06 Feb Choosing the Right Email Encryption Solution
Prioritise pricing and security
Being able to send and receive encrypted email messages and attachments is a no-brainer. It might not be something you need all the time, for every message you send, but there are regular and frequent occasions where it becomes desirable or essential within any kind of business.
When you’re shopping around for an encrypted email solution for your company, there are a couple of key considerations. The system needs to be easy to use, of course, and fit seamlessly into the workflow that your users are already accustomed to. They shouldn’t have to jump through any extra or unfamiliar hoops. It goes without saying that the encryption algorithm used, and the rest of the security technology that underpins it, must be top-notch too. But when you’re making the business case for email encryption, and researching the market, the pricing model is also a crucial consideration.
How are you going to want to use the product, and does its licensing permit you to use it that way? Sending and receiving encrypted messages and attachments within your own company is rarely a problem. The licence should cover that, either for the entire organisation or at least for the number of seats you’ve purchased.
Sending Email to Unlicensed Users
But what happens when you need to communicate securely with someone who doesn’t have a licence for the product? This could include an employee who wasn’t on the initial list of users for whom a software seat was purchased. The external printing company that’s producing the brochures for your as-yet unannounced product, that want to securely send the PDF master files to. Or a software contractor to whom you need to send some confidential source code for a security review, and then have him or her send it back with details of any vulnerabilities discovered.
You could, of course, keep a stash of spare software licences to hand out whenever they’re required. But this is an inefficient use of cash, and also requires someone to spend time dealing with requests for licences, allocating them, and re-order when stocks are low.
Look for an encrypted email product that allow licensed users to send secure messages to anyone at all, regardless of whether the recipient has a licence for the software. The recipient should then be able to reply securely to the sender. If an unlicensed user wants to initiate a secure communication, this should also be allowed, so long as the recipient is licensed.
In short, any secure communication should be permitted, so long as at least one of the two parties has a licence to use the encrypted email product. This will ensure that your licensed users can always communicate securely with anyone, anywhere, and receive secure replies too.
To find out more about Enterprise Secure Email from Scentrics, or to arrange a demo, see https://www.scentrics.com/products-and-services/messaging-email-security.