3 Appendix A: Guidelines for Agencies Choosing a SEEMail
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- Within this section:
- 3.1 Flexibility
- 3.2 Ease of Use
- 3.3 Support
- 3.4 Relationship Management
The following areas will seriously impact the return on investment in a SEEMail system as they affect issues such as training, maintenance, system configuration, integration and of course future growth in user numbers. These issues can make the cost of ownership of a SEEMail system higher than the initial implementation cost and therefore need to be considered in the evaluation phase.
3.1 Flexibility
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Compliance with S.E.E. Mail business requirements - complies with all the MUSTs, and many of the SHOULDs
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Interoperable with existing systems e.g.
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Mail products, including (where appropriate) e-mail server and client software, web servers, virus scanning and content filtering software and firewall software
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Encryption products or protocols, operating systems and web servers
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Interfaces
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Directory servers
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Uses open, standard interfaces such as LDAP
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SMTP functionality
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SMTP mail relay in product (allows sending e-mail with reliance on other products)
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Fully configurable SMTP input/output ports (if constraints, what constraints?)
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Ability to interact with individual e-mail clients
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Can exchange secure e-mail with individual-to-gateway
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Can exchange secure e-mail with gateway-to-individual
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Can handle individual signing and encryption
3.2 Ease of Use
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Simple management by non-technical personnel, who do not understand the intricacies of cryptographic algorithms, keys and signatures
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Automates certificate management and secure links wherever possible
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Intuitive interface
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Sensible audit logging and error reporting (doesn't create notification "storms")
3.3 Support
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Availability of online support
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Availability of support in Wellington
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Availability of support in New Zealand
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Service levels of technical helpdesk
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Alert service for security / product updates
3.4 Relationship Management
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Any proposed contractual documentation
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Financial stability
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Reference sites, preferably another SEEMail site
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