It's been a while since my last post, things have got VERY busy at Accellion.
I guess the world is realizing that files aren't getting any smaller.
Anyway just in case you missed the recent announcement regarding Accellion's new virtual appliance here's the link to the news Accellion Introduces Virtual Appliance.
Also had a nice product review of Accellion in Infoworld Accellion Product Review in InfoWorld
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
File Transfer - On the Road
Dear Readers,
Over the past year, we have covered the issue of secure file transfer from many different angles. Some strategic and others tactical. I hope you are finding the information helpful in your daily dealings be you an IT god or an end user who just need to get the job done.
I'm taking a brief break from the blog, but expect additional notes and perspectives down the road. So, I hope you still stayed tuned.
Thank you for reading the ACA Guy. Please contact us at Accellion if you have any question on file transfer.
Yours, ACA Guy
Over the past year, we have covered the issue of secure file transfer from many different angles. Some strategic and others tactical. I hope you are finding the information helpful in your daily dealings be you an IT god or an end user who just need to get the job done.
I'm taking a brief break from the blog, but expect additional notes and perspectives down the road. So, I hope you still stayed tuned.
Thank you for reading the ACA Guy. Please contact us at Accellion if you have any question on file transfer.
Yours, ACA Guy
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Making Fun of Wall Street Journal Would Have Been Too Easy - the Reality of Secure File Transfer for Enterprises
Summary: The Wall Street Journal courted a wave of resentment with an article on how end users can bypass IT restrictions. While the fireworks are entertaining, the real question is, how will you address these real user needs as an enabler? Here's a secure and enterprise class solution that end users would use - what a concept!
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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That scream of despair from the direction of the IT director and CIO that you heard a few days ago may have been a result of the Wall Street Journal's article by Vauhini Vara entitled Ten Things Your IT Department Won’t Tell You. The article provides ways of how end users can bypass IT restrictions and controls for various tasks such as checking personal emails and large file transfer.
Naturally, Ms Vara is getting an avalanche of angry letters from IT providers as noted by this WSJ blog. What I find particularly instructive is not so much the bad advice dispensed -- and indeed they were lousy ideas -- but how this points to the on-going tension between IT and the organizations and users that IT supports.
In this context, I would like to discuss the #1 hack/bypass in the article - transferring large files. Like the article noted, IT departments often purposely block large attachments from going through the corporate email system for reasons ranging from performance to protection from attacks.
As a workaround, Ms. Vara suggests using a consumer grade service, which are often free, like YouSendIt or SendThisFile. At the same time, she notes the risk, such as this "makes it easier for a wily hacker to intercept files..."
No wonder CIO's are breaking out in pools of cold sweat from this article!
On paper, IT has the moral high ground - these procedures are meant to protect both users and organizations from viruses, spam and increasing violations of regulations and corporate procedures. While no end users would disagree with the importance of these protections, it is also the reality that end users are looking to get their job done. Whether you call it protection or a hurdle, a successful end user will instinctively find a way around the limitation. (Even without WSJ's help.)
Fortunately, what we are seeing is a generation of IT professionals who are looking beyond the eternal struggle between IT and the consumers of IT capabilities in a zero-sum calculation. Instead, there is a recognition that IT is an integral part of business processes that, if appropriately deployed and managed, can become a competitive advantage for the entire organization.
Sending large files is a legitimate need for many of today's business processes, so instead of pointing accusing fingers at each other, the trend is to deploy a secure file transfer system that is specifically designed to transport large files in parallel like Accellion's secure file transfer solution.
For the users, the Accellion solution is easy to use and can handle 20+ gigabytes in file/folder size with a single click. It is designed with communicating with external partners in mind, which enables employees to easily trade large files with business partners and clients to get the job done.
IT administrators love the Accellion solution because it is a set-it-and-forget-it appliance. It can be installed in less than an hour and requires administrative intervention only when you want to change a configurable parameter. Accellion handles files in a secure fashion that is compliant with regulations such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley. This solution is engineered as an enterprise tool that fits seamlessly within the overall IT infrastructure.
So, while we ponder the flak that Ms. Vara is getting from the unhappy CIOs and IT Directors with some degree of fascination, the easiest solution is probably to install an Accellion secure file transfer solution so we can all get on with life.
ACA Guy
Accellion Solves CRA International's Large File Transfer Issues
How One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell
* Wyckoff Heights Medical Center Chooses Accellion to Safeguard Patient Data
* Accellion Extends Market Presence in Europe; With introduction of multi-language capability, companies profit from simple, fast and secure file transfer across the globe
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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That scream of despair from the direction of the IT director and CIO that you heard a few days ago may have been a result of the Wall Street Journal's article by Vauhini Vara entitled Ten Things Your IT Department Won’t Tell You. The article provides ways of how end users can bypass IT restrictions and controls for various tasks such as checking personal emails and large file transfer.
Naturally, Ms Vara is getting an avalanche of angry letters from IT providers as noted by this WSJ blog. What I find particularly instructive is not so much the bad advice dispensed -- and indeed they were lousy ideas -- but how this points to the on-going tension between IT and the organizations and users that IT supports.
In this context, I would like to discuss the #1 hack/bypass in the article - transferring large files. Like the article noted, IT departments often purposely block large attachments from going through the corporate email system for reasons ranging from performance to protection from attacks.
As a workaround, Ms. Vara suggests using a consumer grade service, which are often free, like YouSendIt or SendThisFile. At the same time, she notes the risk, such as this "makes it easier for a wily hacker to intercept files..."
No wonder CIO's are breaking out in pools of cold sweat from this article!
On paper, IT has the moral high ground - these procedures are meant to protect both users and organizations from viruses, spam and increasing violations of regulations and corporate procedures. While no end users would disagree with the importance of these protections, it is also the reality that end users are looking to get their job done. Whether you call it protection or a hurdle, a successful end user will instinctively find a way around the limitation. (Even without WSJ's help.)
Fortunately, what we are seeing is a generation of IT professionals who are looking beyond the eternal struggle between IT and the consumers of IT capabilities in a zero-sum calculation. Instead, there is a recognition that IT is an integral part of business processes that, if appropriately deployed and managed, can become a competitive advantage for the entire organization.
Sending large files is a legitimate need for many of today's business processes, so instead of pointing accusing fingers at each other, the trend is to deploy a secure file transfer system that is specifically designed to transport large files in parallel like Accellion's secure file transfer solution.
For the users, the Accellion solution is easy to use and can handle 20+ gigabytes in file/folder size with a single click. It is designed with communicating with external partners in mind, which enables employees to easily trade large files with business partners and clients to get the job done.
IT administrators love the Accellion solution because it is a set-it-and-forget-it appliance. It can be installed in less than an hour and requires administrative intervention only when you want to change a configurable parameter. Accellion handles files in a secure fashion that is compliant with regulations such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley. This solution is engineered as an enterprise tool that fits seamlessly within the overall IT infrastructure.
So, while we ponder the flak that Ms. Vara is getting from the unhappy CIOs and IT Directors with some degree of fascination, the easiest solution is probably to install an Accellion secure file transfer solution so we can all get on with life.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Accellion Solves CRA International's Large File Transfer IssuesHow One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell
Press Releases
* Wyckoff Heights Medical Center Chooses Accellion to Safeguard Patient Data
* Accellion Extends Market Presence in Europe; With introduction of multi-language capability, companies profit from simple, fast and secure file transfer across the globe
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Five Requirements for an Enterprise Secure File Transfer Solutions
Summary: What makes a solution "enterprise class"? If you are sending files using a solution meant to send pictures to grandma, you may be asking for trouble. There are five categories of capabilities that you want to consider for business file transfers.
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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Someone asked me recently what I mean by consumer-oriented vs. enterprise solutions. In other words, what distinguishes enterprise file transfer solutions from consumer products? While the intersection between high-end consumer solutions and enterprise solutions can be hazy, there are five sets of required characteristics that I use to determine whether or not a file transfer solution is suitable for business use:
* Management and business processes
* Policy control
* Integration with other enterprise solutions
* Security and compliance
* Branding
Let’s have a look at each of these characteristics and why they are worth the added overhead in an enterprise context.
Management and business processes
The solution needs features that map to the work flow of business processes and how a business is run. Data and documents are the lifeblood of most businesses, and they need to be handled like the critical assets they are. Important enterprise features for file transfer include automated file life cycle management, audit and tracking capabilities, verification of file delivery, encryption, automated virus checking, file integrity check, and so on.
Policy control
An enterprise-level file transfer application allows configurable automated policies at several levels. For instance, at the user level, there could be several classes of users to account for external vs internal users. Similarly, at the access level, depending on the nature of the file, there could be multiple access authentication requirements. And, at the file level, there could be a number of policies dictating the duration in which a file is accessible.
Integration with other enterprise solutions
An enterprise file transfer solution should be able to work seamlessly within the overall IT infrastructure. Integrating with existing systems like email and directory services would ensure smooth business process and work flow.
The most obvious integration is with email clients such as Outlook and Lotus Notes. However, it should also integrate with directory services such as LDAP/AD to streamline administration. And, beyond these usual suspects, there should also be API/SDK capabilities to integrate with other applications. I have seen examples ranging from intranet single sign-on to integrating with finance systems for revenue recognition.
Security and compliance
These two issues are probably the most immediate concern of most businesses today. In other words, if the file transfer process doesn’t comply with mandated regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA, it shouldn’t be used. While the specifics vary by industries and business processes, typical features include encryption, virus-checking, information removal based on rules and policies (life cycle management), audit trails to see who has done what with the files, and policy management to set user privileges.
Branding
Companies invest huge amounts of budget and resources developing and marketing their “brand.” An enterprise-level file transfer solution should be configured to have a specific company’s look and feel. This could include the use of the company’s logo, specific fonts, colors, and a company-specific user guide. This is particularly important for external and guest users where putting a company’s skin or wrapper makes it feel like a well-integrated part of the business process.
In the knowledge economy of today, sending your most critical assets (digital files) via solutions meant to send pictures to grandma is playing with fire. The five feature categories above should help you quickly assess your current capabilities and, if need be, can be the basis for your search for an enterprise grade secure file transfer solution.
And, yes, in case you are wondering, Accellion's secure file transfer solution does all of the above (and more) while making it easy to use like a consumer solution. Best of the both worlds, as the saying goes.
ACA Guy
Accellion Solves CRA International's Large File Transfer Issues
How One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell
* Wyckoff Heights Medical Center Chooses Accellion to Safeguard Patient Data
* Accellion Extends Market Presence in Europe; With introduction of multi-language capability, companies profit from simple, fast and secure file transfer across the globe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Someone asked me recently what I mean by consumer-oriented vs. enterprise solutions. In other words, what distinguishes enterprise file transfer solutions from consumer products? While the intersection between high-end consumer solutions and enterprise solutions can be hazy, there are five sets of required characteristics that I use to determine whether or not a file transfer solution is suitable for business use:
* Management and business processes
* Policy control
* Integration with other enterprise solutions
* Security and compliance
* Branding
Let’s have a look at each of these characteristics and why they are worth the added overhead in an enterprise context.
Management and business processes
The solution needs features that map to the work flow of business processes and how a business is run. Data and documents are the lifeblood of most businesses, and they need to be handled like the critical assets they are. Important enterprise features for file transfer include automated file life cycle management, audit and tracking capabilities, verification of file delivery, encryption, automated virus checking, file integrity check, and so on.
Policy control
An enterprise-level file transfer application allows configurable automated policies at several levels. For instance, at the user level, there could be several classes of users to account for external vs internal users. Similarly, at the access level, depending on the nature of the file, there could be multiple access authentication requirements. And, at the file level, there could be a number of policies dictating the duration in which a file is accessible.
