New E-Mail Apps Boost Security

Ipswitch plans today to ship IMail Server 7.1 with 128-bit SSL encryption and antispam capabilities. The product offers improved control in filtering messages containing certain words or phrases, said John Korsak, product marketing manager at the Lexington, Mass.-based vendor.

The new release will list for $995 for 250 users, $1,495 for 1,000 users and $1,995 for unlimited users.

Meanwhile, Campbell, Calif.-based Rockliffe last week released MailSite SE Version 5 for Small Enterprises. The software adds Web-based calendar functions, task lists and F-Secure's antivirus application. Pricing starts at $595 for 50 mailboxes.

John Rutkowski, CEO of Bolder Designs, a Newark, Del.-based reseller, bundles Rockliffe's software with hardware. "It's rock-solid, and we use it to complement our offerings where people don't want to go to [Microsoft Exchange Server or [Novell GroupWise. They want something more compact, faster and easier to manage," he said.

Erik Tijburg, senior engineer of ISP support services at Redmoon Broadband, Frisco, Texas, said upcoming changes to corporate e-mail applications will open the door for Ipswitch and others.

"With the new [Exchange version that will require the new SQL store, you'll need an administrator who not only knows Exchange, but Active Directory and SQL as well," he said. "There goes $120,000 a year out the window for just one body, and you'll need more than one."

Some customers will also balk at paying $20 to $25 per user each month for collaboration features most users never touch, said Joyce Graff, an analyst at Gartner.

Based on its 250-user license fee, Ipswitch's offering costs $4 per seat, Korsak said. Last year, 5 percent of Ipswitch's sales were to companies with 5,000 or more employees, he added.

Rockliffe is working with Compaq Computer to put its MailSite Nonstop offering atop Compaq's Himalaya servers and is pitching the combination to customers, half of which are enterprise accounts, Rockliffe President John Davies said.