How it Works – EMS Email Continuity™
Eliminate Downtime and Data Loss
The EMS Email Continuity service provides a standby email system that ensures your organization always has access to email without downtime or data loss… no matter what happens to your local systems or infrastructure.
Millions of users at over a thousand organizations depend on Dell MessageOne™ EMS Email Continuity service to eliminate the risk of email outages and data loss. Whenever you have a planned or unplanned outage, activate EMS™. In less than a minute, users will be sending and receiving email through Outlook®, a web browser, or via a BlackBerry® wireless device without interruption. EMS is used in disaster recovery situations to protect against the most severe incidents but also to provide everyday business continuity value by protecting email during maintenance, migrations, and smaller outages. EMS ensures email never bounces and that primary email system outages are never evident to the outside world.
Deployed in a day
EMS Email Continuity provides immediate access to a fully integrated standby email system when your primary Microsoft® Exchange or Lotus Notes® email system fails. No matter what happens to your physical facilities, datacenters, servers, software, data stores, network connectivity or IT staff, EMS ensures that email will always work. EMS is easily deployed in a day, and once installed, synchronizes with the primary email system, populating users, distribution lists, calendars, etc.
EMS Email Continuity is built on the unique Dell MessageOne™ Managed Services Platform™ that consists of minimal client side software installed at your site and at the Dell MessageOne global network of top-tier disaster recovery centers. Linux®-based, this architecture is immune to the viruses and malware that plague Windows® based systems and allows EMS to be deployed in a day.
The EMS Outlook Extension can be optionally deployed via a centralized MSI installation onto all Outlook mail clients to allow end-user to be seamlessly switched to the backup email system without leaving the Outlook interface.
Painless email capture
As email is sent and received within the primary email system, a copy of each email is compressed and encrypted for transmission to the EMS datacenter. Email and attachments are deeply indexed for rapid search and retrieval, and securely stored in an encrypted format. Data is now available for search and continuity operations until the scheduled retention period expires. For EMS Email Continuity only customers, EMS is never in the “mail stream” until the primary messaging system fails or is deactivated.
60-second activation
In the event of an outage of the primary mail system, EMS will queue mail at the Dell MessageOne datacenter and attempt to redeliver it until the primary system comes back online. When EMS Email Continuity is activated, users have to access their backup mailboxes. Activation can take place in under a minute via the web or via an authenticated phone call. Notification messages are sent as desired to the electronic contacts of the company employees (cell phones, BlackBerry devices, personal email addresses, pagers, etc).
Users can now access the EMS infrastructure anytime and anywhere via Outlook or a web browser and are authenticated securely using either company supplied passwords or optionally with their Windows passwords. Your company maintains complete email continuity among its employees and all external contacts.
- Microsoft Exchange - In less than a minute, EMS will redirect your Outlook client, web, and BlackBerry devices from your primary Exchange environment to the Dell MessageOne datacenter, allowing users to continue email operation without interruption. EMS includes all of the key features of the primary email system including contact lists, calendar appointments, distribution lists, and access to historical email.
- Lotus Notes - Activation takes less than a minute, enabling employees to have direct access to a fully functional Web-based email system that allows users to send and receive email from their standard corporate email address. EMS includes all of the key features of the primary email system including: directory, contact lists, distribution lists, and important historical email. BlackBerry users will be able to send and receive messages using their normal corporate email addresses.
Recovering email after a primary system outage
When your primary email servers are restored to normal operation, EMS fully automates the process of migrating email and data back into your primary environment. EMS retains all forensic information of messages such as sent/received time, folders, BCC recipients, and read/unread status, etc., and thus prevents the data loss windows of tape, replication, log shipping and vaulting.
How EMS Email Continuity protects your data
EMS has been designed with many layers of security to satisfy the most stringent regulated businesses and the largest enterprises. EMS’ best-in-class security capabilities include: integration with Active Directory® authentication, AES encryption of messages, SSL encryption for transport, stringent InfoSec policies, and hosting within hardened, secure disaster decovery datacenters. All wireless traffic is 3DES encrypted in compliance with RIM policies.
Dell MessageOne™ has taken the most stringent measures to protect customer data including multiple levels of disparate defenses and strictly controlled network access. Dell MessageOne employs a comprehensive security program that includes administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the nature and scope of its services, designed to: (1. ensure the security and confidentiality of customer data to which it has access in the course of providing its services; (2. protect against any threats or hazards to the security or integrity of customer data that are, or should reasonably be, anticipated by Dell MessageOne; (3. protect against unauthorized access to or use of customer data; and (4. ensure that confidentiality and associated legal privileges are not compromised by the services provided by Dell MessageOne.
Dell MessageOne datacenters are designed to support and protect mission-critical operations. Dell MessageOne datacenters are top-tier; provide multi-level physical security features, and a rigidly controlled operating environment to protect valuable customer assets and operations. In addition, qualified, screened technicians are on-site 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to perform routine and emergency maintenance/installation procedures. Access to Dell MessageOne datacenters is highly controlled. All entrances are monitored and have alarms for protection with security officers on-site. Physical visits are allowed by appointment only, and must be verified directly with Dell MessageOne and authenticated with a biometric ID. Dell MessageOne datacenters are built with robust fire protection systems that meet top industry standards.
Dell MessageOne datacenters have multi-zoned fire suppression systems, double wall service corridor perimeter, redundant environmental systems with 24/7 monitoring, intrusion detection monitoring, employee screening and access control, and many more physical security controls available upon qualified request.
Dell MessageOne datacenters only allow inbound connections from Web browsers via 128-bit SSL and Dell MessageOne software. All connection to the emergency email system is made using an HTTPS connection from the browser to ensure that email and customer data is protected from disclosure and remains tamperproof. All email stored by Dell MessageOne is stored in an encrypted format. Messages are only decrypted for authorized user access. All of the data servers in the Dell MessageOne network use redundant hard drive configurations that are hot swappable to ensure that no loss of service results when any drive is replaced. The architecture has redundant, load-balanced servers for high availability performance. All access is logged for reporting purposes. Customers are encouraged to discuss these and the multitude of additional security controls provided by Dell MessageOne with your sales representatives.