Integration with other enterprise solutions
An enterprise file transfer solution should be able to work seamlessly within the overall IT infrastructure. Integrating with existing systems like email and directory services would ensure smooth business process and work flow.
The most obvious integration is with email clients such as Outlook and Lotus Notes. However, it should also integrate with directory services such as LDAP/AD to streamline administration. And, beyond these usual suspects, there should also be API/SDK capabilities to integrate with other applications. I have seen examples ranging from intranet single sign-on to integrating with finance systems for revenue recognition.
Security and compliance
These two issues are probably the most immediate concern of most businesses today. In other words, if the file transfer process doesn’t comply with mandated regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA, it shouldn’t be used. While the specifics vary by industries and business processes, typical features include encryption, virus-checking, information removal based on rules and policies (life cycle management), audit trails to see who has done what with the files, and policy management to set user privileges.
Branding
Companies invest huge amounts of budget and resources developing and marketing their “brand.” An enterprise-level file transfer solution should be configured to have a specific company’s look and feel. This could include the use of the company’s logo, specific fonts, colors, and a company-specific user guide. This is particularly important for external and guest users where putting a company’s skin or wrapper makes it feel like a well-integrated part of the business process.
In the knowledge economy of today, sending your most critical assets (digital files) via solutions meant to send pictures to grandma is playing with fire. The five feature categories above should help you quickly assess your current capabilities and, if need be, can be the basis for your search for an enterprise grade secure file transfer solution.
And, yes, in case you are wondering, Accellion's secure file transfer solution does all of the above (and more) while making it easy to use like a consumer solution. Best of the both worlds, as the saying goes.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Accellion Solves CRA International's Large File Transfer IssuesHow One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell
Press Releases
* Wyckoff Heights Medical Center Chooses Accellion to Safeguard Patient Data
* Accellion Extends Market Presence in Europe; With introduction of multi-language capability, companies profit from simple, fast and secure file transfer across the globe
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Best of Both Worlds: How to Get Deep Domain Expertise Inside Your Own Infrastructure
Summary: A Gartner analyst describes an appliance as getting an outsource model inside your own infrastructure. This means you get the deep domain knowledge and best practice while controlling your own destiny.
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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"What is an IT appliance?" my mom would ask me. Well, it is like a toaster. If I have to hold a piece of bread to the open flame to get breakfast ready, chances are, I cannot get insurance on my house for long. With a toaster, I plug it in, set the level once, insert the bread, and nobody would yell at me for burning down the house (until I spill coffee into the toaster). In the context of the secure file transfer (IT) appliance from Accellion, you plug it, configure it once, and end users get off your back (unless you spill coffee on it).
While a perfectly good working definition, today I just heard a much more eloquent definition of an IT appliance. This comes from a discussion I with a Gartner analyst who noted that an IT appliance is an outsourced product that resides in your infrastructure.
We’ll start with the concept of outsourcing – the practice of acquiring goods or services from an outside vendor because it requires a level of expertise that is difficult to accumulate and manage internally. An example that I can speak with some authority about, since I have gone through many, is PR agencies. The beauty of the outsource model is that the provider is focused on doing the job well in order to acquire and maintain its clients. From the buyer's/user's perspective, this means that I do not have to build up and maintain domain expertise that does not exist in my organization and, thus, the outsourcing frees up resources and enhances flexibility of the organization.
Now put this into the concept of an appliance like the Accellion secure file transfer appliance. A company comes to Accellion mainly because of our expertise on how to transfer large files securely from a sender to a recipient within the enterprise context. While getting a file from person A to person B is a simple need at its core, the enterprise requirements on issues such as administration, life-cycle management, access control, and compliance/audit often require a level of expertise and experience uncommon in most organizations.
What makes the Accellion solution unique, however, is that we have put the solution in the appliance form factor. Namely, in the Gartner analyst’s words, it allows you to put this bundle of secure file transfer services (at the same level as you could have gotten from a outsourced provider with dedicated capabilities) inside your infrastructure.
This is a critically important part of the definition. It means that you, the buyer/user, have total control over this service. You are not at the mercy of another company’s policies or someone else’s infrastructure. You know how the product is deployed, and who uses it and when. You set the policies and parameters that safeguard your company’s assets (i.e., your files). You control your own destiny.
In short, an appliance allows you to access all the deep domain expertise of an outsourced model while retaining full control over your own infrastructure and usage. For enterprise IT use, this does not get any better.
So, the next time you think of an IT appliance as a simple plug-and-play box that has a specific purpose, remember also that it comes with a vast amount of technical expertise at your fingertips and under your control. For Mom, however, I will stick with the toaster example.
By the way, you can get more information about how easy it is to deploy an Accellion appliance by reading 3 Easy Steps to Secure File Transfer Nirvana – a.k.a., Why IT and end users love appliance solutions.
ACA Guy
Accellion Solves CRA International's Large File Transfer Issues
How One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell
* Red Dot Building Systems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution to Meet its Large File Transfer Needs
* Microsystems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for its Large File Transfer Needs
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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"What is an IT appliance?" my mom would ask me. Well, it is like a toaster. If I have to hold a piece of bread to the open flame to get breakfast ready, chances are, I cannot get insurance on my house for long. With a toaster, I plug it in, set the level once, insert the bread, and nobody would yell at me for burning down the house (until I spill coffee into the toaster). In the context of the secure file transfer (IT) appliance from Accellion, you plug it, configure it once, and end users get off your back (unless you spill coffee on it).
While a perfectly good working definition, today I just heard a much more eloquent definition of an IT appliance. This comes from a discussion I with a Gartner analyst who noted that an IT appliance is an outsourced product that resides in your infrastructure.
We’ll start with the concept of outsourcing – the practice of acquiring goods or services from an outside vendor because it requires a level of expertise that is difficult to accumulate and manage internally. An example that I can speak with some authority about, since I have gone through many, is PR agencies. The beauty of the outsource model is that the provider is focused on doing the job well in order to acquire and maintain its clients. From the buyer's/user's perspective, this means that I do not have to build up and maintain domain expertise that does not exist in my organization and, thus, the outsourcing frees up resources and enhances flexibility of the organization.
Now put this into the concept of an appliance like the Accellion secure file transfer appliance. A company comes to Accellion mainly because of our expertise on how to transfer large files securely from a sender to a recipient within the enterprise context. While getting a file from person A to person B is a simple need at its core, the enterprise requirements on issues such as administration, life-cycle management, access control, and compliance/audit often require a level of expertise and experience uncommon in most organizations.
What makes the Accellion solution unique, however, is that we have put the solution in the appliance form factor. Namely, in the Gartner analyst’s words, it allows you to put this bundle of secure file transfer services (at the same level as you could have gotten from a outsourced provider with dedicated capabilities) inside your infrastructure.
This is a critically important part of the definition. It means that you, the buyer/user, have total control over this service. You are not at the mercy of another company’s policies or someone else’s infrastructure. You know how the product is deployed, and who uses it and when. You set the policies and parameters that safeguard your company’s assets (i.e., your files). You control your own destiny.
In short, an appliance allows you to access all the deep domain expertise of an outsourced model while retaining full control over your own infrastructure and usage. For enterprise IT use, this does not get any better.
So, the next time you think of an IT appliance as a simple plug-and-play box that has a specific purpose, remember also that it comes with a vast amount of technical expertise at your fingertips and under your control. For Mom, however, I will stick with the toaster example.
By the way, you can get more information about how easy it is to deploy an Accellion appliance by reading 3 Easy Steps to Secure File Transfer Nirvana – a.k.a., Why IT and end users love appliance solutions.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Accellion Solves CRA International's Large File Transfer IssuesHow One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell
Press Releases
* Red Dot Building Systems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution to Meet its Large File Transfer Needs
* Microsystems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for its Large File Transfer Needs
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Bad advice from the Wall Street Journal - How many ways can you say SOX, HIPAA, FRCP violations?
Summary: A Wall Street Journal article suggests that business users can circumvent corporate email system limitations by forwarding business correspondence to consumer-oriented email services like Gmail or Yahoo Mail. How many ways can you say SOX, HIPAA, FRCP violations?
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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A recent Wall Street Journal article by columnist Lee Gomes discussed the “Internet boundlessness” of consumer email systems like Google’s Gmail, Microsoft’s Hotmail, and Yahoo Mail from Yahoo! Inc. The context of the article was Yahoo!’s recent announcement of “free unlimited storage” for Yahoo Mail users.
Ordinarily, none of this should have any affect whatsoever on corporate email usage. But the WSJ article is suggesting that business users take note of the vast storage capabilities of the consumer email services and store attachments related to corporate uses there. The article claims that:
One of the ironies of the current tech scene is that the free email services available from the big Web companies are often faster and have more storage than the corporate accounts that office stiffs use in their jobs every day. It’s thus now common for people to forward work email to an outside free account, turning it into a permanent archive that’s always available for quick searching.
As a matter of a fact, Mr. Gomes proclaimed that he has no less than 40,000 messages stored in this Yahoo email account in about two years.
BIG GULP!!
Personally, I am an enthusiastic user of consumer email accounts like Yahoo Mail and Gmail. They serve their purpose and (my) world is better as a result.
But, in the era of SOX, HIPAA, and FRCP where there are severe financial and legal consequences when corporate data is mishandled, this article is suggesting that business people violate their corporate security policies and send proprietary communication outside the corporate firewall.
As the saying goes, I may be crazy but I ain't stupid.
Using consumer oriented technology to solve the problem of transferring large files and attachments in the corporate context is really substituting a completely separate and potential much larger can of worms for a small problem. For example, Gmail crawls the content of the mail in order to serve advertisements that match the content - Gmail probably know more about the content than you do. Where is your confidentiality and data security?
For companies seeking an alternative to sending and receiving large attachments in this email-centric world that we live in, Accellion secure file transfer solution solves the problem cleanly for the end users while satisfying all the corporate security and compliance requirements.
The Accellion solution is a secure appliance that integrates into your company’s IT infrastructure, and is controlled by your own IT department. The appliance allows employees to send and receive attachments of any size. (OK, 20 Gigabytes is the amount that we have tested so far, but at 5 DVDs worth of data in one click, our testers got tired!) On top of the large file capability, it comes with features like automated file life-cycle management, role-based authentication levels, and integration with corporate assets such as directory services. You know, a real enterprise solution from any angle that you look at it.
Mr. Gomes, let's talk. If you cannot send large attachments through your wsj.com business email account, I have the right solution for you!
ACA Guy
Accellion Solves CRA International's Large File Transfer Issues
How One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell
* Red Dot Building Systems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution to Meet its Large File Transfer Needs
* Microsystems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for its Large File Transfer Needs
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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A recent Wall Street Journal article by columnist Lee Gomes discussed the “Internet boundlessness” of consumer email systems like Google’s Gmail, Microsoft’s Hotmail, and Yahoo Mail from Yahoo! Inc. The context of the article was Yahoo!’s recent announcement of “free unlimited storage” for Yahoo Mail users.
Ordinarily, none of this should have any affect whatsoever on corporate email usage. But the WSJ article is suggesting that business users take note of the vast storage capabilities of the consumer email services and store attachments related to corporate uses there. The article claims that:
One of the ironies of the current tech scene is that the free email services available from the big Web companies are often faster and have more storage than the corporate accounts that office stiffs use in their jobs every day. It’s thus now common for people to forward work email to an outside free account, turning it into a permanent archive that’s always available for quick searching.
As a matter of a fact, Mr. Gomes proclaimed that he has no less than 40,000 messages stored in this Yahoo email account in about two years.
BIG GULP!!
Personally, I am an enthusiastic user of consumer email accounts like Yahoo Mail and Gmail. They serve their purpose and (my) world is better as a result.
