When choosing a secure messaging solution to enhance communication and collaboration across the organization, it's important to identify a system that combines the simplicity of consumer messaging apps with the security and reliability of enterprise messaging technology.

In a recent study conducted by Infinite Convergence, 87 percent of surveyed employees indicated they believe that third-party messaging apps don't keep their communications completely secure. With security a top concern for businesses and employees, effective enterprise messaging hinges on choosing a secure messaging solution that enables device-to-device communication using a highly secure and feature-rich platform.

Considerations When Procuring a Secure Messaging Solution

Competition among secure messaging companies has intensified in recent years, as many players compete for market share. There's no small amount of hype, so it's critical to start your procurement process with some objective evaluation criteria that will allow you to make a smart choice.

Towards that end, here are some important secure messaging selection criteria to keep in mind as you evaluate enterprise-grade secure messaging solutions.

• Is there device-to-device encryption? -- Make sure that message transmissions are encrypted in transit to protect data as it travels between clients and server. Traditional SMS and text messaging is not encrypted in transit; that's precisely why enterprises are embracing secure messaging solutions. When evaluating messaging encryption features, note that encryption sophistication varies from provider to provider. Industry-standard, 256-bit encryption is recommended.
• Are there robust administrative controls? -- Administering your secure messaging service should be just as easy as administering an email server. As you evaluate secure messaging solutions, make sure that IT administrators have centralized control of end-user policies. For example, you should make sure that your IT department can manage what enterprise information employees can exchange through the app.
• Can sensitive data be wiped remotely? People will come and go within your organization, and in some cases it may be difficult to get access to their mobile devices after they leave. In other cases, mobile devices are stolen or lost. As such, it's critically important that you can remotely deactivate accounts and remotely wipe sensitive data.
• Are there message lifetime controls? A good secure messaging solution will allow messages to automatically be deleted when their age surpasses a defined message lifetime. In the industry, some people refer to these as "self-destructing messages."
• What devices are supported and is there multi-device sync? It shouldn't matter whether you are working on an Android phone, an Apple iPhone, a tablet device, a laptop or traditional desktop computer. You should be able to work on whichever device you want to and still have access to your secure messaging solution. In addition, as you move from device to device, your messages should automatically sync such that you can always access your messages 24/7.
• How mature is the technology? New code tends to have problems. Make sure your provider's secure messaging technology is battle-tested. In some cases, you'll need to probe to find this information out. For example, although NetSfere is a relatively new offering in the secure messaging space, our technology was developed by our parent company and currently supports more than 500 million subscribers globally. Do the secure messaging providers you are evaluating have that track record?

NetSfere: Your Integrated Solution for Secure Messaging

As a leader in secure messaging, NetSfere provides instant messaging solutions for enterprises across a range of industries. NetSfere's forward-thinking approach to enterprise messaging allows team members to securely communicate company information in real-time via easy-to-use Web interfaces and mobile messaging apps.

If you're ready for a more user-friendly and secure messaging solution, contact NetSfere at (224)-764-3400 or sign up for a free trial to get started today.