More email guards sought

Craig McDonald, channels director at MailGuard, said the company wants to recruit more ISPs, IT consultants, security resellers and non-IT specialist SMB resellers for its outsourced email management services. “We are seeking additional channel partners for the 2004 financial year,” he said.

MailGuard service providers must provide at least two MailGuard operational functions to get a percentage of the ongoing sales, support, billing and hosting revenue. MailGuard resellers are paid upfront but can earn monthly commission fees for client referrals.

McDonald said that, although the company believes demand for its services had increased, the market did not understand what MailGuard products could do.

“The challenge is to identify and address the potential market to ensure awareness and understanding of how MailGuard works. This is where our channel partners are crucial,” he said.

McDonald said SMBs had the most difficulty getting effective IT support and network security and suggested outsourcing such services could be part of the answer.

MailGuard plans to launch two new Internet management services in September, the company said. MailGuard claimed its email management and filtering products suit companies with “one to thousands” of email users.

The company services 15,000 email users and filters about 200,000 emails a day. Customers include the AFL, Multiplex Constructions, QuikSilver International, Bakers Delight and Sakata Rice Snacks Australia, the company said.