But, in the era of SOX, HIPAA, and FRCP where there are severe financial and legal consequences when corporate data is mishandled, this article is suggesting that business people violate their corporate security policies and send proprietary communication outside the corporate firewall.
As the saying goes, I may be crazy but I ain't stupid.
Using consumer oriented technology to solve the problem of transferring large files and attachments in the corporate context is really substituting a completely separate and potential much larger can of worms for a small problem. For example, Gmail crawls the content of the mail in order to serve advertisements that match the content - Gmail probably know more about the content than you do. Where is your confidentiality and data security?
For companies seeking an alternative to sending and receiving large attachments in this email-centric world that we live in, Accellion secure file transfer solution solves the problem cleanly for the end users while satisfying all the corporate security and compliance requirements.
The Accellion solution is a secure appliance that integrates into your company’s IT infrastructure, and is controlled by your own IT department. The appliance allows employees to send and receive attachments of any size. (OK, 20 Gigabytes is the amount that we have tested so far, but at 5 DVDs worth of data in one click, our testers got tired!) On top of the large file capability, it comes with features like automated file life-cycle management, role-based authentication levels, and integration with corporate assets such as directory services. You know, a real enterprise solution from any angle that you look at it.
Mr. Gomes, let's talk. If you cannot send large attachments through your wsj.com business email account, I have the right solution for you!
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Accellion Solves CRA International's Large File Transfer IssuesHow One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell
Press Releases
* Red Dot Building Systems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution to Meet its Large File Transfer Needs
* Microsystems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for its Large File Transfer Needs
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
How One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell - Accellion Leads the Way
Summary: CIO Magazine featured a story on how Accellion helps a financial services company escape the large attachment trap and turn its Accellion investment into a competitive advantage.
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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Laurianne McLaughlin the CIO magazine technology editor for “Essential Technology” wrote a story about “How One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell.” There are plenty of good lessons here for every CIO to take to heart, no matter what business you’re in.
The CIO in question is Fred Danback of Integro Insurance Brokers. Mr. Danback’s enterprise email system was creaking under the weight of large attachments. His IT team was dealing with bloated email servers, slow system response times, and message delivery failures.
He tried to address the problem by asking employees to forgo attaching large files to their email messages. His “pretty please” plea didn’t work, largely because the business was dependent on employees being able to exchange large files among themselves and also with partners and clients outside the company. Preventing the large attachments clearly wasn’t a solution; he had to find a way to get the files to the people who needed them, while at the same time taming the email issues. If he didn’t resolve the problem, Integro was at high risk of losing business with its blue-chip clients.
The article noted that Integro's e-mail system, supporting some 400 users in five countries, was groaning under weighty attachments. "There's a lot of document transfer that takes place. We may get CAD drawings, MPEG files, technical specifications, it runs the gamut," Danback says. Not only was his internal system being taxed, but also, his users were bumping up against problems with clients receiving their messages, since many firms limit attachment sizes to prevent problems like denial-of-service attacks, Danback says.
Alas, these problems are universal for almost any kind of business today.
Of course, by now you are guessing how Mr. Danback and Integro solved their problems. Yes, they installed an Accellion secure file transfer appliance. For just a few thousand dollars, the appliance immediately eliminated the email system's burden of transporting large files. And because the appliance integrates with the email system, the users didn’t have to learn a new process to use their new tool.
Maybe even more important to Integro is that this new method for getting files from person to person is giving the company a competitive advantage. Ms. McLaughlin tells it like this: Danback's business users like it for another reason. Because their insurance industry competitors are dealing with the same large documents and e-mail woes, anything Integro brokers can do to make their interactions with clients more seamless can only help them win business, Danback says. "We had to find a way to differentiate ourselves from our competitors."
The moral of the story for CIOs feeling the pressure of large attachments, sagging email systems and growing business needs? I couldn’t have said it any better than Ms. McLaughlin and Mr. Danback:
The more attachment-heavy your company is, the more an appliance [like Accellion's] makes sense in terms of ROI. If you have complex discovery and compliance needs, you will want to consider using an appliance in concert with e-mail archival software. Both of these product categories are growing, with good reason: Another recent Osterman Research study found that 59 percent of enterprises call messaging storage growth a serious problem. And messaging storage needs are growing at a clip of about 35 percent per year, according to Michael Osterman, principal of Osterman Research.
What's Danback's advice to other CIOs about e-mail appliances? "Look at what could go wrong with your e-mail and do something about it now. So you don’t get yourself in a situation where you have proprietary or secret information in the public mail," he says.
ACA Guy
How One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell
File transfer security the easy way
* Microsystems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for its Large File Transfer Needs
* Accellion Makes Global Collaboration Easier With Internationalization of Secure File Transfer Solution
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Laurianne McLaughlin the CIO magazine technology editor for “Essential Technology” wrote a story about “How One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell.” There are plenty of good lessons here for every CIO to take to heart, no matter what business you’re in.
The CIO in question is Fred Danback of Integro Insurance Brokers. Mr. Danback’s enterprise email system was creaking under the weight of large attachments. His IT team was dealing with bloated email servers, slow system response times, and message delivery failures.
He tried to address the problem by asking employees to forgo attaching large files to their email messages. His “pretty please” plea didn’t work, largely because the business was dependent on employees being able to exchange large files among themselves and also with partners and clients outside the company. Preventing the large attachments clearly wasn’t a solution; he had to find a way to get the files to the people who needed them, while at the same time taming the email issues. If he didn’t resolve the problem, Integro was at high risk of losing business with its blue-chip clients.
The article noted that Integro's e-mail system, supporting some 400 users in five countries, was groaning under weighty attachments. "There's a lot of document transfer that takes place. We may get CAD drawings, MPEG files, technical specifications, it runs the gamut," Danback says. Not only was his internal system being taxed, but also, his users were bumping up against problems with clients receiving their messages, since many firms limit attachment sizes to prevent problems like denial-of-service attacks, Danback says.
Alas, these problems are universal for almost any kind of business today.
Of course, by now you are guessing how Mr. Danback and Integro solved their problems. Yes, they installed an Accellion secure file transfer appliance. For just a few thousand dollars, the appliance immediately eliminated the email system's burden of transporting large files. And because the appliance integrates with the email system, the users didn’t have to learn a new process to use their new tool.
Maybe even more important to Integro is that this new method for getting files from person to person is giving the company a competitive advantage. Ms. McLaughlin tells it like this: Danback's business users like it for another reason. Because their insurance industry competitors are dealing with the same large documents and e-mail woes, anything Integro brokers can do to make their interactions with clients more seamless can only help them win business, Danback says. "We had to find a way to differentiate ourselves from our competitors."
The moral of the story for CIOs feeling the pressure of large attachments, sagging email systems and growing business needs? I couldn’t have said it any better than Ms. McLaughlin and Mr. Danback:
The more attachment-heavy your company is, the more an appliance [like Accellion's] makes sense in terms of ROI. If you have complex discovery and compliance needs, you will want to consider using an appliance in concert with e-mail archival software. Both of these product categories are growing, with good reason: Another recent Osterman Research study found that 59 percent of enterprises call messaging storage growth a serious problem. And messaging storage needs are growing at a clip of about 35 percent per year, according to Michael Osterman, principal of Osterman Research.
What's Danback's advice to other CIOs about e-mail appliances? "Look at what could go wrong with your e-mail and do something about it now. So you don’t get yourself in a situation where you have proprietary or secret information in the public mail," he says.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
How One CIO Escaped E-Mail Attachment Hell
File transfer security the easy wayPress Releases
* Microsystems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for its Large File Transfer Needs
* Accellion Makes Global Collaboration Easier With Internationalization of Secure File Transfer Solution
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Get Back 30 - How to Let Users and CFO's Fall in Love with You
Summary: Get Back 30 is an IT initiative by a Fortune 50 Accellion customer that aims to relieve its (130,000+) employees from inefficient processes. In addition to making the end users and IT team happy, the multiplier effect on overall organizational capacity would make any CFO smile.
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Accellion updates secure file transfer appliance - user interface now available in six languages
Clarian Health finds quick way to transfer files: Clarian Health Partners’ telemedicine program... has found a way to save time, money – and aggravation – by getting done in two hours what might have taken two weeks in the past.
* Microsystems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for its Large File Transfer Needs
* Accellion Makes Global Collaboration Easier With Internationalization of Secure File Transfer Solution
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There's a lot to be learned from a household name Fortune 50 multi-national firm that finds innovative ways to leverage the latest IT best practice to enhance its business processes. This Accellion customer has just launched an initiative to encourage its employees to become even more efficient through the use of time-saving technologies. The campaign is called Get Back 30, and it promotes the idea of recovering 30 minutes in the daily processes by doing things smartly. It’s a tangible drive to find more value for the company in its premier resource: its people.
I’m thrilled to tell you that the Accellion Secure File Transfer solution factors into the company’s Get Back 30 initiative by allowing employees to send files and large attachments within and outside the company in an easy and efficient manner. Employees are encouraged to use the Accellion solution to send large files instead of using awkward and time-consuming processes like FTP servers. I can’t think of a better endorsement of how our solution helps improve business processes that involve sending and receiving files.
As Get Back 30 rolls out, I expect more employees will welcome the easy-to-use secure file transfer solution, and find benefit in being able to quickly and securely trade work files with coworkers, clients and colleagues inside and outside the company.
While Get Back 30 is all about helping people become more efficient, increasing use of the Accellion solution within the company delivers a side benefit of making other technology more efficient, too. I’m speaking, of course, about the company’s enterprise email system. As more and more employees grow accustomed to sending their usual email attachments through an Accellion appliance, the new usage model relieves the strain on the overburdened email resources. Consequently, the company spends less time and money managing the burgeoning growth of the email system.
So, the benefit of Get Back 30 does not apply only to the end users, which is considerable as it is, but it also accrues to the IT team. They, too, “get back 30” when they expend less effort maintaining the enterprise email system. Their time can now be better spent being proactive with other IT projects.
So, how does this work out? Let's assume an organization of 10,000 people. Each person, on the conservative side, would recoup 60 minutes per month as a result of using the Accellion solution as part of the Get Back 30 initiative. That would work out to be 120,000 man hours that would not have been available without Accellion. This particular customer has more than 130,000 employees. Now, these are IT expenditures with ROI multiplier numbers that even the CFO would love.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Accellion updates secure file transfer appliance - user interface now available in six languages
Clarian Health finds quick way to transfer files: Clarian Health Partners’ telemedicine program... has found a way to save time, money – and aggravation – by getting done in two hours what might have taken two weeks in the past.Press Releases
* Microsystems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for its Large File Transfer Needs
* Accellion Makes Global Collaboration Easier With Internationalization of Secure File Transfer Solution
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Buy One and Get Eight Free - Let External Guest Users Use Accellion for Free
Summary: Inviting external guest users onto your Accellion Secure File Transfer solution costs nothing. There's no wait for the business users who need to exchange large files. No more midnight phone calls for emergency FTP access. Accellion makes the world a better place.
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As I talk with Accellion customers, I am finding that they really like that external people also can access most of the capabilities on the Accellion Secure File Transfer solution. This makes it very easy for employees to work with clients, colleagues and partners outside of their own organization. In fact, employees of most professional firms – like advertising agencies and law firms – interact mostly with external contacts. Accellion makes it as easy and inexpensive to receive large files from external people as it is to send to them.
Often to IT administrators' surprise, field usage has shown that many fully deployed sites have eight or more external guest users for every one internal user of the Accellion system. Accellion is happy because it shows that these users are taking full advantage of the capabilities, and their business processes really need the ability to easily share data with external partners. IT administrators are happy because there’s no cost for allowing external guest users to access the Accellion file transfer capabilities.
