Office 365, Exchange & Cloud Email Security: Mimecast Updates

Mimecast is set to upgrade its cloud-based Mimecast Email Security service for Microsoft Exchange and Office 365. The enhanced email security service contains new features and functionality designed to address end-user autonomy, Mimecast says.

MSPs and VARs have a growing list of cloud-based email security services from which to choose. Some well-known brands in the channel, in addition to Mimecast, include Exchange Defender, Reflexion Networks and Spam Soap.

So how does Mimecast intend to stand out? A supplier of cloud-based email archiving, security and continuity services specifically for Exchange and Office 365, Mimecast hopes to empower end-users more with the new version of its email security service, but it’s also taking IT departments’ needs into account. With a growing interest in end-user autonomy, new features in Mimecast Email Security are meant to give end-users more control over their business email but also provide IT departments and solutions providers with more visibility into an organization’s email security.

Mimecast’s product director for unified email management, Grant Hodgkinson, noted that the consumerization of enterprise IT has also had the effect of making end-users increasingly more vocal about their desire for greater control and flexibility in core business technologies — such as email.

“From talking to our customers, it was clear that they wanted to find a way to empower users, without compromising on the overall security of the business,” Hodgkinson said in a prepared statement.

A Closer Look

To give more flexibility to end-users and more security visibility to IT administrators, Mimecast built granular controls and permissions into the latest version of its email security service.

The trend towards more flexibility in end-users managing their business email accounts is a nice contrast from a few years ago when the general enterprise solution to dealing security was to lock everything down tightly. Giving end-users more control but while still maintaining high levels of visibility into security functions — and delivering those capabilities from the cloud — is a nice touch that should give plenty of companies the benefits of higher productivity and less cranky employees.

Employees increasingly want to tailor their workplace technology, and who can blame them? When we’re seeing that functionality more and more in consumer services and devices, it feels like a locked-down, heavily-controlled IT environment is simply a hurdle to doing an effective job.

Bits and Bytes

Other new features in Mimecast Email Security include:

The new version of Mimecast Email Security will be available in the fall.

Additional insights from Joe Panettieri.