SMX launches Microsoft Office 365 email security service

SMX launches Microsoft Office 365 email security service

12 June 2015, Auckland. SMX, New Zealand’s largest provider of cloud email security services, has launched “SMX + 365” – a new implementation and support process designed to make it easy for SMX customers and resellers to integrate SMX’s premium email filtering service with Microsoft Office 365 email servers in the cloud.

SMX CEO Ian McDonald says the new service is in response to requests from customers and resellers wanting to add a locally supported and more capable email filtering service than Microsoft is able to provide as part of its Microsoft Office 365 cloud email server solution.

YMCA of Auckland, which provides IT and email support for 350 email users at YMCA Auckland and other YMCA organisations across the North Island, moved its email servers to the cloud with Microsoft Office 365 two years ago. As part of the transition, YMCA elected to use the email filtering supplied with Microsoft Office 365, switching off its SMX service. Last month YMCA switched SMX back on.

YMCA Auckland’s IT support manager, David Verheyen, says that earlier this year malware and spam started to hit the network.

“We had SMX before, so we talked to them about a trial to see if they could solve the problem,” Verheyen says. “Switching back to SMX on a trial basis to run a comparison with Office 365 was done quickly with some technical help from SMX. The trial proved that the SMX filtering service delivered a huge reduction in spam and malware, so we’ve gone back to SMX. Basically, we couldn’t afford the risk of malware getting through and causing major problems.”

SMX reseller CodeBlue, the country’s largest nationwide IT services company in the 20-300 seat space, is also advocating SMX as a premium add on to Microsoft Office 365.

CodeBlue Christchurch-based business development manager Mike Tarjomi says Microsoft Office 365 is recommended by CodeBlue as a good cloud email solution but customers are encouraged to use SMX for email security.

“Particularly with larger customers exposed to high volumes of spam and malware, we recommend SMX for email security. It’s a relatively small additional per-user cost. Microsoft Office 365 spam filtering is good, but not as good as SMX,” Tarjomi says.

SMX’s chief technology officer Thom Hooker says the new SMX + 365 service includes the ability to secure all email access points so all inbound and outbound mail is filtered through SMX’s servers.

“Through the Office 365 administrator interface, admins can configure their Office 365 service to only receive email from SMX's IP ranges. With this configuration in place customers can guarantee that only email that SMX has filtered is delivered to their Office 365 inbox.

He says SMX, as New Zealand's leading cloud email security service, sees a uniquely New Zealand view of the spam and malware threat landscape and is able to respond faster and more effectively to attacks targeting New Zealand organisations.

“Our email filtering is based on a technology stack which is constantly changed and upgraded as new threats emerge. Emails are filtered here in New Zealand under local jurisdiction. We respond immediately to new threats and with our local service desk we can provide a level of service which is very difficult for a global provider to emulate,” Thom Hooker says.
-Ends-

© Scoop Media