When it comes to external guest users, it’s like a permanent “Buy One, Get Eight Free” sale with Accellion. When you purchase an appliance or a network of appliances for your company’s use, you can extend the service to all the external guest users at no additional cost. Better still, there’s nothing to add to the infrastructure, and no software for the user to download. If a guest user has access to an internet browser, he can use the file transfer service.
I’ve mentioned before how easy it is to provision service to an external guest user. (See “Let External Users Send Large Files Back Securely Without Harassing IT.”) Any authorized user within the organization can invite an external participant to have an account on the appliance. No one needs to request IT to set it up, or beg for permission to allow the access. A simple email invitation is enough to allow the external user to register for an account and begin using the service.
Compare that simple process to using an FTP server to transfer files. First of all, FTP servers are typically administered by IT personnel. Anyone who wants to use them (including internal employees) has to ask and wait for IT to provision access, even for a one-time use. There may be a company policy against giving external access. Even if there isn’t, IT needs to get involved in giving the outsider access.
Even worse than the administrative hassles of FTP are the security concerns. A typical FTP server is basically a large hard drive. Usually, people can access files that are not meant for them in the same directory. What’s more, transmissions – including passwords – are in clear text, making them vulnerable to interception. Secure FTP service adds encryption, but it requires everyone to install additional client software. This is often impossible with outside users because, increasingly, IT administrators do not allow users to install such software.
FTP invites so many complications that help desk support can be inundated on a busy day. Worst yet, when it comes to external users, do you want your scarce and expensive help desk resources to go toward supporting people who don’t even work for your company?
Relieving the burden on the IT team from chores like supporting FTP and allowing as many external users to exchange data with internal users as business processes dictate -- maybe there is still free lunch to be had after all! That is, if you use the Accellion secure file transfer system.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Accellion updates secure file transfer appliance - user interface now available in six languages
Clarian Health finds quick way to transfer files: Clarian Health Partners’ telemedicine program... has found a way to save time, money – and aggravation – by getting done in two hours what might have taken two weeks in the past.
Press Releases
Microsystems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for its Large File Transfer Needs
Accellion Makes Global Collaboration Easier With Internationalization of Secure File Transfer Solution
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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As I talk with Accellion customers, I am finding that they really like that external people also can access most of the capabilities on the Accellion Secure File Transfer solution. This makes it very easy for employees to work with clients, colleagues and partners outside of their own organization. In fact, employees of most professional firms – like advertising agencies and law firms – interact mostly with external contacts. Accellion makes it as easy and inexpensive to receive large files from external people as it is to send to them.
Often to IT administrators' surprise, field usage has shown that many fully deployed sites have eight or more external guest users for every one internal user of the Accellion system. Accellion is happy because it shows that these users are taking full advantage of the capabilities, and their business processes really need the ability to easily share data with external partners. IT administrators are happy because there’s no cost for allowing external guest users to access the Accellion file transfer capabilities.
When it comes to external guest users, it’s like a permanent “Buy One, Get Eight Free” sale with Accellion. When you purchase an appliance or a network of appliances for your company’s use, you can extend the service to all the external guest users at no additional cost. Better still, there’s nothing to add to the infrastructure, and no software for the user to download. If a guest user has access to an internet browser, he can use the file transfer service.
I’ve mentioned before how easy it is to provision service to an external guest user. (See “Let External Users Send Large Files Back Securely Without Harassing IT.”) Any authorized user within the organization can invite an external participant to have an account on the appliance. No one needs to request IT to set it up, or beg for permission to allow the access. A simple email invitation is enough to allow the external user to register for an account and begin using the service.
Compare that simple process to using an FTP server to transfer files. First of all, FTP servers are typically administered by IT personnel. Anyone who wants to use them (including internal employees) has to ask and wait for IT to provision access, even for a one-time use. There may be a company policy against giving external access. Even if there isn’t, IT needs to get involved in giving the outsider access.
Even worse than the administrative hassles of FTP are the security concerns. A typical FTP server is basically a large hard drive. Usually, people can access files that are not meant for them in the same directory. What’s more, transmissions – including passwords – are in clear text, making them vulnerable to interception. Secure FTP service adds encryption, but it requires everyone to install additional client software. This is often impossible with outside users because, increasingly, IT administrators do not allow users to install such software.
FTP invites so many complications that help desk support can be inundated on a busy day. Worst yet, when it comes to external users, do you want your scarce and expensive help desk resources to go toward supporting people who don’t even work for your company?
Relieving the burden on the IT team from chores like supporting FTP and allowing as many external users to exchange data with internal users as business processes dictate -- maybe there is still free lunch to be had after all! That is, if you use the Accellion secure file transfer system.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Accellion updates secure file transfer appliance - user interface now available in six languages
Clarian Health finds quick way to transfer files: Clarian Health Partners’ telemedicine program... has found a way to save time, money – and aggravation – by getting done in two hours what might have taken two weeks in the past.Press Releases
Microsystems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for its Large File Transfer Needs
Accellion Makes Global Collaboration Easier With Internationalization of Secure File Transfer Solution
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Global Product Excellence Award for Secure File Transfer Appliance: Winner - Accellion
Summary: Accellion customers have spoken - Accellion has won the 2007 Global Product Excellence Award. It is about security, ease of deployment and administration, ease of use, and happy users.
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I’m pleased to tell you that Accellion has received a 2007 Global Product Excellence Award -- Customer Trust from the Info Security Products Guide. Accellion’s award comes in the category of “secure file transfer appliance.”
While it’s always nice to garner a recognition, what makes this one especially gratifying is that it is customers and end users that cast the votes. In other words, we have won the American Idol for secure file transfer appliance all thanks to our legion of fans – the people who trust and depend on the Accellion Secure File Transfer Solution day after day.
Sweet!
As I talk with Accellion customers, I hear their stories of how our secure file transfer solution transforms and enhances their organizational processes. Most of our customers cite ease of use for end users as a main driving factor that led them to look for a secure file transfer solution in the first place. But once they looked a little closer at the Accellion solution, they found the robust security features we’ve built in. And while other file transfer products might have elements of these features, taken as a whole, no enterprise file transfer solution can even come close to the total package of security and ease of use that Accellion delivers.
For security features, here are some of the popular ones:
Information storage and transmission encryption – files can be encrypted during transmission, sending and receiving, and storage using the appliance. This protects the file while it is “waiting for delivery.”
Integration with enterprise directory systems -- For enterprise deployments, companies can link the Accellion appliance(s) to the network directory (e.g., LDAP and Active Directory) that controls all end user access to network resources. This ensures security while making it easy for the IT administrators.
Virus checking – The system administrator can set the appliance such that all files placed on it are screened for viruses and malware.
Automated file lifecycle management – The appliance has automated processes to remove files that have reached their “expiration date” on the appliance without administrator intervention while giving the senders control over the exact file lifecycle. This also helps to satisfy requirements under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 37.
Audit features – Audit trails list who has been sending and receiving files, which helps organizations to comply with security and privacy mandates in legislation like Sarbanes-Oxley, the Graham Leach Bliley Act (GLBA), and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
Aside from the security features mentioned above, customers also tell me they like the appliance form factor that just plugs into a company’s network. Everything is owned and administered by the company. There is no concern about someone else hosting your files, or about pieces of files being transferred via peer-to-peer networks.
In other words, the solution is enterprise-grade in security and administration but easy to use like a consumer product. The best of all possible worlds.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Accellion updates secure file transfer appliance - user interface now available in six languages
Clarian Health finds quick way to transfer files: Clarian Health Partners’ telemedicine program... has found a way to save time, money – and aggravation – by getting done in two hours what might have taken two weeks in the past.
Press Releases
Microsystems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for its Large File Transfer Needs
Accellion Makes Global Collaboration Easier With Internationalization of Secure File Transfer Solution
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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I’m pleased to tell you that Accellion has received a 2007 Global Product Excellence Award -- Customer Trust from the Info Security Products Guide. Accellion’s award comes in the category of “secure file transfer appliance.”
While it’s always nice to garner a recognition, what makes this one especially gratifying is that it is customers and end users that cast the votes. In other words, we have won the American Idol for secure file transfer appliance all thanks to our legion of fans – the people who trust and depend on the Accellion Secure File Transfer Solution day after day.
Sweet!
As I talk with Accellion customers, I hear their stories of how our secure file transfer solution transforms and enhances their organizational processes. Most of our customers cite ease of use for end users as a main driving factor that led them to look for a secure file transfer solution in the first place. But once they looked a little closer at the Accellion solution, they found the robust security features we’ve built in. And while other file transfer products might have elements of these features, taken as a whole, no enterprise file transfer solution can even come close to the total package of security and ease of use that Accellion delivers.
For security features, here are some of the popular ones:
Information storage and transmission encryption – files can be encrypted during transmission, sending and receiving, and storage using the appliance. This protects the file while it is “waiting for delivery.”
Integration with enterprise directory systems -- For enterprise deployments, companies can link the Accellion appliance(s) to the network directory (e.g., LDAP and Active Directory) that controls all end user access to network resources. This ensures security while making it easy for the IT administrators.
Virus checking – The system administrator can set the appliance such that all files placed on it are screened for viruses and malware.
Automated file lifecycle management – The appliance has automated processes to remove files that have reached their “expiration date” on the appliance without administrator intervention while giving the senders control over the exact file lifecycle. This also helps to satisfy requirements under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 37.
Audit features – Audit trails list who has been sending and receiving files, which helps organizations to comply with security and privacy mandates in legislation like Sarbanes-Oxley, the Graham Leach Bliley Act (GLBA), and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
Aside from the security features mentioned above, customers also tell me they like the appliance form factor that just plugs into a company’s network. Everything is owned and administered by the company. There is no concern about someone else hosting your files, or about pieces of files being transferred via peer-to-peer networks.
In other words, the solution is enterprise-grade in security and administration but easy to use like a consumer product. The best of all possible worlds.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Accellion updates secure file transfer appliance - user interface now available in six languages
Clarian Health finds quick way to transfer files: Clarian Health Partners’ telemedicine program... has found a way to save time, money – and aggravation – by getting done in two hours what might have taken two weeks in the past.Press Releases
Microsystems Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for its Large File Transfer Needs
Accellion Makes Global Collaboration Easier With Internationalization of Secure File Transfer Solution
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Think Globally but Act (and Send Files) Locally with Accellion Release 6.0
Summary: English is the “lingua franca” of the global business world, but many users still prefer to operate in more familiar languages such as German, French, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. Accellion lets you do that.
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Do you have customers, partners, or clients who prefer to operate in French, German, Japanese, Chinese, or Korean? All of these languages are important tools of the business world in our global economy. With colleagues, business partners or customers in other parts of the world, chances are they prefer to transact business in a language they feel comfortable with, and this isn’t always English. What’s more, some markets, like France and Quebec, require that you use the native language.
We recognize that fact, and thus we have internationalized the Accellion Secure File Transfer solution. Release 6.0 of our product, announced in early June and now available, has user interfaces localized for six languages: English, French, German, Korean, Japanese and simplified Chinese. Our customers who need to send and receive large files with people all around the world appreciate being able to use a language that is familiar to them.
Look at Millward Brown, one of the world’s leading research companies. This company has a diverse staff located in 75 offices spread across 43 countries. As a research leader, collaboration within the company is critical. Sometimes ideas, designs and plans are shooting back and forth among colleagues and clients as fast as the workers can push “send” on their Accellion file transfer application. We’ve now made it even easier for these workers to collaborate in a friendly and familiar language.
