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renesugar: @julietlandau Rackspace manages your web/email server for you http://www.rackspace.com 1 hour, 23 minutes
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Rackcloud: @CodingSamurai sorry to hear that. could you email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) w/ your q's and we'll assist you. 4 hours, 36 minutes
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lapaterson: RT @ehalman: Progression from Hard metal server to managed rackspace to "true" cloud for email, file and web hosting. #runserverlessbiz #sxsw 5 hours, 52 minutes
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ehalman: Progression from Hard metal server to managed rackspace to "true" cloud for email, file and web hosting. #runserverlessbiz #sxsw 5 hours, 56 minutes
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markwshead: @bluemarbletech I resell Rackspace email. I can probably get you a much better deal (free if you don't need exchange). 6 hours, 6 minutes
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Flexible Hosted Exchange Storage
Despite what some clothing labels may say, one size doesn’t always fit all. We at Mailtrust don’t believe that one Exchange mailbox size fits all either. That’s why we’ve introduced the concept of flexibility in the allocation of mailbox storage in the latest release of the control panel. This feature allows administrators to reduce the storage available to some users and reallocate it to other users. For example, I can reduce the default storage available to one of my team members from 2GB down to 1GB and reallocate that storage to another team member, giving them 3GB. This provides great flexibility in the allocation of storage and allows administrators to customize mailbox size based on the storage needs of each mailbox. This type of flexibility can reduce costs for our customers; perhaps eliminating the need to purchase extra storage.
If you are an administrator with a Hosted Exchange account, you can access this functionality in the control panel by going to “Add/Edit a Mailbox” under Exchange and adjusting the storage using the available slider.
Bridging the Gap…
Have you ever gotten a Product Announcement from Mailtrust and thought, “So what?” Ever wished and hoped for a new feature, but still haven’t seen it? I’m willing to bet that when this happens, you shrug and say, “Oh well.” I’m also willing to bet you wish it didn’t have to be that way.
In that case, I can help. How? Mailtrust is currently developing a Customer Advisory Board. In short, we’re inviting Mailtrust customers to have input on what Mailtrust does in the future. We’ll get feedback on things like product enhancements, problems with the current system, favorite features, etc. This is your chance to bridge that gap between you and Mailtrust. Your chance to have a direct affect on the products you spend all day using. Your chance to stop saying, “Oh well,” when we do something you don’t like.
If you feel like you’d be a valuable member of the Advisory Board, let’s talk. My name is Megan Wohlford. My email is megan.wohlford [at] mailtrust.com. I’m ready to hear your opinions if you’re ready to voice them.
Get ready for SaaS
Recently Gartner released results from major enterprises around the world that showed planned increases for adoption of Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) for businesses. SaaS is an application delivery method giving access to software and applications on a one to many basis, usually based on subscription fees. This method allows businesses to skip the expense of investing in additional hardware, installations, daily upkeep and maintenance of software. We have been seeing this and planning around this trend for sometime, but it is always great to get confirmation backed by real data.
The analysis found that 90 percent of respondents are planning to maintain or increase their investments in SaaS. Some of the major reasons cited were cost-effectiveness, and ease and speed of deployment.
One of the more interesting points in the published results is that over 40% of the organizations are changing their IT environments completely from on-premise to cloud-based solutions. It is hard to deny that businesses are starting to see the benefits of hosted software and that will only continue.
With these results we are definitely excited to see what 2009 has in store for us, as a software-as-a-service organization. We are curious though, what are your SaaS plans for 2009?
Adapting and changing
Making big changes to an application is hard, but sometimes necessary. When we added Exchange, we knew the Control Panel would need some dramatic changes. Making that change and helping our users adapt has been a great learning experience.
About a year ago, development began on the next version of the Control Panel. Not only did we want to add Exchange, we wanted to make the Control Panel the best application out there for managing your email. One of the biggest challenges we faced was navigation. Adding Exchange functionality to an already large application made the left menu break down. So, we set out to figure out how to organize all these pages.
That is exactly what we did. We made a more hierarchical menu organized by product, Exchange, Noteworthy, etc. This allowed us to add Exchange, while keeping the menu size manageable.
In April, we launched and received a lot of feedback. Some was positive. Some was not. One common theme emerged: the new Control Panel required too many clicks. Users did not want a hierarchical menu. They wanted an application that allowed them to add mailboxes quickly. While we set out to solve one problem, we actually caused another.
