Email on the move

Something that we take for granted. Most modern phones support mobile email so let's just go ahead, enter our user details and off we go! It's that easy for anyone.

Email has changed the way that we communicate. The usage of email can vary greatly between a business user and an individual. This is why before setting your phone up for email - especially if you're a business you need to think of the following basic questions.

Will this cost extra on my data usage?
Will I roam?
How often will the email update?
Do I need to syncronise my contacts and calendar too?
Is the connection secure between the phone and email server?
What happens if I lose my phone?

Depending on your phone make and model and mail server configuration there are various methods of communicating.

The Blackberry platform can be secure as long as it is configured properly. You see, the connection form the phone to the blackberry network is but then if you activated basic email on your phone then there is a good chance that the connection between Blackberry's servers and your email servers are insecure. This occurs when using technology that is unencrypted such as pop3, imap or outlook web access using the non-secure HTTP connection. There are however ways to secure this. But if you are using Microsoft Exchange in your organisation or Google Apps then with a little help, you can benefit from the Blackberry Enterprise Server Express at no extra cost on your service plan. This then offers truely secure and encrypted push email from your company network and without requiring any holes to be opened up on your company firewall. You can also have the choice of remotely locking and wiping your phone, enforcing certain features of the phone only to be allowed or disallowed use.

The next best thing is Exchange Activesync. This requires your company server to be running Microsoft Exchange or Small Business Server. You simply enter your username and password details in to the section of your phone and enter a secure push of email this way. This does however mean that certain security is in place such as your Exchange server using SSL encryption and that you have a strong username and password in place. If you do not, anyone could enter your user details and then view your emails, contacts and calendar details. Not ideal, the security relies heavily on your infrastructure being planned with security in mind and if you change your user password on the network then you need to remember to also change the details on your phone. Phones that use this technology are iphones, microsoft windows mobiles, google android and some sony and nokia handsets.

The more basic form of mobile email is pop3 and imap access. If you use these then often email is pulled at certain intervals and does not arrive immediately. If you use these methods and worry about security, look in to your provider providing imaps and pop3. These encrypt data from the phone to email server using SSL to stop any possibility of the messages or usernames and passwords being read.

Should you business wish to use any mobile email technology or wish to health check your existing system then please do not hesitate to contact us on our main website. http://www.firbanks.com