And now consider China, a powerhouse in the world of business. With its economy expanding at a rate above 9 percent yearly since the turn of the century, this country is not a force to ignore. China’s growth comes not only from soaring sales oversees, but also from tremendous domestic demand. Accellion took this into consideration as we developed our Secure File Transfer Solution with the simplified Chinese user interface. Business colleagues all around China can use a familiar language in their business transactions that require sending and receiving large files.
I once had a colleague who kept a plaque on his wall that said Think globally. Act locally. That’s the exact principle we have in mind as we launch multi-language support in our product.
The new native-language user interfaces of release 6.0 of the Accellion solution are important, but that’s not all that’s new in our product. We’ve added increased auditing capabilities, device clustering for increased availability, support for Outlook 2007, additional user access security settings, and more. Read more about release 6.0 on the Accellion site.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Clarian Health finds quick way to transfer files: Clarian Health Partners’ telemedicine program... has found a way to save time, money – and aggravation – by getting done in two hours what might have taken two weeks in the past.
LTN Done Deals: Accellion & Keker & Van Nest: Litigation firm Keker & Van Nest has purchased Accellion Inc.'s file transfer system.
Press Releases
Accellion Makes Global Collaboration Easier With Internationalization of Secure File Transfer Solution
Barkley Selects Accellion to Solve Inadequacy of Email File Transfer
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Do you have customers, partners, or clients who prefer to operate in French, German, Japanese, Chinese, or Korean? All of these languages are important tools of the business world in our global economy. With colleagues, business partners or customers in other parts of the world, chances are they prefer to transact business in a language they feel comfortable with, and this isn’t always English. What’s more, some markets, like France and Quebec, require that you use the native language.
We recognize that fact, and thus we have internationalized the Accellion Secure File Transfer solution. Release 6.0 of our product, announced in early June and now available, has user interfaces localized for six languages: English, French, German, Korean, Japanese and simplified Chinese. Our customers who need to send and receive large files with people all around the world appreciate being able to use a language that is familiar to them.
Look at Millward Brown, one of the world’s leading research companies. This company has a diverse staff located in 75 offices spread across 43 countries. As a research leader, collaboration within the company is critical. Sometimes ideas, designs and plans are shooting back and forth among colleagues and clients as fast as the workers can push “send” on their Accellion file transfer application. We’ve now made it even easier for these workers to collaborate in a friendly and familiar language.
And now consider China, a powerhouse in the world of business. With its economy expanding at a rate above 9 percent yearly since the turn of the century, this country is not a force to ignore. China’s growth comes not only from soaring sales oversees, but also from tremendous domestic demand. Accellion took this into consideration as we developed our Secure File Transfer Solution with the simplified Chinese user interface. Business colleagues all around China can use a familiar language in their business transactions that require sending and receiving large files.
I once had a colleague who kept a plaque on his wall that said Think globally. Act locally. That’s the exact principle we have in mind as we launch multi-language support in our product.
The new native-language user interfaces of release 6.0 of the Accellion solution are important, but that’s not all that’s new in our product. We’ve added increased auditing capabilities, device clustering for increased availability, support for Outlook 2007, additional user access security settings, and more. Read more about release 6.0 on the Accellion site.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Clarian Health finds quick way to transfer files: Clarian Health Partners’ telemedicine program... has found a way to save time, money – and aggravation – by getting done in two hours what might have taken two weeks in the past.LTN Done Deals: Accellion & Keker & Van Nest: Litigation firm Keker & Van Nest has purchased Accellion Inc.'s file transfer system.
Press Releases
Accellion Makes Global Collaboration Easier With Internationalization of Secure File Transfer Solution
Barkley Selects Accellion to Solve Inadequacy of Email File Transfer
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Ubiquity or Commodity - What a Secure File Transfer Solution Is and Isn't
Summary: In the IT world, we often (mistakenly) use words like "ubiquitous" and "commodity" interchangeably. Secure file transfer is a ubiquitous process but the solutions are not a commodity. Remember that and you are already ahead of the game in your selection process.
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In a recent conversation with a friend who runs an enterprise-class email company, I was yakking about how hosted email has become a "commodity" where everyone seems to have several email addresses from the likes of Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail. My friend corrected me on email as a commodity, however. Yes, email is everywhere and everyone uses it, which makes email ubiquitous. But:
A true commodity product is highly standardized and interchangeable with like products. In IT hardware, DRAM cards would be an example of a commodity. In IT software, a standard FTP package is an example.
In the enterprise solution world, however, the fact that something – like email – is common (a.k.a. ubiquitous) and often has similar functionality from many different vendors does not make it a commodity. To wit, everyone uses hosted email, but it’s extremely difficult to build and maintain an email system on an enterprise or carrier scale to support millions of users. Even for the end users, there are myriad considerations such as protocols, security features, user interfaces, administration, etc. that distinguish one solution from another.
(As the saying goes, to plagiarize is to pay the ultimate compliment.)
In the secure file transfer business that Accellion is in, I would make the same argument. The act of transferring files may be ubiquitous and common to most business processes, but the method of transferring files securely is certainly not a commodity.
In fact, if we look at how Accellion has architected the process of securely transferring files, it is a rarity compared to the alternative methods such as a homegrown FTP solution, CD/FedEx, or email attachments. We find there are very few directly competitive products because building an “on demand” file transfer solution like Accellion’s is not easy. In other words, end users and the IT team often had to compromise security for usability until they found Accellion.
I regularly hear from customers and prospects about how Accellion's features in security, availability, ease of use, ease of administration, auditability, and so on make it an ideal file transfer solution for an enterprise-class deployment.
So, let's make a distinction between ubiquity and commodity. Secure file transfer is a ubiquitous process for most enterprise activities. But secure file transfer solution is not a commodity. As a matter of a fact, by recognizing the fact that secure file transfer is not a commodity, you are already ahead of the game in selecting the right secure file transfer solution for your organization.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Clarian Health finds quick way to transfer files: Clarian Health Partners’ telemedicine program... has found a way to save time, money – and aggravation – by getting done in two hours what might have taken two weeks in the past.
LTN Done Deals: Accellion & Keker & Van Nest: Litigation firm Keker & Van Nest has purchased Accellion Inc.'s file transfer system.
Press Releases
Accellion Makes Global Collaboration Easier With Internationalization of Secure File Transfer Solution
Barkley Selects Accellion to Solve Inadequacy of Email File Transfer
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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In a recent conversation with a friend who runs an enterprise-class email company, I was yakking about how hosted email has become a "commodity" where everyone seems to have several email addresses from the likes of Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail. My friend corrected me on email as a commodity, however. Yes, email is everywhere and everyone uses it, which makes email ubiquitous. But:
A true commodity product is highly standardized and interchangeable with like products. In IT hardware, DRAM cards would be an example of a commodity. In IT software, a standard FTP package is an example.
In the enterprise solution world, however, the fact that something – like email – is common (a.k.a. ubiquitous) and often has similar functionality from many different vendors does not make it a commodity. To wit, everyone uses hosted email, but it’s extremely difficult to build and maintain an email system on an enterprise or carrier scale to support millions of users. Even for the end users, there are myriad considerations such as protocols, security features, user interfaces, administration, etc. that distinguish one solution from another.
(As the saying goes, to plagiarize is to pay the ultimate compliment.)
In the secure file transfer business that Accellion is in, I would make the same argument. The act of transferring files may be ubiquitous and common to most business processes, but the method of transferring files securely is certainly not a commodity.
In fact, if we look at how Accellion has architected the process of securely transferring files, it is a rarity compared to the alternative methods such as a homegrown FTP solution, CD/FedEx, or email attachments. We find there are very few directly competitive products because building an “on demand” file transfer solution like Accellion’s is not easy. In other words, end users and the IT team often had to compromise security for usability until they found Accellion.
I regularly hear from customers and prospects about how Accellion's features in security, availability, ease of use, ease of administration, auditability, and so on make it an ideal file transfer solution for an enterprise-class deployment.
So, let's make a distinction between ubiquity and commodity. Secure file transfer is a ubiquitous process for most enterprise activities. But secure file transfer solution is not a commodity. As a matter of a fact, by recognizing the fact that secure file transfer is not a commodity, you are already ahead of the game in selecting the right secure file transfer solution for your organization.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Clarian Health finds quick way to transfer files: Clarian Health Partners’ telemedicine program... has found a way to save time, money – and aggravation – by getting done in two hours what might have taken two weeks in the past.LTN Done Deals: Accellion & Keker & Van Nest: Litigation firm Keker & Van Nest has purchased Accellion Inc.'s file transfer system.
Press Releases
Accellion Makes Global Collaboration Easier With Internationalization of Secure File Transfer Solution
Barkley Selects Accellion to Solve Inadequacy of Email File Transfer
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Process agility and Compliance - conflicting forces or a competitive advantage?
Summary: Companies are looking for ways to speed up their business processes. At the same time, they must comply with regulations governing those same business processes. How can you satisfy these seemingly conflicting requirements at once?
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Part of the fun in the business world is that there are often conflicting forces at work. Since Y2K, two seemingly contradictory forces have begun to do battle in enterprises big and small, only to leave confusion in their wake.
Force One is the need for organizational process agility as a survival prerogative. Develop products with partners faster. Get to market sooner. Reach interested parties - customers, partners and coworkers on the other side of the globe - instantaneously. Drive profits up and cost down today. In the famous words of Andy Grove, only the paranoid survive. The ability to quickly adjust to the constantly shifting business landscape in days and weeks instead of years is one of the hallmarks of today's reality.
Force Two has emerged from new security and compliance regimes since the spectacular cases of governance failure at companies like Enron, WorldCom, and Adelphia. Explicitly through regulations and implicitly through business (best) practices, enterprises are now having to deal with higher hurdles in compliance and governance.
Without taking side on either of these driving forces, it is also clear that they each can demand quite different processes and the ultimate question for all the businesses is simply - how can you increase business processes agility but be assured that you are in compliance with every regulation that governs those processes?
At Accellion, we are constantly talking with companies that are looking for a way to improve their business process agility involving sharing information among internal users and colleagues outside the organization. The question they bring us usually is a variation on these three concerns,
“1. How can we speed up the way we send and receive documents, video, graphic images and other large files,
2. while at the same time ensure the privacy and security of these critical business records
3. without complicated and time consuming IT administrative oversight?”
This, lucky you, is the exact question Accellion set out to answer when we developed the Accellion secure file transfer solution.
1. Send and receive files easily:
If you know what is the right (Accellion) solution to use.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal - Track and Report Conformance During File Transfers: Survey results confirm need for broader tracking and reporting features introduced in Accellion’s Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance.
ConstruTech - Perini Deploys Accellion: ...[P]rotect our email infrastructure with the associated archiving systems while allowing users to send very large files as part of their regular business processes.
Press Releases
Barkley Selects Accellion to Solve Inadequacy of Email File Transfer
Keker & Van Nest Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for Its Large File Transfer Needs
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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Part of the fun in the business world is that there are often conflicting forces at work. Since Y2K, two seemingly contradictory forces have begun to do battle in enterprises big and small, only to leave confusion in their wake.
Force One is the need for organizational process agility as a survival prerogative. Develop products with partners faster. Get to market sooner. Reach interested parties - customers, partners and coworkers on the other side of the globe - instantaneously. Drive profits up and cost down today. In the famous words of Andy Grove, only the paranoid survive. The ability to quickly adjust to the constantly shifting business landscape in days and weeks instead of years is one of the hallmarks of today's reality.
Force Two has emerged from new security and compliance regimes since the spectacular cases of governance failure at companies like Enron, WorldCom, and Adelphia. Explicitly through regulations and implicitly through business (best) practices, enterprises are now having to deal with higher hurdles in compliance and governance.
