FrontBridge Acquires Message-Archiving Company

Managed E-mail security provider FrontBridge Technologies Inc. said Monday it has acquired message-archiving company MessageRite Inc. It also launched a managed service for desktop-to-desktop encrypted E-mail, in conjunction with technology partner Voltage Security Inc.

The moves extend FrontBridge's range of services beyond message-content protection, in keeping with analysts' predictions that anti-spam companies will have to broaden their portfolio of services to address concerns beyond junk E-mail if they're to remain relevant.

E-mail and instant-message archiving--the focus of MessageRite--for regulatory compliance, legal discovery, and business continuity represents one such concern. Failure to archive messages so that they're easily accessible can prove costly, as Banc of America Securities discovered. In March, it settled an enforcement action with the Securities and Exchange Commission for $10 million. The SEC found that the company "willfully failed to preserve or promptly furnish certain records after they were requested. In particular, the commission found that BAS failed promptly to produce electronic mail, including a particular E-mail exchange relating to matters that BAS knew were under investigation."

Matt Cain, senior VP at research firm Meta Group, says the market for E-mail-compliance technology is growing rapidly. And it's evident why--according to Dan Nadir, VP of product management at FrontBridge, about 90% of the company's customers are struggling to comply with regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley.

With the of addition its encrypted E-mail service, FrontBridge addresses still more compliance needs, particularly for customers in the financial, health-care, and legal industries where laws such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act demand secure messaging.