ConsultingTimes.com: E-mail in the Enterprise: Do Proprietary Protocols Jeopardize Your System?

“The charitable view is that corporate decision makers
just haven’t caught up with the fact that e-mail and collaboration
have become — like it or not — critical systems. In case you have
any doubts, please check out the ConsultingTimes interview with
Greg Olson, the Chairman of Sendmail, Inc. He explains how
groupware and e-mail have gone from neat things to play with, to a
fundamental means of conducting business. In today’s connected
world, “all manner of business documents are typically sent by
e-mail now, as opposed to mail or FedEx.”

Since e-mail and other electronic communications are now
critical corporate data, it is incumbent on the enterprise to
protect and preserve these vital assets. Yet the low-profile,
jerry-built Exchange networks in place today fail to provide the
mission-critical security and reliability routinely expected of
large UNIX systems and IBM mainframes. Plus, even with directory
services, they offer little in the way of a central information
repository, that can be mined to competitive advantage. To make
matters worse, Exchange servers appear incapable of handling the
explosive growth in messaging volume that Olsen foresees.

Bottom line? Even if the security issues could be resolved,
these Exchange-based systems would still be headed for a breakdown.
Data managers who, through natural inclination, throw more servers
at the problem, will face administrative nightmares and ballooning
expenses.”

Complete
Story