Without taking side on either of these driving forces, it is also clear that they each can demand quite different processes and the ultimate question for all the businesses is simply - how can you increase business processes agility but be assured that you are in compliance with every regulation that governs those processes?
At Accellion, we are constantly talking with companies that are looking for a way to improve their business process agility involving sharing information among internal users and colleagues outside the organization. The question they bring us usually is a variation on these three concerns,
“1. How can we speed up the way we send and receive documents, video, graphic images and other large files,
2. while at the same time ensure the privacy and security of these critical business records
3. without complicated and time consuming IT administrative oversight?”
This, lucky you, is the exact question Accellion set out to answer when we developed the Accellion secure file transfer solution.
1. Send and receive files easily:
- An internal user can send files to his colleagues by sending the files via the secure file transfer appliance. From anywhere in the world, the recipient can access those files over the Internet instantly. Not next day. Not in a few hours. As fast as you can click.
- An internal user can give his outside business partners the authority to send files back into the company without IT intervention via the secure file transfer appliance. In other words, the internal user can collaborate with external users on critical work files without waiting.
- Only authorized users can access the appliance to send and receive files.
- A file lifecycle management system ensures that files are left on the appliance only for a defined period of time. If they are not retrieved in that time period, the files are securely and automatically removed from the appliance.
- Management reports provide audit trails of who is sending and receiving files.
- With end user self-provisioning capabilities, IT involvement in daily operation is significantly reduced.
- By bypassing email for file transfer, this also removes the occasional drama when a file, say an important proposal due in 15 minutes, is too large as an attachment.
- Files are screened for viruses when they are placed on the appliance.
If you know what is the right (Accellion) solution to use.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal - Track and Report Conformance During File Transfers: Survey results confirm need for broader tracking and reporting features introduced in Accellion’s Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance.
ConstruTech - Perini Deploys Accellion: ...[P]rotect our email infrastructure with the associated archiving systems while allowing users to send very large files as part of their regular business processes.
Press Releases
Barkley Selects Accellion to Solve Inadequacy of Email File Transfer
Keker & Van Nest Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for Its Large File Transfer Needs
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Be a Superhero like Spider-Man by Offering a "Stupid Easy" Secure Large File Transfer Solution
Summary: What Accellion customers and prospects are telling us. Saving marketing teams from certain doom and providing solutions that anyone can use. ACA Guy wishes he could have made up good plots like these...
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If you have not seen Spider-Man 3, I will not spoil it for you. But, it is safe to say that our superhero prevails in the end. Wouldn't that be nice in real life? Just when things look their bleakest with hope fading, along comes the intrepid superhero to get the job done!
It happened to an Accellion customer recently. I have removed some information to protect the innocents, but this is more or less verbatim of the email I got:
Friday night I saw an e-mail from a colleague in our marketing department on my Blackberry. She was trying to e-mail an RFP to a prospective client, but the message kept getting rejected on the other side due to the size of the attachment. It was 7:45pm and the deadline for RFP submission was 8:00. I set her up on the Accellion box, and an e-mail successfully went through just before the deadline. The next day she got the download receipt, and the client reported that "this approach worked very well."
Ultimately it's too soon to tell if we'll get the client, but your box really came through for the firm this weekend!
I can see it all in my mind now. The marketing team slaved over the proposal, worked out all the possible scenarios, and it was the job of the team leader (played by the lovely Kristin Dunst) to get the proposal over. With 15 minutes left on the clock, zoom in on the despair of the team leader when the proposal was rejected by the client's email server. Then, swoop in our IT superhero from the ceiling (played by Tobey Maguire) whose quick thinking and preparedness saved the day by getting the proposal over via Accellion secure file transfer solution with seconds to spare.
Well, I suppose that may be a hard Spider-Man story to sell, but the emotion was probably quite real for the team leader who spent hours or possibly days preparing the proposal to submit to the prospective client. What would happen if she had missed the deadline because the email system couldn’t handle her file? She would have done a lot of work for nothing. She could have been reprimanded for blowing the deal over her poor planning on how to deliver the proposal. Instead, the Accellion solution gets the job done with minimum drama.
Lesson learnt: Add Accellion secure file transfer solution to your toolbox and you, too, can be a superhero.
---
And speaking of talking with customers, one of our super sales reps told me that he recently talked with a prospect looking for a secure file transfer solution. Specifically, the prospect came to Accellion because he needs a solution that is stupid easy because that is what his end users need.
May not be the exact phrase I would have used but stupid easy does pretty much describe the Accellion method. Naturally, I think of it more as super easy, but, secure large file transfer made stupid easy works for me too.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal - Track and Report Conformance During File Transfers: Survey results confirm need for broader tracking and reporting features introduced in Accellion’s Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance.
ConstruTech - Perini Deploys Accellion: ...[P]rotect our email infrastructure with the associated archiving systems while allowing users to send very large files as part of their regular business processes.
Press Releases
Barkley Selects Accellion to Solve Inadequacy of Email File Transfer
Keker & Van Nest Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for Its Large File Transfer Needs
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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If you have not seen Spider-Man 3, I will not spoil it for you. But, it is safe to say that our superhero prevails in the end. Wouldn't that be nice in real life? Just when things look their bleakest with hope fading, along comes the intrepid superhero to get the job done!
It happened to an Accellion customer recently. I have removed some information to protect the innocents, but this is more or less verbatim of the email I got:
Friday night I saw an e-mail from a colleague in our marketing department on my Blackberry. She was trying to e-mail an RFP to a prospective client, but the message kept getting rejected on the other side due to the size of the attachment. It was 7:45pm and the deadline for RFP submission was 8:00. I set her up on the Accellion box, and an e-mail successfully went through just before the deadline. The next day she got the download receipt, and the client reported that "this approach worked very well."
Ultimately it's too soon to tell if we'll get the client, but your box really came through for the firm this weekend!
I can see it all in my mind now. The marketing team slaved over the proposal, worked out all the possible scenarios, and it was the job of the team leader (played by the lovely Kristin Dunst) to get the proposal over. With 15 minutes left on the clock, zoom in on the despair of the team leader when the proposal was rejected by the client's email server. Then, swoop in our IT superhero from the ceiling (played by Tobey Maguire) whose quick thinking and preparedness saved the day by getting the proposal over via Accellion secure file transfer solution with seconds to spare.
Well, I suppose that may be a hard Spider-Man story to sell, but the emotion was probably quite real for the team leader who spent hours or possibly days preparing the proposal to submit to the prospective client. What would happen if she had missed the deadline because the email system couldn’t handle her file? She would have done a lot of work for nothing. She could have been reprimanded for blowing the deal over her poor planning on how to deliver the proposal. Instead, the Accellion solution gets the job done with minimum drama.
Lesson learnt: Add Accellion secure file transfer solution to your toolbox and you, too, can be a superhero.
And speaking of talking with customers, one of our super sales reps told me that he recently talked with a prospect looking for a secure file transfer solution. Specifically, the prospect came to Accellion because he needs a solution that is stupid easy because that is what his end users need.
May not be the exact phrase I would have used but stupid easy does pretty much describe the Accellion method. Naturally, I think of it more as super easy, but, secure large file transfer made stupid easy works for me too.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal - Track and Report Conformance During File Transfers: Survey results confirm need for broader tracking and reporting features introduced in Accellion’s Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance.
ConstruTech - Perini Deploys Accellion: ...[P]rotect our email infrastructure with the associated archiving systems while allowing users to send very large files as part of their regular business processes.
Press Releases
Barkley Selects Accellion to Solve Inadequacy of Email File Transfer
Keker & Van Nest Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for Its Large File Transfer Needs
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Keep Information and File Transfer Safe from the Omniscient and Prying Eyes of Google
Summary: Google provides an omniscient tool for the relentless searchers to find an information needle in a haystack. Use an Accellion file transfer appliance to keep confidential data away from the clutches of Google's vast tentacles.
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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In an old posting on ftp in the era of search engines, I mused over the new reality of Google and other search engines automatically finding and indexing information that you have stored on FTP servers. Obviously, this is a security, privacy, and compliance concern for all involved.
On top of that news comes a posting on the Future Lawyer website on Google Web History. In short, this utility keeps a history of every Google search a person does. The blogger speculates: could a person be compelled by a court to reveal his web searches as discoverable evidence in a trial?
Having Google disgorge private information is probably more common that anyone cares to contemplate. I was doing a Google search on a company recently and turned up a document listing contact and fee information for a proposal that I am sure that they do not know is in the "public domain." My speculation based on the content is that the file was sent as an email attachment and somewhere, somebody exposed the document inadvertently.
Life under the omniscience of Google can be tricky. And, if FTP and email as file transfer methods are problematic under the prying eyes of search engines and other information collection spiders, where does the Accellion secure file transfer solution fit?
The short answer is "No." Google and other spiders cannot penetrate the Accellion solution to index the information because the system requires login and comes with a sophisticated set of enterprise class access controls to prevent unauthorized access from those black hat spiders.
In addition to stopping snooping eyes at the front gate, Accellion appliance has two more features that provide extra safety. First, the life-cycle management utility regularly removes files that have reached their designated expiration timeframe. So, the quantity of files available on the system is limited - compared to FTP servers which keep files forever until they are manually removed. And second, the Accellion solution allows you to encrypt files stored on the system so that only authorized users with the correct decryption information can read the files you've stored there.
So, people all around the world can google for your private data all they want. But, if it’s stored on an Accellion secure file transfer solution, there’s no fear it will be revealed.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal - Track and Report Conformance During File Transfers: Survey results confirm need for broader tracking and reporting features introduced in Accellion’s Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance.
ConstruTech - Perini Deploys Accellion: ...[P]rotect our email infrastructure with the associated archiving systems while allowing users to send very large files as part of their regular business processes.
Press Releases
Keker & Van Nest Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for Its Large File Transfer Needs
MSA Selects Accellion's Secure File Transfer Solution for Global Large File Transfer Needs
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
In an old posting on ftp in the era of search engines, I mused over the new reality of Google and other search engines automatically finding and indexing information that you have stored on FTP servers. Obviously, this is a security, privacy, and compliance concern for all involved.
On top of that news comes a posting on the Future Lawyer website on Google Web History. In short, this utility keeps a history of every Google search a person does. The blogger speculates: could a person be compelled by a court to reveal his web searches as discoverable evidence in a trial?
Having Google disgorge private information is probably more common that anyone cares to contemplate. I was doing a Google search on a company recently and turned up a document listing contact and fee information for a proposal that I am sure that they do not know is in the "public domain." My speculation based on the content is that the file was sent as an email attachment and somewhere, somebody exposed the document inadvertently.
Life under the omniscience of Google can be tricky. And, if FTP and email as file transfer methods are problematic under the prying eyes of search engines and other information collection spiders, where does the Accellion secure file transfer solution fit?
The short answer is "No." Google and other spiders cannot penetrate the Accellion solution to index the information because the system requires login and comes with a sophisticated set of enterprise class access controls to prevent unauthorized access from those black hat spiders.
In addition to stopping snooping eyes at the front gate, Accellion appliance has two more features that provide extra safety. First, the life-cycle management utility regularly removes files that have reached their designated expiration timeframe. So, the quantity of files available on the system is limited - compared to FTP servers which keep files forever until they are manually removed. And second, the Accellion solution allows you to encrypt files stored on the system so that only authorized users with the correct decryption information can read the files you've stored there.
So, people all around the world can google for your private data all they want. But, if it’s stored on an Accellion secure file transfer solution, there’s no fear it will be revealed.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal - Track and Report Conformance During File Transfers: Survey results confirm need for broader tracking and reporting features introduced in Accellion’s Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance.
ConstruTech - Perini Deploys Accellion: ...[P]rotect our email infrastructure with the associated archiving systems while allowing users to send very large files as part of their regular business processes.
