Bulk email is something that a lot of people care about, but nobody seems to have an answer to. Or at least that’s what Gartner reported in its Magic Quadrant for Secure Email Gateways report. Here’s exactly what they said:
Eighty-two percent of respondents to our 2013 survey indicated that bulk email filtering was an important or very important critical capability of their next SEG. Dissatisfaction with current bulk email capabilities is a significant pain point of existing solutions. End users don’t care about the clinical definition of spam and are frustrated with the level of “unwanted” email in their inboxes. Most solutions include a “bulk” or “marketing” email classifier that can be used to quarantine this type of mail, but policy options are typically very coarse and could easily be improved. None of the vendors offer personal controls to enable end users to better manage their inboxes.
There’s a lot going on here, so let’s break it down.
Eighty-two percent of respondents to our 2013 survey indicated that bulk email filtering was an important or very important critical capability of their next SEG.
Clearly, bulk email is a big deal to a lot of people. Bulk email – or “BACN” as we call it around here – comes in many forms. Common sources of it include daily deal sites like Groupon, social media websites, shopping sites, airlines… and the list goes on. Any legitimate email not sent by a living, breathing person would fall into this category. Why do they matter so much? Because they are the majority of emails hitting your inbox. It takes time to wade through them all – time you could spend better getting work done.
Dissatisfaction with current bulk email capabilities is a significant pain point of existing solutions. End users don’t care about the clinical definition of spam and are frustrated with the level of “unwanted” email in their inboxes.
Why is everyone so unhappy with their email security? Because it they are ineffective filtering all spam. Here’s why: Your definition of spam is different than the definition your email security provider uses. Their definition is probably technical and has to do more with keeping your inbox safe, not keeping you productive. Your definition, on the other hand, is all about your personal experience with email. You just want email to be easy and to get the emails you want. You want a safe inbox, but you also want one free of unwanted emails – whether they are malicious or not.
Most solutions include a “bulk” or “marketing” email classifier that can be used to quarantine this type of mail, but policy options are typically very coarse and could easily be improved. None of the vendors offer personal controls to enable end users to better manage their inboxes.
What are “unwanted emails?” Give a list of 20 emails to 20 people in your office and ask them which ones they want to get in their inbox, and you might get 20 answers. Some people want social media emails in their inbox for instance, and some don’t. Instead of having yet another algorithm decide which emails you receive, you should have control over the emails that end up in your inbox… but most providers of email security don’t give you that option, because it’s very hard to build. Instead they throw in a couple of categories to help a bit.
The bottom line is they don’t know better than you what emails you want to receive, and we don’t either. That’s why Sendio puts you back in charge of your inbox. First we filter out all the dangerous stuff just like any other top shelf security solution, but then we put you in the driver’s seat to decide which legitimate emails you want to receive. You want to get your Groupon email in your inbox? It’s there. You don’t want to get emails from LinkedIn? Never see them again (unless you change your mind, of course).
Gartner says you want the power to reclaim your inbox and let your employees all do the same. Are they right? Fill out this form to learn more about how Sendio keeps your inbox safe and keeps you from wasting time wading through bulk email.