• Microsoft releases PST importer for Exchange

  In a move to help administrators rid their networks of disparate personal email archives, Microsoft has released a tool for finding and importing Outlook PST files into modern Exchange environments. The tool will also help Microsoft rid itself of the archiving format, which it no longer sees as necessary.

• Microsoft partner: Office 365 app dev model to change, expand

  External developers will be able to build much more sophisticated applications and tools for Office 365 once Microsoft releases the next upgrade of that cloud-hosted communication and collaboration suite, according to a Microsoft partner.

• Microsoft's Exchange a casualty of bank's cloud move to Google Apps

  Seeking to transform the way its staff communicates and collaborates worldwide, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) will roll out Google Apps to its 110,000 employees, shedding along the way various legacy email systems, including Microsoft Exchange, a bank executive said in an interview.

• Spanish bank to move 100,000+ employees to Google Apps

  Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) is adopting Google Apps for email and collaboration and expects to have its about 110,000 employees worldwide using the suite by the end of this year.

• Virtual-security appliances winning users over traditional messaging-security software

  There's no question enterprises want messaging security -- the market for products and services worldwide reached almost $3.2 billion last year, up from $2.7 billion in 2010, and will grow to $4.78 billion in 2015, according to research firm IDC. But a fundamental shift is occurring that foresees businesses favoring virtual-security appliances over more traditional messaging security software.

• Stop Facebook from cluttering your inbox

  There's a fine line between awesome and annoying. Take Facebook: Most of the time, it's great, but a few things about the service drive me crazy.

• Fix Outlook 'general failure' error for e-mail links

  So out of the blue today, I click a link embedded in an e-mail, and Outlook gives me this error:

• Using e-mail message flags in BlackBerry OS 5.0

  BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) recently started shipping its brand new mobile operating system (OS), BlackBerry handheld OS 5.0. The new software packs a variety of cool new features and enhancements, including improved mail-folder management options; auto-correct and word-completion typing software; and a number of personal information management (PIM) feature-enhancements. (Note: Some of the new features require BlackBerry Enterprise Server BES 5.0.)

• With thick skin, Google CIO finds job rewarding

  When Ben Fried left his post as IT managing director at Morgan Stanley and took over as Google's CIO in May 2008, he knew what he was getting into: supporting a user base full of technology experts and computer industry stars, like co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, CEO Eric Schmidt and Vice President Vint Cerf. In a recent interview with IDG News Service, Fried spoke candidly about his job and shared tips and advice for fellow CIOs, including the urgent need for tablet device strategies. An edited transcript of the interview follows.

• Did e-mail and the Internet kill the 9-5 workday?

  Have you checked your work e-mailtoday? If you're like most employees in the United States and United Kingdom, the answer is yes despite the fact that it is not only the weekend, but an extended holiday weekend for most workers in the US. A day off is becoming an increasingly foreign concept as workers stay connected virtually 24/7.

• Meet the father of Google Apps (who used to work at Microsoft)

  Three weeks into his tenure at Google, Rajen Sheth -- former Microsoft and VMware employee -- met with Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt to propose a way of turning Gmail into a business-class e-mail system. And he was soundly rejected. 

• Famous tech myths that just won't die

  Have you heard this story?

• Unifying unified communications

  Integrating enterprise communication tools -- from telephony to e-mail, conferencing and instant messaging -- is the key to delivering a richer collaboration environment that increases productivity. But deployment and management of unified communications systems can be daunting.

Whitepapers about e-mail

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  Email Compliance: Email use and misuse within the workplace

  The commercial risks and legal issues surrounding email use by employees can create significant problems for employers. This paper considers the law and best practice concerning employee use, retention and storage of emails. Read on.