So we set out to try and fix the problem. Our designers and developers collaborated with users to improve navigation. A few months after the initial launch, Control Panel 3.1 was released. It contained many usability improvements, such as:
•Dashboards for quick links to common actions
•Products not purchased are collapsed by default, to reduce confusion
•The number of mailboxes and domains are listed, again to reduce confusion
•The product drop-down was removed in favor of simple links
•Features that spanned multiple products, like Spam Filtering, were made easier to find in each section
The best thing is we are not done yet. We are continually improving the design and usability of the Control Panel, as well as all of our applications. Along the way, we welcome any and all feedback. Our goal is simple, to make our users happy.
Lost in the translation?
To reduce labor costs, many businesses are relocating customer support operations to places like India, China, or Eastern Europe. The move may trim corporate bottom lines but customers often pay the price in the form of communication disasters and potential security issues. Trying to communicate regarding mission critical activities with someone who lacks a firm grasp on the English language can be maddening. With offices located on the other side of the world, distance and lack of control over day to day operations may prolong the identification of problems and leave holes in security. For example:
• Dell made the decision to transfer customer support overseas, they saved money but immediately felt the ire of customers who had difficulty communicating their issues and getting resolution from reps whose primary language is not English. They promptly moved their support activities back to the U.S.
• After moving customer support overseas, a skateboard manufacturer quickly found the terminology in their demographic changed so rapidly that the foreign reps could not keep up. While they spoke English, the reps could not effectively support customers because they did not understand the nuances and slang of the language.
• As of July 2008 India, a major outsourcing location, had no comprehensive privacy law relating to securing private data. So, if your private information is compromised by an Indian company, it may result in the loss of a contract but not legal penalties.
The Mailtrust Support Team spans secure offices in Texas and Virginia. We know that the most important part of support is communication. So, when you are choosing a partner for outsourcing vital parts of your business, look beyond price. Be sure you investigate who is going to answer the phone when you need help or you may find yourself lost in the translation.
POP or IMAP?
You may have heard the terms “POP” and “IMAP” before. And you might have wondered which one is right for me?
Well, try and imagine your email program, for example Outlook, as if it is your receptionist. Just as a real receptionist takes phone messages for you, an email program takes your email messages. When you buy those “While You Were Out” message pads for the receptionist, do you opt for ones with a built-in yellow copy, just in case the message is misplaced? Or, do you opt for the simple message pad without the backup yellow copy?
POP
POP is like the pad that takes your message and leaves no backup. The POP option delivers your business email to your inbox and removes it from the server. Just be careful what you delete from your inbox because there is no backup! And, if you make changes from another computer, POP doesn’t make those changes to your main desktop, mobile device, or laptop. You can only view messages and folders from your primary machine. POP is best for those who tend use the same computer all the time and who regularly back up all of the files on their computer. However, if you need business email that keeps you safe…
IMAP
…then count on IMAP to keep your messages synchronized. Unlike the one-shot message pad, IMAP sends all messages to your inbox, and also synchronizes the copy on the server.
Another advantage of keeping messages and folders on the server with IMAP is that your same messages and folders can be viewed from another computer or a mobile device. This feature of IMAP makes it a favorite for frequent travelers.
Email is not for every message
Email communication eliminates 93% of the communication equation. Without body language, facial and vocal cues, words alone can easily be misunderstood. According to Edward Muzio of Group Harmonics, the standalone words in our email can create more misunderstanding than understanding.
“. . . an email exchange makes it virtually impossible to convey visual cues (55 percent) and tone (38 percent), your recipient might “hear” something you didn’t intend.”
For example, what does this statement mean to you?
“What are you doing?” Without visual or vocal hints, it could mean:
You appear to be goofing off, are you doing any work?
I’m going to lunch, are you free?
The instructions given haven’t been followed, what planet are you on?
The work submitted is stellar, how you do such a great job?
Imagine the chaos those interpretations could cause! Hitting the send button is easy. Repairing the damage done as a result of a misunderstood email can be difficult, if not impossible. Muzio suggests using email only for facts and data. If the topic moves into the emotional realm or deals with issues than can be potentially misunderstood, pick up the phone or visit your colleague’s office to deliver the entire message –words and physical cues. With office workers getting up to 200 emails a day, how your words are perceived becomes more important than your intended meaning.
Got Ideas?
Customer feedback is a huge part of our success here at Mailtrust. It’s how we built one of the fastest growing email hosting businesses in the world with over 900,000 happy users. And, as you can imagine, we want to continue that trend. So, we created a new way to get your ideas on how we can do a better job.
Meet Idea Central. Use Idea Central to vote for different ideas and suggestions from other customers, even some from Mailtrust employees. Or, if you have a great idea on how we can improve the service, submit your ideas. We’ll take all your feedback and use it to help shape the future direction of your inbox.
So, got an idea? Tell us about it. We are listening.