Email might not be first on the list of priorities for systems to upgrade, but according to a recent email migration report and infographic commissioned by email management company Mimecast, there is more to email management than people might think. The independent report, which surveyed 500 IT decision makers, stated that 77 per cent of those considering email migration were doing so to keep up to date with Microsoft’s latest features.
Email moves fast these days. With Microsoft Exchange 2010 boasting reduced deployment costs, simpler disaster recovery and administration, as well as features that will increase productivity and ensure greater security, businesses are increasingly realising that the most developed email systems are representative of the most developed businesses. With Exchange 2013 undoubtedly on its way, the importance of developed email systems to a business is paramount. Excuses of email downtime are less relevant with partners providing support and email continuity.
Indeed, the importance of email in itself is paramount to generating, maintaining and retaining business. For Marc Munier, Commercial Director at the email marketing solutions company, Pure360, email security, as well as performance, is of the utmost importance:
“How much revenue do you get from your email sends at the moment? Typically clients get 25 per cent opens, 10 per cent clicks and 2 per cent conversions on their site, so on a list of 10,000 with an average order value of £2,000 each send is worth £10,000. That's £10,000 per campaign. The value of the list is incalculable. Now imagine you're back to square one because you didn't back your data up? There's no-one to market to, no-one for your sales team to call, months of contact activity wiped out. You can't target, retarget or even send a newsletter out!
What about if one of your competitors got hold of your list? All those warm prospects could be a real coup for an unsavoury competitor. Or if your data was copied and sold, they would start to receive emails they hadn't opted in to and start to view email campaigns as spam. If your data is not secure or gets lost with no backup, months of marketing time and money would have been wasted.”
What is becoming clearer, beyond the business benefits of improved email systems, is that, as Mimecast points out, email security is becoming ever-more important. With the high profile intrusions on personal data undertaken by Anonymous and Lulzsec, it is becoming clear that no business is safe, and that adequate precautions must be taken.
Tech writer and founder of Monty's Outlook, Monty Munford, agrees:
"Complacency about online security is a refuge that only fools would cling to. Businesses are defined by their content and how they manage data and information so those who are unprepared for potential intrusions into that business don't deserve their customers.
"We have seen numerous examples that range from banks to games companies to public institutions who have fallen foul of hackers and have seen their brands severely damaged. It can happen to anybody, but it should happen to nobody. There is no excuse, none at all. Get wise or get turned over."
A number of online behemoths are uniting in an attempt to raise awareness of these problems. Google, whose high-profile Good to Know campaign has attempted to improve online practice, has noted that plenty of users create easy-to-crack passwords, as well as leaving email accounts signed in. These bad email practices are tantamount to putting a sign outside your house telling people you’re out and the door is unlocked. That kind of campaign, combined with the findings drawn by Mimecast, shows a worrying lack of online know-how which could cripple businesses if it isn’t addressed.
Jacob Jaffe, Microsoft Office Division Business Group Lead sees the speed of change in the industry as a key factor for some businesses being less prepared than they could be:
‘Email is the backbone of most organisations today providing the core means for communication with the outside world. Innovation in this platform has moved forward at a blistering rate in the last few years such that a customer currently running Exchange 2003 is having to pay up to 40 per cent more to store email and archive content than a customer that has moved to Exchange 2010 or Exchange Online today.’
It appears that some users are also sacrificing convenience and mobility for security of data, says Jaffe:
‘Cost is of course not the only factor to consider, most people are used to being able to access their email through a web browser and on a smartphone but this isn’t always the case for work email. The reasons to move to a modern messaging environment have never been more compelling whether the drivers are cost or increased productivity or a mixture of the two. Getting an IT partner to help with that transition may be a preferred option for those that want to worry more about their business and less about their IT.’
Plenty to think about. So, if you think you’ve got your email migration plan sussed, have a look at the report and ensure you’ve covered all the bases.
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