, which covers most in-house servers. This is why there are many proponents of e-mail insourcing. It may cost more money up front, but it doesn’t incur the perpetual monthly charge — plus overtime — of having hosted servers.

But what if your company outsources it’s e-mail and IT resources? It is becoming an increasingly popular trend these days — when a company like Google is jumping into the fray, you know something’s up. Outsourcing the work means one less thing for the company to worry about and pay overtime for. In fact, some are even speculating that “90 percent of the businesses currently insourcing their email can’t legitimately justify the practice.”

So if you’re one of the many businesses that outsources its e-mail, how do you go about having that system synced up with your company’s BlackBerries? Well, you’d better hope that your host uses a Hosted BlackBerry Enterprise Server. If so, you’re in business. If not, well, they’re going to have to get with the times. With all of the businesses turning wireless nowadays, they’re surely losing out on tons of business — including yours.

How do you know which hosts utilize a Hosted BlackBerry Enterprise Server? Just take a look through our list of hosted exchange reviews, of course.

123together.com

123 Together review

Alentus (alentus.com) – Alentus review

AppRiver (appriver.com) – AppRiver review

ASP-One (asp-one.com) – ASP-One review

CityNet Computing (citynt.com)

DSLExtreme (dslextreme.com) – DSLExtreme review

Elephant Outlook (elephantoutlook.com) – Elephant Outlook review

Exchange My Mail (exchangemymail.com) – Exchange My Mail review

HostLabs (hostlabs.com) – HostLabs review

Host My Site (hostmysite.com) – Host My Site review