September 2008

ExchangeDefender Outlook 2007 Addin has been released and is available for immediate download at www.exchangedefender.com. We have designed this new software to help you interact with the ExchangeDefender security service without leaving the comfort of your Microsoft Outlook 2007 interface. No more waiting for reports, no more trying to guess the ExchangeDefender portal password, no more hunting for statistics or forwarding SPAM – we have simplified the whole process of interacting with the service that keeps your mailbox clean.

  • What can you do with ExchangeDefender Outlook 2007 Addin? Just about everything you can do from the web portal!
  • You can view the realtime SPAM and SureSPAM quarantines right in your Outlook at a click of a button.
  • Manage your trusted senders list.
  • Quickly locate messages by searching for subject or sender.
  • Report SPAM to improve filtering or send email to our team for troubleshooting.
  • View domain statistics and see what ExchangeDefender is doing.

Of course, every aspect of the software is brandable to reflect your corporate image, we’ve even included documentation templates that you can use to inform your users of this new solution that is provided at no additional cost!

map_spectrop05_ltst_6nh_enus_600x405As many of you are well aware Own Web Now Corp global network operation center (NOC) is based in Dallas, TX. Today will be the most significant test of our network infrastructure impact due to inclement weather. Hurricane Ike is posed to hit Dallas, TX with the eye going directly overhead:

 

Our network operations center is staffed 24/7/365 and today is no exception. We are staffed better than usual for the Saturday’s 2nd and 3rd shift to monitor and manage any unusual events that may come as a result of Hurricane Ike. We do not expect significant network or wind damage as the data centers we operate from are standalone structures with poured cement and among the most element-proof buildings available.

What we are curious to find out is the state of flooding and power. Below is the map of our neighborhood.

9-13-2008 12-17-10 PM

The areas in blue represent our data centers and the big blue block in the center is our global network operations center at 1950 N Stemmons Frwy, also known as Infomart. All our data centers are well above the ground and can easily sustain several feet of water without impacting network operations.

Our primary concern is with the proximity of the Trinity River which is one of the largest public works in the history of Dallas and also the main flood protection solution for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. All the green “rivers” you see on the picture above are part of the Trinity River Corridor Project designed to take excess rainwater and guide it away from the sensitive downtown Dallas area. This system has never been tested by as large of a hurricane as Ike and we anxiously await to see how everything plays out. None of the diesel generators or operations are even close to the ground, and the lowest point of entry is some 8′ feet off the ground.

We are also anxious to see the performance of the new electrical grid monitoring service recently deployed in Dallas. You can read more about this system at The Dallas Morning News:

In February, an Oncor engineer, using the new technology, noticed unusual grid activity.

A worker went to the problem spot, noticed a loose bolt at a power line connection and tightened it.

Without the new technology, Oncor wouldn’t have known about the loose bolt until it fell off, power went out, and a customer called to complain.

We look forward to the test of Managed Power As A Service. 🙂

Texas-flag Given the fears and uncertainties we are very confident in our choice of Dallas as the headquarters for Own Web Now Corp. Every geographic location has its geopolitical uncertainties and tradeoffs and we feel that Dallas offers the best mix of corporate friendliness, network availability and redundancy, skilled workforce and reliable utilities. We are confident with our choice and our thoughts and prayers are with our fellow Texans this weekend as we weather this storm. After all, god blessed Texas 🙂

Sincerely,

Samantha Ellison

Chief of Operations, Own Web Now Corp

It gives me great pleasure to announce that we have completed the upgrades to our global offsite backup network this weekend and that all the new features are now online. Make sure to take a moment and download the latest agents to take advantage of all the new awesome things our systems are able to do for you.

Continuous Data Protection

v55_cdpThe absolutely coolest, most profitable and most desired feature available in the new release is the continuous data protection. This feature allows the backup software to make snapshots of data as it is being changed on the users PC or on the server. Backup jobs can now be executed in 1 minute increments if necessary.

Why is this absolutely phenomenal for you? Because it ope s up a profitability margin in the solution that nobody else can compete with you. For example, one of our competitors in this space requires you to purchase expensive hardware to do CDP, to pay for it up front and to pay for offsite backup quota as well. Not with Own Web Now – there is just one monthly fee, allowing you to choose your own hardware, even the affordable network-enabled USB hard drives from Western Digital MyBook Series (750GB market price around $200).

Another one of our competitors in the SMB space has a requirement ratio, so you have to buy far more offsite backup space than you actually need. Offsite backups are for critical documents, but what about a competitive advantage of having more robust, local backups? Well, that doesn’t make sense for them because they don’t make money. With Own Web Now there are no offsite/onsite ratios, you can start with our lowest plan (10GB offsite, $16/month) and install the agent software on all the office PCs and create local backups with CDP for every workstation in the company.

We are absolutely thrilled with this new feature!

Seeding

v55_interface Starting with September 1st, we now offer seeding services for $100. If you have a client that has a ton of data to offsite or you just don’t want to tie up their Internet connection for the weekend we now offer the ability to seed the backup and bring it over. This has been a huge area of discontent for our users with larger backup sets, that it sometimes took forever to get initial backup to Own Web Now and then random failures and expirations didn’t quite line up.

So let’s say goodbye to all those problems. Here is how this works. When you order the offsite backup let us know that you want to send us a backup on a hard drive. We will UPS you a hard drive to plug into your server/workstation and save a backup on the hard drive. Put the USB drive into the included envelope and give it to your UPS guy. It will arrive at Own Web Now Dallas or Los Angeles NOC in a day or two, we’ll restore it and from that point it’s just your daily changes being pushed over the Internet.

Brand New Interface

The interface in the new agent is stunning, on par with the competitive backup solutions. I think you will really enjoy it.

Advertising Support

v55_bannerNever miss an opportunity to market to your own clients. With the new release we will accept ads that can be displayed to your own user base. Since the agents can be installed on multiple PCs this gives you more exposure than just your logo!

 

I sincerely hope that the new agent gives many of you not just a more remarkable offsite and onsite backup solution, but also provides you with the profitability margin that nobody can compete with you on.