Email and data security is something that has been raising a lot of eyebrows recently. To be honest, it’s not something most of us actively even think when we post something on Facebook, send an email or SMS, or even make a phone call. Fair enough, most of us got nothing to hide, but still, some things perhaps we think are more private than they actually are. I had an eye opener to many of these things recently.
When you send an email out through the traditional manner, it leaves your server and travels to the recipients mail server. Actually this was the first application of the internet. Sadly not much has changed since in the way emails are sent, as this isn’t very secure way to transfer data. Sure, there is a thing called encryption, which provides certain level of protection, but due to a different kind of security aspect, the encryption cannot be too difficult for government agencies to decrypt. In other words they want to be able to intercept and read certain emails. In principle this is fine, but if they can do it, so can other people, who might not have good intentions of what they will do with the information. And the worst part is that this happens without the sender or recipient knowing anything.
I have been working with an interesting project in the past months, called Mail Server Pro. No, it’s not just another mail server, like Microsoft Exchange or Postfix, but operates in a completely different manner. The emails do not actually leave the mail server, but give view rights to the content for the recipient. This is quite an interesting change to the existing model. No data actually travels from the server, which makes intercepting the data almost impossible.
Another interesting aspect about Mail Server Pro is that no IT department is needed to install it or operating it. It’s a plug and play system, where everything is done through one click, like adding a new account, deleting account etc. Anyone in the organization can do it, whether it’s the CEO him/herself, or any trusted person.
In the existing email system a company needs a system admin who operates the email server and adds new accounts etc. having the access to all the sensitive company data and communications. What if that person one day decides to do something damaging with it? Or think of another aspect: when you use the services of a large corporation such as Microsoft, who collects all that data in their servers. Even, if you can control your own employees, what about that large company employees. It’s all about control, when it comes to who has access to your customer records or otherwise sensitive data, such as new inventions.
Mail Server Pro is a physical server that is installed in the company’s premises. No data can leave or be accessed from it without permission. It is also available as a hosted service, which is ideal for companies who want to protect their data, but don’t need their own server e.g. due to small number of employees.
The team behind the development of Mail Server Pro are not newcomers in the field. They have quite a history of building groundbreaking IT solutions that are used by some of the largest companies in the industry throughout the world.
From user point of view using Mail Server Pro is exactly like using any other mail client, and it comes with unlimited data storage. Some of the other really cool features include:
- video conferencing capabilities
- follow up notifications
- tasks and alerts that can be set by one click on the email
- calendar
- usable in multiple platforms including mobile and tablet
- social media functions, such as chat and forum
Personally I think this is a big deal, and it is something that will go far. I would be really interested to hear some thoughts from you in the comments below.