TMCnews Featured Article

While there's no denying that email hosting is one of the most popular platforms out there especially for business users, there are dangers associated with it as well. But, there are simple things that can be done not only to protect users from the resulting flood of emails they must often deal with in the course of a day, but also protect them from the potential negative effects of these messages.

Perhaps the best way for users to see less email in a day is to simply send less of it. This may sound a bit metaphysical for some—a little bit of email karma to start the day, as ye sow e-mail so shall ye reap it—but it makes sense. For instance, users can turn to their instant messaging (IM) systems instead of email for those quick questions, allowing for a quick question to get an equally quick response and limiting the amount of email going back and forth.

Next, users can make sure their emails have sufficient focus. If an email doesn't need to go to an entire group or to an entire company, don't send it that far. Make sure only those users who need access get access. Additionally, cutting down on non-business emails will go a long way toward trimming the total amount of messages coming in. Sure, a couple minutes in the day to pause and watch a cute cat video will perk up most anyone's mood, but it means storage and bandwidth lost not to mention time. Finally, consider the issue of the CC function. Much like sending email only to individuals rather than to entire groups can save time and inbox space, so too can keeping better control of the CC function overall, making sure that unnecessary users don't get sent copies of emails that they don't need ultimately contributing to overfilled inboxes.

While many may think of keeping email to a lower flow simply an extension of courtesy, it can actually be a major boost to company security as well. Recently, a story emerged about movie producer Bernie Williams, who lost $8,629 when hackers gained access to his email hosting account, where they then studied the contents of it and managed to create an authentic looking document that instructed his accountant to send said money via wire transfer to an account in Texas. The email even sounded authentic as the hackers in question emulated Williams' syntax by poring over old messages, and then intercepted and deleted responses from his accountant when the accountant questioned the transfer. Minimizing the amount of inbox traffic allows users to more closely examine each message since there are fewer of them total, and more appropriately deal with potential threats.

A lack of email hosting security has already shown to cost big money for at least one user, and for a company, the results could be disastrous. Turning to Hosted Exchange can also provide not only protection but better management thanks to extreme reliability and high-end hardware, with customer care response times often averaging less than one minute. In many cases, the best way to provide email security is to simply provide fewer messages to manage in the first place, thus making users less likely to ignore potential threats in the face of far too many messages to more closely manage.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Miami 2013, Jan 29- Feb. 1 in Miami, Florida.  Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.