Atabok Inc. is expected today to announce the availability of Virtual Communications Network, a service that offers a high-security method of sending e-mail.
Targeted at marketers, public relations professionals, financial services firms and publishing houses, the software-based service can determine the number of days and times an e-mail can be opened.
If either parameter is exceeded, the software can be programmed to delete messages and attachments from recipients' e-mail boxes automatically. VCN also can be programmed to prevent recipients from printing and saving e-mail.
The service can be plugged into Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes programs. Users can create an Atabok Sent File to track e-mails that have been sent and to get confirmation regarding when they were received and opened. Senders also can see whether e-mail recipients move messages.
Those receiving Atabok-sent e-mail for the first time are required to download software onto their desktops. The software takes up to five minutes to install and can be accessed to open future messages.
The service can help firms send secured e-mails containing confidential marketing campaigns, press releases, earnings reports and unpublished articles, said Jeff Wyne, vice president of marketing at Atabok, Newton, MA.
“Secured e-mail on steroids is what we like to call it,” Wyne said. “It can also help your firm eliminate production costs, packaging costs and delivery costs from the secured documents you'd send offline.”
The service costs $37.50 per user each month, but the pricing scales down as the number of users increases.