Press Releases
Keker & Van Nest Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for Its Large File Transfer Needs
MSA Selects Accellion's Secure File Transfer Solution for Global Large File Transfer Needs
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Email, Security, Performance, Happy Users - a year of ideas and best practices from ACA Guy
Summary: Improve email performance, meet security and compliance mandates, and make end users and IT happy, all at the same time - a year of ACA Guy to make the world a better place.
A retrospective.
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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Oh-my, oh-my, oh-my! From the modest Hello, World entry on May 10, 2006, this posting will mark the one year anniversary for the ACA Guy! This is an excellent time for a quick retrospective on the business issues, solutions, and examples covered in the past year. Maybe you’ll see something here to solve your business problems and spark your interest in Accellion's secure file transfer solution!
Overworked email systems clogged up with large attachments
This is probably the number one reason why companies come calling on Accellion. Their email systems are pushed to the breaking point by the many large attachments that are increasingly common in most business processes. These email attachments are causing systematic impact on the entire infrastructure. And, more important, by rendering the email system -- the number one productivity tool for most enterprises -- ineffective, this is no longer an IT issue but a business problem.
Some email administrators try to solve the issue by imposing file size limitations. Rather than solving a problem, it just exacerbates the headache when end users can’t complete their business processes that require the transfer of files to and from other people.
Accellion's secure file transfer solution complements your existing email infrastructure and lets end users send files/folders of any size without IT intervention.
Attachment Limits: Myth or Reality? Not If You Use Accellion
Integrate Accellion SFTA with Email Client So End Users Do Not Have to Leave Email to Send Large Files Securely
Using Exchange/Outlook and Domino/Notes with Accellion Secure File Transfer Appliance
No Pain is Gain - What email focused VAR partners are doing for email size limits
Microsoft Exchange/Outlook Attachment Size: Best Practices, Limits, and Solutions
Security and compliance requirements also apply to file transfer processes
Gone are the nonchalant days when workers can send information in an open and unsecured way. Now security and compliance mandates are pushing every organizations to ask questions like: “If I send this confidential business plan via email, could it be seen by the wrong people?”, “I need to post patient information on a FTP server for a consulting doctor, but does that meet HIPAA regulations?”, “How can our lawyers send us information about the case on trial?”
Security and privacy for business processes that involve file transfer are key considerations for adopting the Accellion solution.
Listen to Forbes! Do Not Accept that Email Attachment. Use Accellion Instead
Be like Tom Cruise (or Peter Graves) and Get Your Files to Self-Destruct Securely
Ideals and Realities - Who is Responsible for Ensuring Security and Compliance for Files Transfer?
Secure and Compliant File Transfer = Technology + Human Behavior
Security and Auditability Legislative Mandates: Do Your File Transfer Processes Comply?
Are you Federal Rules of Civil Procedure - Rule 37 section (f) compliant? Accellion SFTA can help
Users need the ability to run business processes without asking IT for permission or help every time.
Technology should be an enabler, not a stumbling block for knowledge workers. An end-user should not have to request permission to have a larger file size limit in email, to post a file to an FTP server, or to receive a large file from someone outside the company. What’s more, the IT department shouldn’t get bogged down handling these kinds of requests.
How to get out of this rut? Implement a file transfer technology like Accellion's that is easy for everyone to use – including authorized people who are outside the company.
Collaboration Solution as a Business Productivity Tool
When it Absolutely, Positively Has To Get There and Back, Right Now
Let External Users Send Large Files Back Securely without Harassing IT
Secure File Transfer Comes of Age in the Era of Pervasive Computing
Putting the Machine in Deus ex Machina - Sending folders and 10GB files without IT Help
This has been a great year of sharing the Accellion experiences in solving business problems and boosting users' productivity without bugging the IT team.
And, we have just gotten started.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal - Track and Report Conformance During File Transfers: Survey results confirm need for broader tracking and reporting features introduced in Accellion’s Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance.
ConstruTech - Perini Deploys Accellion: ...[P]rotect our email infrastructure with the associated archiving systems while allowing users to send very large files as part of their regular business processes.
Press Releases
Keker & Van Nest Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for Its Large File Transfer Needs
MSA Selects Accellion's Secure File Transfer Solution for Global Large File Transfer Needs
A retrospective.
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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Oh-my, oh-my, oh-my! From the modest Hello, World entry on May 10, 2006, this posting will mark the one year anniversary for the ACA Guy! This is an excellent time for a quick retrospective on the business issues, solutions, and examples covered in the past year. Maybe you’ll see something here to solve your business problems and spark your interest in Accellion's secure file transfer solution!
Overworked email systems clogged up with large attachments
This is probably the number one reason why companies come calling on Accellion. Their email systems are pushed to the breaking point by the many large attachments that are increasingly common in most business processes. These email attachments are causing systematic impact on the entire infrastructure. And, more important, by rendering the email system -- the number one productivity tool for most enterprises -- ineffective, this is no longer an IT issue but a business problem.
Some email administrators try to solve the issue by imposing file size limitations. Rather than solving a problem, it just exacerbates the headache when end users can’t complete their business processes that require the transfer of files to and from other people.
Accellion's secure file transfer solution complements your existing email infrastructure and lets end users send files/folders of any size without IT intervention.
Attachment Limits: Myth or Reality? Not If You Use Accellion
Integrate Accellion SFTA with Email Client So End Users Do Not Have to Leave Email to Send Large Files Securely
Using Exchange/Outlook and Domino/Notes with Accellion Secure File Transfer Appliance
No Pain is Gain - What email focused VAR partners are doing for email size limits
Microsoft Exchange/Outlook Attachment Size: Best Practices, Limits, and Solutions
Security and compliance requirements also apply to file transfer processes
Gone are the nonchalant days when workers can send information in an open and unsecured way. Now security and compliance mandates are pushing every organizations to ask questions like: “If I send this confidential business plan via email, could it be seen by the wrong people?”, “I need to post patient information on a FTP server for a consulting doctor, but does that meet HIPAA regulations?”, “How can our lawyers send us information about the case on trial?”
Security and privacy for business processes that involve file transfer are key considerations for adopting the Accellion solution.
Listen to Forbes! Do Not Accept that Email Attachment. Use Accellion Instead
Be like Tom Cruise (or Peter Graves) and Get Your Files to Self-Destruct Securely
Ideals and Realities - Who is Responsible for Ensuring Security and Compliance for Files Transfer?
Secure and Compliant File Transfer = Technology + Human Behavior
Security and Auditability Legislative Mandates: Do Your File Transfer Processes Comply?
Are you Federal Rules of Civil Procedure - Rule 37 section (f) compliant? Accellion SFTA can help
Users need the ability to run business processes without asking IT for permission or help every time.
Technology should be an enabler, not a stumbling block for knowledge workers. An end-user should not have to request permission to have a larger file size limit in email, to post a file to an FTP server, or to receive a large file from someone outside the company. What’s more, the IT department shouldn’t get bogged down handling these kinds of requests.
How to get out of this rut? Implement a file transfer technology like Accellion's that is easy for everyone to use – including authorized people who are outside the company.
Collaboration Solution as a Business Productivity Tool
When it Absolutely, Positively Has To Get There and Back, Right Now
Let External Users Send Large Files Back Securely without Harassing IT
Secure File Transfer Comes of Age in the Era of Pervasive Computing
Putting the Machine in Deus ex Machina - Sending folders and 10GB files without IT Help
This has been a great year of sharing the Accellion experiences in solving business problems and boosting users' productivity without bugging the IT team.
And, we have just gotten started.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal - Track and Report Conformance During File Transfers: Survey results confirm need for broader tracking and reporting features introduced in Accellion’s Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance.
ConstruTech - Perini Deploys Accellion: ...[P]rotect our email infrastructure with the associated archiving systems while allowing users to send very large files as part of their regular business processes.
Press Releases
Keker & Van Nest Selects Accellion’s Secure File Transfer Solution for Its Large File Transfer Needs
MSA Selects Accellion's Secure File Transfer Solution for Global Large File Transfer Needs
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Buy vs Build for Secure File Transfer - how much of a Rube Goldberg do you want to be?
Summary: Maintaining home grown file transfer solutions can be a headache if it goes well and a nightmare if it doesn't. The smart IT departments are buying secure file transfer appliances instead.
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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When talking with prospective customers about their file transfer needs, I always ask what ‘solution’ they are currently using. The answer usually falls into one or two of a handful of methods, such as email attachments, an FTP/SFTP server, CDs/DVDs, or a home grown solution which often involves a (non-secure) FTP server and various scripts or manual administrative processes to manage the 'solution.'
As home grown solutions, there are often layers of logic that may have met the business requirements for a time but, the overall logic inevitably ends up in an almost Rube Goldberg-like fashion. These layers of logic are often poorly documented and if the logic creator moves to a different position or forgets about the intricate details, maintenance becomes a headache if all goes well and a nightmare if something breaks! In other words, these layers are leading IT departments to look for off-the-shelf solutions like the Accellion secure file transfer solution.
It’s the classic Build versus Buy argument for an IT solution that is not a unique or core business process for an enterprise.
For decades, companies and IT departments have confronted this conundrum - buy or build. Generally, the answer is ‘Yes, build it!’ if: (1) no vendor makes an application that does at least 80% of what you need, and (2) the application is mission-critical to the heart of the business. Conversely, the answer is ‘No, we should buy the solution from outside’ if: (1) you can buy an application off-the-shelf and adapt it to your own needs, and (2) the process that the application automates is not a business core competency.
For many applications, the ‘buy’ decision has become much easier in recent years due to the advent of smart, single-purpose appliances, made possible largely by the rise of Linux and open source software. Such is the case with the Accellion solution. We developed this solution three years ago, based on an extensive list of requirements that satisfy most file transfer needs in various verticals such as advertising agencies, law firms, health-care providers, engineering companies, etc.
Accellion's file transfer solution is secure, scalable, easy to install, and user-friendly, has very low maintenance overhead, and integrates with enterprise email systems. I haven’t seen a single home grown solution that comes close!
Perhaps best of all, when you buy instead of build your file transfer solution, you have a whole company that is dedicated to ensuring your secure file transfer success. You don’t need to devote a headcount to it, and you aren’t ‘trapped’ by the people who did the original coding for it.
When it comes to a secure file transfer solution for your organization, the choice to ‘buy’ instead of ‘build’ is a no-brainer.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal - Track and Report Conformance During File Transfers: Survey results confirm need for broader tracking and reporting features introduced in Accellion’s Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance.
ConstruTech - Perini Deploys Accellion: ...[P]rotect our email infrastructure with the associated archiving systems while allowing users to send very large files as part of their regular business processes.
Press Releases
MSA Selects Accellion's Secure File Transfer Solution for Global Large File Transfer Needs
Exponent Deploys Accellion's Secure File Transfer Solution to Enhance Communication of Data with Enterprise Clients
Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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When talking with prospective customers about their file transfer needs, I always ask what ‘solution’ they are currently using. The answer usually falls into one or two of a handful of methods, such as email attachments, an FTP/SFTP server, CDs/DVDs, or a home grown solution which often involves a (non-secure) FTP server and various scripts or manual administrative processes to manage the 'solution.'
As home grown solutions, there are often layers of logic that may have met the business requirements for a time but, the overall logic inevitably ends up in an almost Rube Goldberg-like fashion. These layers of logic are often poorly documented and if the logic creator moves to a different position or forgets about the intricate details, maintenance becomes a headache if all goes well and a nightmare if something breaks! In other words, these layers are leading IT departments to look for off-the-shelf solutions like the Accellion secure file transfer solution.
It’s the classic Build versus Buy argument for an IT solution that is not a unique or core business process for an enterprise.
