MailMax Delivers On E-Mail Management

Finding an appropriate solution is further complicated by the saturation of filtering and security products on the market, each with its pros and cons and idiosyncrasies that can make deploying and managing some of those products an exercise in frustration. The technology to protect e-mail can be broken down into three primary camps: hardware appliances, software products and managed services.

Each of those solutions has its base of fans, but solution providers are now seeing the ongoing revenue offered by a managed service quite attractive. Seizing that channel opportunity is Cincinnati-based Mycom Group, with its hosted MailMax service.

Operating as a hosted e-mail delivery system, MailMax offers both inbound and outbound e-mail protection. With the outbound component of the MailMax service, all outgoing mail can be scanned and filtered based on defined policies or known malware signatures. In other words, only legitimate e-mail will be sent out to the Internet, preventing a company's private e-mail system from becoming seized and turned into a spam-delivery host. What's more, the outbound filter can be fine-tuned to prevent unauthorized information from being e-mailed out—a key feature for those bound by legislative requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA.

Inbound filtering proves to be even more comprehensive. MailMax offers both predefined and administrator-defined policies to counter the threats from viruses, spam, DNS attacks, realtime blackhole list attacks, inappropriate content, unwanted attachments, excessive message size and many other e-mail-based threats.

The product's initial setup consists of little more than redirecting the client's e-mail to pass it through the MailMax service. MailMax operates as a message-relaying system—e-mail is not stored on the MailMax servers, but is simply passed through the filters and forwarded to the customer's e-mail server. The reverse is also true for any outbound messages. That style of filtering still offers privacy and granular control over the e-mail delivery process. The only data that will be stored on MailMax are quarantined items, so they can be reviewed at a later date.

The product uses a browser-based interface that is well-designed and intuitive. From the main management screen, administrators can quickly view the status of the filtering system and then drill down through the individual policies and exceptions. Quarantine statistics and advanced reports are just a tab away from the main interface. Solution providers will find the graphical and numerical reports a powerful tool for proving ROI and monitoring e-mail demands, which could lead to add-on sales of enhanced hardware or upgraded e-mail server software.

MailMax proves to be a channel-friendly service—authorized partners can rebrand the service as their own and even be billed directly per e-mail client for the service. Other partners may choose to just resell the MailMax service and garner a commission based on mailboxes protected.

MailMax offers end users economy without limiting features. Accounts with fewer than 100 users are charged $3 per month per mailbox, and accounts with more than 2,000 mailboxes are charged $1 per mailbox per month.

Over time, MailMax maintains a lower cost by eliminating the need for antivirus software updates, hardware upgrades and the like.

Mycom has a three-tier channel program offering an entry-level Affiliate status that garners a 10 percent commission for authorized resellers. On the Partner-level tier, authorized partners are billed at a predetermined rate and can mark the service up as much as they desire. VARs can also opt to join the private-label program, which is designed for ISPs and MSPs and requires a configuration charge.

In the Affiliate Program, technical support issues are handled directly by Mycom, while other program levels require authorized partners to be the first line of technical support. All partners have access to 24x7 phone and e-mail-based technical support. Mycom also offers a sales toolset that assists partners with their initial marketing plans and sales presentations.