Change is never easy, and when it involves moving on from tried and true technology to something unfamiliar, it be unnerving and it can also cost you in lost productivity as everyone in the company who works with the new technology gets up to speed. Sometimes the change is the result of a deliberate and well-researched decision from management, and the resistance is from those at the coalface who either dont yet understand the benefits of the new software or simply dislike change. But sometimes a service is stopped, as with Googles Postini email archiving and security service.
In mid-2012, Google announced they would stop the service they had acquired in 2007 and replace it with their own apps. The roll out was scheduled to take place over the course of 2013 with customers receiving detailed instructions on the process well in advance. Obviously moving from a known product to apps triggered some anxiety among customers who worried how the Postini migration and transition process would affect their business. It also had people wondering how the Google app options would stack up against the service they knew.
One of the biggest concerns some businesses may have with the Postini migration and transition is about security. Some of the familiar Postini features are improved in the Google apps, such as their next generation email features including better protection and filtering as well as upgraded delivery and routing features.
Whats Missing and Why
Some of Postinis features are no longer relevant due to the rapid evolution of online technology. Two examples are Postinis email proxy feature and their message spooling. Postinis spam sensitivity and CatID controls are no longer useful in todays environment. Googles anti-spam features are up to date and offer protection against URLs, which are bigger threat than attachments now.
But some familiar features are gone and have been replaced by Googles own solutions. Postinis Content Manager Outbound Activity Log is no more. Some of Postinis quarantine features are also history, such as quarantine summary branding and administrator access to user end quarantine. With Google, spam is held for 30 days instead of 14 as it was with Postini. Google will also strip suspicious attachments from an email while allowing the message to go through. Users switching to Gmail will appreciate their robust spam and virus blocking features.
There is no reason to cling to the comfort of an outdated system when newer options can offer so much more too savvy businesses. Life is change, they say, and it is a truism in the world of business. If you are not changing, you are falling behind, so whatever your business plans to do about email services post-Postini, it does force us all to look at better options.
Change is never easy, but it is often inevitable. Whatever route companies take with their Postini migration and transition process, it can also be an opportunity to benefit from cutting edge solutions for email security and archiving because the leaps the technology has made recently.
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