For decades, companies and IT departments have confronted this conundrum - buy or build. Generally, the answer is ‘Yes, build it!’ if: (1) no vendor makes an application that does at least 80% of what you need, and (2) the application is mission-critical to the heart of the business. Conversely, the answer is ‘No, we should buy the solution from outside’ if: (1) you can buy an application off-the-shelf and adapt it to your own needs, and (2) the process that the application automates is not a business core competency.
For many applications, the ‘buy’ decision has become much easier in recent years due to the advent of smart, single-purpose appliances, made possible largely by the rise of Linux and open source software. Such is the case with the Accellion solution. We developed this solution three years ago, based on an extensive list of requirements that satisfy most file transfer needs in various verticals such as advertising agencies, law firms, health-care providers, engineering companies, etc.
Accellion's file transfer solution is secure, scalable, easy to install, and user-friendly, has very low maintenance overhead, and integrates with enterprise email systems. I haven’t seen a single home grown solution that comes close!
Perhaps best of all, when you buy instead of build your file transfer solution, you have a whole company that is dedicated to ensuring your secure file transfer success. You don’t need to devote a headcount to it, and you aren’t ‘trapped’ by the people who did the original coding for it.
When it comes to a secure file transfer solution for your organization, the choice to ‘buy’ instead of ‘build’ is a no-brainer.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal - Track and Report Conformance During File Transfers: Survey results confirm need for broader tracking and reporting features introduced in Accellion’s Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance.
ConstruTech - Perini Deploys Accellion: ...[P]rotect our email infrastructure with the associated archiving systems while allowing users to send very large files as part of their regular business processes.
Press Releases
MSA Selects Accellion's Secure File Transfer Solution for Global Large File Transfer Needs
Exponent Deploys Accellion's Secure File Transfer Solution to Enhance Communication of Data with Enterprise Clients
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Listen to Forbes! Do Not Accept that Email Attachment. Use Accellion Instead.
Summary: Forbes magazines says clicking on email attachments from strangers is the most dangerous thing you can do online. Fortunately, Accellion takes the worry out of accepting file/folder attachments from others.
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Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
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Forbes magazine recently ran an article about The Ten Most Dangerous Online Activities. Number One on the list is “clicking on email attachments from unknown senders.” Why is this so dangerous? As the Forbes article points out, “e-mail attachments continue to be the most likely means of contracting viruses, worms, Trojan horses and other digital infections. And because these attachments usually contain applications or executable files, they have the greatest potential to instigate the complete takeover--or destruction--of an enterprise PC.”
But that’s not the worst of it. The really scary part is that people KNOW this and often STILL can’t resist opening attachments from senders they don’t know.
In a business environment, it only takes one careless person to open a harmful attachment and unleash a disaster on the network. Network administrators know this and do what they can to prevent such actions, including banning attachments like executable files known to carry malware. But hackers know this, too, and they are getting trickier in the way they embed malware in their attachments.
A better way to combat the threat of malicious email attachments is to stop using email attachments altogether. But wait, that doesn’t mean you can’t send and receive those business-critical files that would normally go through email. I’m simply suggesting you use a more secure alternative method to transfer your business files: via a secure file transfer appliance, which decouples attachments from the enterprise email system.
Accellion’s secure file transfer solution allows you to send and receive the files you need, and it takes away the worry of receiving (or sending) a malware-laden attachment. We do this in two ways.
Number one, by off-loading attachments from the email system to the Accellion appliance, you ensure that only people you know and authorize are using the system to send files. That means you won’t be getting spam or other junk attachments from people you don’t know – at least not through the appliance. If attachments do make their way into your email inbox, you can assume they are suspect and quarantine or delete them.
Number two, all files that pass through an Accellion solution can be automatically screened for malware by F-Secure virus scanning bundled into the product. When you send a file to the appliance for transfer, or retrieve a sent file off the appliance to put on your own PC, the anti-virus program can watch your back. I say “can” because virus scanning is optional with the solution, although highly recommended. The appliance administrator can choose no scanning, scanning only on upload, scanning only on download, or scanning on both upload and download. In other words, choose the mode that suits your business practices the best.
Using Accellion secure file transfer solution to transfer files and folders makes it significantly less likely that bad attachments will get onto your users’ PCs or into your network. It should be a part of your broad security measures to protect your network and your business. Automatic security processes are a good thing, because as the Forbes article points out, users just “can’t help themselves” when email attachments tempt them.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal - Track and Report Conformance During File Transfers: Survey results confirm need for broader tracking and reporting features introduced in Accellion’s Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance.
ConstruTech - Perini Deploys Accellion: ...[P]rotect our email infrastructure with the associated archiving systems while allowing users to send very large files as part of their regular business processes.
Press Releases
MSA Selects Accellion's Secure File Transfer Solution for Global Large File Transfer Needs
Exponent Deploys Accellion's Secure File Transfer Solution to Enhance Communication of Data with Enterprise Clients
Don't forget to go to the bottom to see what Accellion has been up to
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forbes magazine recently ran an article about The Ten Most Dangerous Online Activities. Number One on the list is “clicking on email attachments from unknown senders.” Why is this so dangerous? As the Forbes article points out, “e-mail attachments continue to be the most likely means of contracting viruses, worms, Trojan horses and other digital infections. And because these attachments usually contain applications or executable files, they have the greatest potential to instigate the complete takeover--or destruction--of an enterprise PC.”
But that’s not the worst of it. The really scary part is that people KNOW this and often STILL can’t resist opening attachments from senders they don’t know.
In a business environment, it only takes one careless person to open a harmful attachment and unleash a disaster on the network. Network administrators know this and do what they can to prevent such actions, including banning attachments like executable files known to carry malware. But hackers know this, too, and they are getting trickier in the way they embed malware in their attachments.
A better way to combat the threat of malicious email attachments is to stop using email attachments altogether. But wait, that doesn’t mean you can’t send and receive those business-critical files that would normally go through email. I’m simply suggesting you use a more secure alternative method to transfer your business files: via a secure file transfer appliance, which decouples attachments from the enterprise email system.
Accellion’s secure file transfer solution allows you to send and receive the files you need, and it takes away the worry of receiving (or sending) a malware-laden attachment. We do this in two ways.
Number one, by off-loading attachments from the email system to the Accellion appliance, you ensure that only people you know and authorize are using the system to send files. That means you won’t be getting spam or other junk attachments from people you don’t know – at least not through the appliance. If attachments do make their way into your email inbox, you can assume they are suspect and quarantine or delete them.
Number two, all files that pass through an Accellion solution can be automatically screened for malware by F-Secure virus scanning bundled into the product. When you send a file to the appliance for transfer, or retrieve a sent file off the appliance to put on your own PC, the anti-virus program can watch your back. I say “can” because virus scanning is optional with the solution, although highly recommended. The appliance administrator can choose no scanning, scanning only on upload, scanning only on download, or scanning on both upload and download. In other words, choose the mode that suits your business practices the best.
Using Accellion secure file transfer solution to transfer files and folders makes it significantly less likely that bad attachments will get onto your users’ PCs or into your network. It should be a part of your broad security measures to protect your network and your business. Automatic security processes are a good thing, because as the Forbes article points out, users just “can’t help themselves” when email attachments tempt them.
ACA Guy
Accellion in the News
Media Coverage
Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Journal - Track and Report Conformance During File Transfers: Survey results confirm need for broader tracking and reporting features introduced in Accellion’s Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance.
ConstruTech - Perini Deploys Accellion: ...[P]rotect our email infrastructure with the associated archiving systems while allowing users to send very large files as part of their regular business processes.
Press Releases
MSA Selects Accellion's Secure File Transfer Solution for Global Large File Transfer Needs
Exponent Deploys Accellion's Secure File Transfer Solution to Enhance Communication of Data with Enterprise Clients
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Attachment Limits: Myth or Reality? Not If You Use Accellion
Summary: Email attachment limit serves an important function in keeping the sanity of IT infrastructure. But, end users need to send large files to get the job done. How do you turn this reality into a myth by deploying Accellion?
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Ahhh, email! We love it. We hate it. We agonize over it. And, we can’t meaningfully function, figuratively and literally, without it. Ask any office worker, and he’ll tell you that email is undoubtedly one of his most important productivity solutions. It’s the means for him to collaborate with his colleagues to get his job done.
The popularity of email places a big burden on the email server and administrator. He needs to keep this vital application functioning well for all end users - no easy feat. In fact, it’s a rather challenging balancing act of trying to match available resources with user needs. This often means he has to impose unpopular size limits on how people can use email. (For example, Microsoft strongly urges administrators to set limits on mailbox, message and attachment sizes.)
In the broader scheme of things, limits are a practical solution for an enterprise. However, to individual users, limits are, literally, quite limiting.
No doubt you’ve experienced it: It’s crunch time and you’re trying to send some critical files to meet a deadline. You attach them to an email message, hit send, and think the message has gone through. Some time later you get an administrative notification that says your message failed because the attachments were too large. Your business process just came to a screeching halt. You curse the IT department under your breath.
This is what happened to Sonus Networks on a big contract for a key customer as reported by ComputerWorld. And, this is the very problem that Accellion eliminates. We make email attachment limits irrelevant and turn them into capabilities instead. (And, yes, Sonus Networks is now a customer of Accellion.)
The Accellion secure file transfer solution offloads attachments from email messages into a parallel system. This vastly reduces the space needed for attachments, messages and the mailbox in your email server. It also improves email performance when large messages are no longer hogging the email infrastructure. Attachment limits can go from a paltry 5 MB in a typical email setting to a hefty 20 GB with Accellion.
Now see the glint of empowerment in the end users' eyes!
End users can go about their business and the IT people can look like heroes for setting the sky as the limit. And that poor overworked email IT administrator can finally get some sleep at night, knowing his email server won’t be crashing under the weight of overuse.
Now see the beaming smile on the IT administrator's face!
ACA Guy
Ahhh, email! We love it. We hate it. We agonize over it. And, we can’t meaningfully function, figuratively and literally, without it. Ask any office worker, and he’ll tell you that email is undoubtedly one of his most important productivity solutions. It’s the means for him to collaborate with his colleagues to get his job done.
The popularity of email places a big burden on the email server and administrator. He needs to keep this vital application functioning well for all end users - no easy feat. In fact, it’s a rather challenging balancing act of trying to match available resources with user needs. This often means he has to impose unpopular size limits on how people can use email. (For example, Microsoft strongly urges administrators to set limits on mailbox, message and attachment sizes.)
In the broader scheme of things, limits are a practical solution for an enterprise. However, to individual users, limits are, literally, quite limiting.
No doubt you’ve experienced it: It’s crunch time and you’re trying to send some critical files to meet a deadline. You attach them to an email message, hit send, and think the message has gone through. Some time later you get an administrative notification that says your message failed because the attachments were too large. Your business process just came to a screeching halt. You curse the IT department under your breath.
This is what happened to Sonus Networks on a big contract for a key customer as reported by ComputerWorld. And, this is the very problem that Accellion eliminates. We make email attachment limits irrelevant and turn them into capabilities instead. (And, yes, Sonus Networks is now a customer of Accellion.)
The Accellion secure file transfer solution offloads attachments from email messages into a parallel system. This vastly reduces the space needed for attachments, messages and the mailbox in your email server. It also improves email performance when large messages are no longer hogging the email infrastructure. Attachment limits can go from a paltry 5 MB in a typical email setting to a hefty 20 GB with Accellion.
Now see the glint of empowerment in the end users' eyes!
End users can go about their business and the IT people can look like heroes for setting the sky as the limit. And that poor overworked email IT administrator can finally get some sleep at night, knowing his email server won’t be crashing under the weight of overuse.
Now see the beaming smile on the IT administrator's face!
ACA Guy
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