GROUP Business Software – The Email Compliance Company

1. What is an appliance?
2. What are the advantages of a software solution?
3. Is an appliance easily expandable?
4. Is an appliance more stable than a software solution?
5. Are appliances enterprise products?

An appliance is fixed combination of proprietary hardware and software and can be likened to a router. More modern appliances use PC-like hardware configurations and matching operating software. Often adapted versions of Linux or BSD are used. The actual application software runs only on the system and under the specific hardware software combination for which it was written.
Many appliances providers promise fast operational readiness and simple configuration. A closer look often reveals, however, that appliances are less flexible than conventional software solutions.

1. Software solutions such as iQ.Suite can be installed both on existing mail servers and on existing web filters. An appliance always means buying proprietary hardware and software.
2. Managing corporate software solutions is more complex than simply designing a web interface for managing an appliance. Appliances can not provide an overview of all systems from a console and have no facility for distributed configuration. Neither do they support management standards such as WMI and MOM in Windows environments. They are therefore suitable only for simple security architectures. 
3. Appliances can not usually be incorporated in existing messaging directories, such as Active Directory or the Domino Directory. Software solutions, conversely, are based on standard operating systems and can fully utilize the operating system`s functionality. 
4. Because appliances always operate as gateways, they can not provide security for internal mail traffic. Because security breaches should always be detected and prevented close to source, this is a serious drawback. Appliances inherently lack the required flexibility for differing security architectures and requirements. 
5. Appliances, too, need software updates. Rapid product development often means that the purchased hardware is quickly outdated and unable to support the software, resulting in the need to buy a new appliance.

No. Appliances are preconfigured combinations of hardware and software. To keep costs down, many manufacturers use last-generation processors, memory and drives. Hardware upgrades are usually expensive and no longer possible after just one or two years. Installing the necessary software updates may then no longer be fully possible.

No. Stability is always a question of quality. The quality of an appliance is determined by the quality of the hardware and software. A high software quality - resulting from high quality standards and extensive practical experience - is the key to developing effective solutions.

No. Appliances were originally developed as cost-effective solutions for small and medium-sized companies.
High initial costs have limited the success of this approach. Disproportionately high costs arise where several separate Internet connections need to be secured or more than one gateway is needed.

Furthermore, the initial configuration of an appliance is no easier than that, for example, of iQ.Suite. The lack of a management console for central administration and configuration means that matching an appliance`s configuration to a particular environment or a company`s specific needs may even be more complicated.