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IBM offers SME cloud email for just $3.00 per user

06 October 2009

IBM has surprised the cloud computing industry by launching a cloud-based email service - claiming to offer "reliability, privacy and security" - for just $3.00 per user per month.

Announcing the service, IBM officials said that the LotusLive iNotes service is designed to work with Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange, as well as operate as a standalone service.

Whilst it was widely expected that IBM would enter the cloud stakes, the price point for the software-as-a-service (SaaS) facility is a lot lower than originally forecast and effectively pitches IBM into the same service space as Google, Infosecurity notes.

IBM already has around 18 million enterprise customers on its major enterprise hosted service, but this is the first time this service has been made available to small firms.

In a press conference, IBM officials said that LotusLive iNotes is aimed at smaller firms who are already used to the free or low-cost webmail services, but are "weary of service outages, distracting advertisements or security and privacy concerns that can impact employee productivity and confidence."

Bob Picciano, IBM Lotus' general manager, said that email and other collaboration services are the right entry point for many companies to realise the promise of cloud computing, "but only if clients feel confident they're getting business-grade service from a trusted leader in enterprise services."

Unusually for IBM, the LotusLive iNotes service is being launched internationally, and not just in the US at launch.

The computing giant has also signed Nokia as one of its partners, with Nokia expected to promote the cloud email service to its mobile phone users, which it says allows them to access and manage their accounts without needing a PC.

Although the service is designed to be used online, Infosecurity notes that the SaaS-based facility will also work offline, allowing users to hop online - as required - to send and receive messages when required.

Integral to the service are powerful custom-developed anti-spam and virus protection, which IBM says can be customized to meet the needs of specific users.

Unconfirmed reports also suggest that a SaaS-based collaboration service called LotusLive Engage is also being developed, although IBM has made no comments on the reports.

Effective immediately, IBM is offering a no-cost 30-day trial of LotusLive iNotes smaller companies and includes 25 mailboxes with 1 GB of storage per mailbox.

The service and trial is available in English, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Spanish.

 

 

This article is featured in:
Internet and Network Security • Wireless and Mobile Security

 

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