Using Exchange/Outlook and Domino/Notes with Accellion Secure File Transfer Appliance

Summary: Offered as an integrated plug-in for Exchange/Outlook and Domino/Notes, Accellion SFTA allows users to send whatever size files without leaving the comfort of email. What does this mean for the IT Support Ticket count?

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Maybe you are like me. The very first thing and the very last thing I do in the office involves starting and closing my email client application.

And, between these two points, just about everything I do has an email component - requesting additional information, explaining the latest proposal, following up with people on their action items, and sending files as attachments.

The good news about a ubiquitous tool like email is that users, like yours truly, would happily take advantage of features like the ability to send file attachments. Conversely, the bad news is that if you force users to leave their email comfort zone for things like sending large files, say via FTP or CD/DVD, there will be confusion and a lot of IT support calls.

This is why Accellion has taken great care to develop the hooks necessary to integrate with the two most popular email solutions: Microsoft Exchange/Outlook and Lotus Domino/Notes. By using the Accellion email client plug-in, users can access the enterprise secure file transfer solution from within the productivity tool most intimate to the majority of business processes – the email system.

Once the Accellion plug-in has been installed on the email client, Accellion SFTA becomes a smart icon for the end users. (Click here to see an example of the how it appears on the end user's email client.) In other words, from a user’s perspective, there is no need to exit the email application or start another application to transfer a large file; it’s all streamlined. And the easier the process it is for the user, the fewer support tickets IT has to resolve.

Beyond the obvious end user process advantage, the email-integrated Accellion SFTA still works in parallel to the email system by offloading file attachments and managing the file life cycle through the policy-based mechanism. Namely, all the features that makes IT's life easy are there.

As best as I can tell, Accellion is the only company that offers this kind of Outlook and Lotus Notes email integration for an enterprise secure file transfer solution. And we bring a lot of integration experience to the table. While doing the setup is not a complicated process, it is good to know that Accellion can help you troubleshoot and resolve issues in hours instead of days, weeks, or longer.

What about when a user is out of his office, without access to his email? We’ve got it covered there, too. The secure file transfer appliance can be accessed via the web, so even when access to email is not available, you can still send files to your heart's content.

Sweet!

ACA Guy - YF Juan