Domain Administrators are just as crucial, if not moreso, as System Administrators when it comes to ensuring the smooth operation of a mail server. That's because Domain Administrators are responsible for the domain as a whole: day-to-day management and maintenance of users and other accounts, updating the Global Address List (GAL), reviewing usage reports to make sure users aren't in danger of using too much disk space, creating and managing antispam settings and content filters, maintaining consistent corporate branding and more.
As you can imagine, domain management is a key component of SmarterMail, so we completely revised and updated that area as well. The improvements we're introducing make administration of a domain much simpler, without compromising power. Below are some of the benefits SmarterMail 16.x brings to Domain Administrators.
Flexible, Responsive Web Interface
As we've mentioned before, the new web interface for SmarterMail 16.x brings a new level of flexibility and power to Domain Administrators. Now you'll have the same administrative experience regardless of the browser you're using or the device you on. Whether it's a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone, the SmarterMail 16.x interface adapts to your screen size, giving you all of the tools you need to keep a domain running smoothly. All you need is an internet connection! SmarterMail revolutionized web-based administration when it was first introduced, and SmarterMail 16.x updates, and improves, that revolutionary experience!
Simple Organization, Powerful Tools
We've reorganized the domain management area, logically grouping tools and tasks so that it's easier to find and manage the settings a Domain Administrator needs and, in many cases, we reduced the number of steps needed to complete tasks. The reorganization was based on how Domain Administrators actually manage users and how they interact with SmarterMail across all other areas. These changes greatly simplify domain management and allow Domain Administrators to quickly make the changes necessary to ensure their users have uninterrupted access to all communications. That said, all of the tools you need to successfully manage a domain are there, and using common-sense organization, the life of a domain administrator just got unbelievably easier.
Improved Account Management
Account management is generally the thing that takes the most time for Domain Administrators. In SmarterMail 16.x, we've centralized account management to a single area, allowing you to manage users, aliases, Domain Administrators and user groups from a single page.
When viewing your SmarterMail accounts, you'll be able to quickly see how many users you have created versus the license limit for your domain. The same holds true for the number of aliases you created. This makes sure a Domain Administrator knows how many active users they have compared to their limits, so if an upgrade is needed, or users/aliases need pruning, that information is front-and-center.
In addition, we've made it easier to see how a user is authenticated with SmarterMail: if you're using Active Directory authentication for a user, a small Windows symbol appears next to that user's name. User details are also displayed, including the user's last login date and their current disk usage. Each column is sortable as well, so you can find the account using the most disk space quickly or find legacy accounts by sorting on last login. For aliases, the number of email addresses set per alias is shown as well as whether that alias is set to show in the domain's Global Address List.
Finally, a quick glance at the Accounts page shows how many additional users have domain administration privileges, making managing your Domain Administrators extremely easy. The number of user group permissions that are set up is also displayed so you can quickly change groups, or add more, as needed.
Exchange ActiveSync Management
If your users have the ability to use Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync for synchronizing their email, contacts and calendars to their mobile devices, we've made it easier to manage those accounts. If they're NOT using EAS...they should. The new ActiveSync Mailboxes page shows each user with EAS enabled as well as their name and their last sync date. This makes it easy for Domain Administrators to repurpose EAS licenses that are not used regularly, as well as add in any new user and set them up on EAS. Again, all columns are sortable, which makes finding unused accounts extremely easy.
Simplified Mailing Lists
In SmarterMail 16.x we're easing some of the pain associated with managing mailing lists and subscribers with better organization of list settings as well as providing more information per list. For example, now there is ONE subscriber list that is used for any mass mailing you send out: you no longer have to manage separate subscriber bases for each mailing list you use. (Though you still can.) In addition, list information is better organized, and better presented, so that you know exactly how many subscribers you have, how many messages were sent and much more. Subscriber details are also better organized, giving you easy access to the lists a subscriber is receiving, the number of bounces they've received as well as their individual message log. All-in-all, mailing lists in SmarterMail 16.x are much simpler to use than ever before!
Flexible Corporate Branding
Another responsibility of Domain Administrators is keeping a consistent look and feel for the brand they're managing. In SmarterMail 16.x, Domain Administrators can create email footers for corporate governance and compliance, set external help links and menu text that point users to branded help pages, add in login page customizations like logos and favicons so that branding is front-and-center right there on the webmail login screen, add domain aliases to help manage brand-based domains and much more. Consistent branding is important, and SmarterMail delivers.
Customized Signatures
Utilizing consistent signatures is another important part of managing a brand. For example, making sure that links to a website and/or social media channels are included. In addition, signatures can include variables so that all signatures contain the same information that's pulled from each user's' Account Information: job titles, phone numbers and extensions, email addresses and more. In addition, signatures can be created and used for aliases as well, whether they're user aliases or groups. That ensures that messages sent from an alias contain the same consistent messaging and branding as full accounts.
Powerful Reporting
Reports are the lifeblood of a Domain Administrator, and SmarterMail gives you all the information you need to get usage data, find compromised accounts, check the effectiveness of antispam controls and much more.
Get started with the Overview, which gives you a snapshot of how the domain is performing: disk usage stats, incoming/outgoing message traffic, bandwidth overview and even antispam data. Clicking on any card takes you to a more detailed report that covers that particular area, allowing you to further dig into the details to find overused or underused accounts, accounts that are spam-heavy and more. Each report gives you the ability to check trend data for the domain as a whole, or dig down into user stats, showing where potential problem accounts are so that you can take appropriate action. In addition, you can export the data from any report in a handy CSV format, allowing you to bring it into a spreadsheet for further manipulation, comparison and more.
All of these changes, and much more, give Domain Administrators simple, but powerful, tools to fully manage their domains and users. Next, read about how SmarterMail 16.x benefits System Administrators and offers End Users an ideal email experience.