IPVG unit inks reselling deal with global web giant Google

MANILA, Philippines - IP Converge Data Center Inc. (IP-Converge), the information technology and telecommunications subsidiary of publicly-listed IPVG Corp., has signed an agreement with global Web applications giant Google to resell email protection and archiving services, namely Google Message Security and Google Message Discovery, in the Philippines.

IP-Converge became an official Google Apps reseller this year and these two cloud or network infrastructure-based application features will give users enhanced protection against email threats such as spam, malware, phishing and spyware. Additionally, Google Message Discovery can help companies comply with external and internal regulations covering email use while at the same time providing an effective solution for email archiving, disaster recovery and business continuity.

Frequent, stealthier and more sophisticated threats cause companies to spend more for software, servers and infrastructure to keep up with the growing volume of spam and unwanted email. These costs are multiplied for organizations with multiple locations where each one requires an appliance or other filtering mechanism. With email being such an integral part of organizational communications since they contain corporate business records and other important content, it is vital that emails be well protected and preserved using appropriate security and archiving services.

IP-Converge is a leading proponent of cloud computing in the Philippines and sees these two services as a viable option compared to on-premise security and archiving solutions which are expensive to deploy and maintain and requires a dedicated staff.

“Email is probably the most important medium for communications today where most of the important content and all plans as well as action items are contained. Emails cannot be vulnerable to threats or be leaked out to the public as these are used as bases for decisions, litigation, and policies. So the information contained must be easily discoverable but secure otherwise, it can lead to loss of credibility, damage to reputation or loss of revenue,” IP-Converge vice president for product development Herns Hermida said.

Google Message Security screens, filters and stops viruses, phishing and denial of service in the cloud before it enters users’ network without message loss or disruptions in email service. Google protects email transmission using industry standard SSL or TLS protocols and guarantees 99.999 percent SLA for email processing and 100 percent SLA for virus protection. Google Message Security can easily be configured with existing email systems with no need to purchase or install additional hardware or software.

Google Message Discovery is email archiving in the cloud, which preserves and secures emails for up to 10 years. Google makes archived emails easier to search and makes them readily accessible for whatever purpose they may serve. This service helps companies working in heavily regulated industries comply with statutes that require them to preserve and produce business records.

Having email security and discovery services in the cloud allows companies to enjoy significant savings on capex since the maintenance of infrastructure and storage is carried out in Google’s data centers. Similar to Google Apps, these services are per user, per year which makes it much easier for decision makers to predict costs and channel resources toward much needed investments.

Furthermore, should any of Google’s data centers go offline, the service remains available without noticeable disruption through synchronous replication of data among Google’s multiple data centers scattered all over the world. This level of reliability is not easily replicated by on-premise systems, the company explained.

IP-Converge is a regional data center operator and telecommunications provider whose core business is managed data services, particularly server co-location, connectivity solutions, and network security. It is also one of the Philippines’ leading business solutions and services providers, promoting Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Google Apps is the latest in its wide array of product offerings that include customer relationship management, financial systems and contact center solutions acquired through strategic partnerships with world-leading application developers.