This post was provided by Ben Williamson, entrepreneur and passionate about technology.
As an entrepreneur your head is likely buzzing with ideas, goals and a long-term vision for how your business is going to transform the world. But it’s easy to get carried away and forget about the little things that matter, like email security.
After all, managing your email is probably pretty low down on your list of priorities. If you plan on scaling your business, however, email security really is something that you must consider from the word go, which is why we’ve put together this handy little guide on how to effectively manage your email security.
A growing threat
There’s a buzz around big data and data is the most potent weapon that you have in your armoury as an entrepreneur. With almost all information now stored online, however, this data is increasingly vulnerable to attack. And this includes your email communications where a significant percentage of your data appears..
As a start-up, you’ll likely be spending a fair bit of time on email, chasing prospects and talking to current and prospective customers, often exchanging some fairly sensitive data. And using traditional third party email clients to do this leaves you at risk from malware, spam, phishing and all manner of external threats.
Keeping your customers happy
Email security isn’t just a concern for you; it’s also a concern for your customers. The clients of any business want to feel secure when they communicate with you; it’s in their nature and making them feel secure can offer a significant market advantage to your business.
In addition, in many areas of business regulators set a minimum security standard within an industry when it comes to handling email communications. After all, frequent data leaks or vulnerability to cyber attacks can lead to fraud and all manner of exploitation.
Unified email management systems explained
While as an entrepreneur it can be tempting to cut corners in order to save a little money here and there, implementing a unified email management system, operated through a secure email gateway, is the only way to go – assuming that you intend on scaling your business in the long term.
Think of implementing a unified email management system as getting started on the right foot. It’s far simpler to implement this high level of security into your email system from day one, although it’s never too late if you didn’t get quite as far as planning ahead.
A cloud-based email management system offers unparalleled protection against data leaks, malware, spam and email viruses of all kinds, both in terms of outgoing and incoming communications.
Not only does a cloud-based unified email management system offer exceptional security benefits, it also has the capacity to save your business significant amounts of money in the long term, while making your life that little bit easier by offering search-friendly archiving.
Get an SLA you can trust
When it comes to selecting your email management system service provider, it’s imperative to analyse your SLA properly. A trusted provider will offer stringent guarantees regarding your email security, as well as availability, which means that all of your communications will remain archived and encrypted, giving you and your customers confidence, while satisfying the demands of any industry regulators.
Setting up a secure email management system may seem like an unnecessary start-up cost, but if you’re intent on your business growing, it’s the sensible choice that will reap long-term rewards: in terms of cost, security and associated brand loyalty.
