Review: MIMEsweeper for Web

This product proved to be very difficult to install and use. With sparse, ineffective documentation, implementation was pretty much a crash course in trial and error.

Once the program is installed it is very difficult to configure. We had trouble accessing the administrator screen, setting up accounts, and updating the filters database. When we found ourselves confused or stumped, we looked back to documentation that was so unclear it left us more confused.
That said, support for MIMEsweeper is excellent. Not only does the product feature free telephone support, but Clearswift also uses the Webex program to get inside your implementation remotely to diagnose problems. We worked very closely with support on this product and they were very knowledgeable and helpful with the problems we ran into during testing.
We found many problems in the documentation for this product. First, critical information about the order in which the MS Server 2003 application server components need to be installed in order for the program to install correctly was limited. When the CD is loaded into the computer it opens up a splash screen and begins installing the program. After a few steps into the install, an error message pops up stating that the server components need to be reinstalled in a certain order.
In our test environment we were running SQL Server 2005, which requires the .Net 2.0 Framework. Both of these are incompatible with MIMEsweeper. Once again nowhere in the documentation did it tell us that this would be a problem. We had to get that information from the support engineer who had to research it before he could answer our question. Note to potential users from this reviewer: read the readme and other documentation very carefully before attempting any installation of this product. If Clearswift offers an engineer to help you implement, consider their offer strongly.
At an approximate cost of $26,750 for 1,000 users, with an annual recurring cost of just under $11,000, we find this to be no more than an average value for the money.

For: This product is very flexible and can be very useful once properly set up and configured. Superb technical support.
Against: Very weak documentation and help files.
Verdict: Great flexibility and good features, but difficult to set up.