"Let's keep it anyway - just to be safe."

So we’ve all rejoiced at the prospect of being able to migrate our PST files into Exchange 2010, even for free! But does anyone really relish the thought of migrating ALL of their PST files into Exchange? Probably not because;

Moving Email? What about that dusty box in the corner labelled “FRAGILE: PUBLIC FOLDERS!”

Still using Exchange Public Folders (PFs)?  Given Microsoft’s original intent to drop PFs from 2010 and their exclusion from Exchange 2010 online, should we accept their demise and switch to SharePoint?

The truth is, moving can be painful.  The Top 5 blocks to a smooth SharePoint move we’ve encountered to date are:

Longest Ever LinkedIn Debate?

Does MS exchange 2010 really have an email archiving feature?

Add your vote to a debate that’s been raging for some time now; clearly a subject of interest within the messaging community.

This LinkedIn discussion on the Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Group is really hotting up.  If you’ve migrated an existing archive to Exchange 2010 or are thinking about it, make sure you read this for some interesting feedback:

http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=1910476&type=member&item=88086844&commentID=-1#lastComment

The perfect gift for 'nightmare' email users

Is there a special deserving someone in your organisation? The person that is always going over quota or cc'ing the entire company with a 5MB PPT?

We have 10 signed copies of Dr Monica Seeley's best-seller 'Brilliant Email' to give away. Simply drop us a quick email to info@essential.co.uk with the subject 'Email Nightmare' explaining why you think a 'special someone' deserves a copy (don't name names), and if we think it's deserving, we'll post a book for you to give secret-Santa style (last date – 20th Dec - UK only entrants).

Read Monica's latest email tips> http://blog.mesmo.co.uk/

Top Tips for Email Storage Management During (and after) Migration

It’s always a good idea to be diligent in how copies of digital records are maintained throughout their lifecycle. For example re-cycling backup tapes and deleting copies of old databases following a server move are both good practice.

Here are our 7 top tips on how to manage your data both during and after an email archive migration or indeed an email server upgrade:

Bring Your Own Device - hype or ‘sign of the times’?

There’s been a lot of blog posts flying around recently around the growing trend towards BYOD. Deloitte and Citrix are some of the big names to announce recently that they are rolling out BYOD internally.

Given that  CDH research confirms 1 in 10 employees already use their own devices to access work email, and other surveys cite even higher figures, is this trend an inevitability?  Systems Professional (HP’s go-to partner for VDI solutions) tell us they are already seeing an increase in businesses looking to deploy VDI in part to help manage increased usage of user-owned devices.

With almost a third of the execs polled in Deloitte’s recent survey believing that there are likely ‘rogue’ devices connected to the network- how do they intend to know for sure?

Migrating your archive? Don't forget support..

We're currently involved in a number of different archive migration projects, helping customers to move legacy email information from one system to another. These are often challenging projects to manage, with a lot of variables to consider.

One scenario which has come up a couple of times in recent months, is where a customer has made the decision to move an archive with several Terabytes of data from one third party solution to another. 

Understandably at the point of deciding to do this, one cost they decided they could live without was the support contract for the solution they are leaving behind- why support a solution they are actively moving away from?

Deleted Email - A myth?

We’ve all done it; composed an email, hit send, then regretted it.

The heart-rate goes up and we become people of action, trying in vain to recall it. Invariably it's too late and we just have to accept the consequences.

The problem is that if we want to delete an email, making sure both the deleted items and the recycle bin is emptied will not cover our tracks. Even if it’s been purged from the Exchange server dumpster, that’s not the end of the story.

Thanks, Ned.

This article, recently signposted to me by my good friend and long-term business acquaintance, Richard Marshall, talks about the MIME standard and the two guys that devised it:  Ned Freed and Nathaniel Borenstein.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/020111-mime-internet-email.html?page=1

Years ago, Ned Freed, was behind a company called Innosoft, who wrote a messaging backbone and email switching product called PMDF eMail Interconnect.

I’m proud to say that Essential sold lots of PMDF licences into Europe. 

Big Supermarket Vs Local Corner Shop

I got to thinking the other day, with the launch of the iPhone 5 that never was, how many people out there will buy one blindly just because it’s from Apple? Probably quite a few, and I'll admit to being a slave to the iPhone while also coveting an iPad (only a lack of funds or actual justification to needing one has stopped me...so far).

So how many of us would buy something if it was missing a big name or logo? For example, would you consider buying a PC or Laptop with a name that you don't recognise, from Aldi (that's a cheap supermarket for those of you outside the UK) compared to a PC World equivalent that costs more?