Microsoft to the Rescue???

Well the "old dog" Microsoft is trying to get into yet another area of internet services that of providing outsourced email handling. They are purchasing FrontBridge a secure email hosting company. It is only one of many moves Microsoft has been making in the area of email and email security for the last year or more. It shows just how important email security, management, and storage have become that Microsoft would look to enter this market.

While the jury is still out on the question of if Microsoft can get any security matter right let’s hope that this time is different. With all of the issues surrounding email in the workplace right now email is in need some big, big changes if it is to survive. Of course the real issues facing email today go beyond any Microsoft’s entry into the managed email market can solve. They go to the root of email and how it’s sent and managed over the internet. Email is so vital to modern business that it must be protected from all of the possible catastrophic events that might happen. From power outages and natural disasters to internet sabotage nothing must be allowed to stop or destroy a company’s email.

That comes on top of the problems of viruses, pfishing, and Spyware. Problems we all know effect email and aren’t going to go away any time soon. But it's even more complicated than that. We are now seeing Sarbanes Oxley’s rules and regulations going into effect requiring businesses to monitor, store, and provide email in ways that are hard for a company to manage and enforce internally. Having a disinterested party provide these services through a managed email service will end up being the most common way it's handled for medium to small companies in the future.

Let’s just hope that Microsoft’s entry into this market signals a movement toward change that will really result in email being safer and more protected for everyone on the internet wither they use a security mail provider or not. At least it shows that some of the well know big players are beginning to move into a market that has been dominated by large but lesser know companies for sometime now. Maybe Microsoft’s entry will bring an awareness and competition that will result in improved email for everyone. We can only hope so.

But one way or the other email needs to be saved just because it has become too vital to modern business. We all rely on it too much to see it completely fail and I predict that some how it will be salvaged. We need things to change lets just hope I’m right and it’s not already too late.

Read a related article on eWeek;
With a Name Like Microsoft