Preview: Globalpex’s content certification uniquely verifies physical content in the envelope

SaaS offering also certifies and retains e-mail and instant message conversations

It’s easy to assume that technology ensures the integrity of our electronic communications. And in most cases that’s true. For example, products such as ReadNotify and RPost offer certified e-mail delivery notification and read receipts. Similarly, IBM Lotus Sametime and Jabber have excellent instant messenger (IM) security.

Globalpex has something for enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses, and entrepreneurs. Yet the core processes are the same for each organization.

The contemporary Web interface intuitively organizes documents you’ve sent by an easily customized folder structure. From the same display you also view whether a document has been received or read, adjust retention periods, review IM chat history, and send new documents.

For example, to content-certify physical mail, I followed a quick and simple process that works with any file that can be printed. Using a one-screen wizard, I swiftly uploaded a Microsoft Word document, selected a recipient (contacts can be imported from Outlook), chose a carrier (DHL, UPS, FedEx, or the U.S. Postal Service), and chose a retention schedule, which can range from 30 days to 30 years.

Behind the scenes is where it gets interesting. The Globalpex servers add a barcode to every page to verify authenticity, send the document to a secure printer, create a PDF document for retention, and then pass the physical document to the carrier you selected for delivery to your recipient. The barcode is an essential ingredient, since it can be compared to the original document if necessary to authenticate that nothing has been changed by the recipient.

Certified e-mail works by effortlessly creating your message using an integrated Microsoft Outlook-style Web application. After sending the message, Globalpex first proves that the destination server received the e-mail and then provides you with a read receipt that records the recipient’s IP address and other specifics with a time and date stamp. Because the unalterable e-mail resides on a Globalpex server, there’s irrefutable legal proof of delivery, receipt, and viewing.

Certified Instant Messaging (currently in beta) costs nothing if you select the standard 30-day retention period. The downside is you must install Globalpex’s IM client, which is a no-frills application that connects to other Globalpex users and those with an AIM account. Still, Globalpex gives you certified group chat and a searchable history. Moreover, organizations don’t have to invest in separate IM servers and support. Once this service is formally released Globalpex will price chat retention beyond 30 days.

Even in this initial rollout, I see immediate benefits, particularly for financial, government, insurance, and legal organizations. In the case of paper documents, besides content certification and retention schedules that help with compliance regulations, you potentially reduce international shipping costs (local rates apply because the document is packaged closest to the destination).

One important feature for big clients would be integration with existing systems, including enterprise content management (ECM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. At minimum, this could streamline original document production and management. Globalpex representatives indicated they are developing plug-ins for these existing applications, but didn’t have a timeline for availability.

For SMB operations, Globalpex delivers a cost-effective turnkey solution. Even for individuals, Globalpex supplies good value because you pay as you go; this makes it convenient to use the service selectively for, say, contracts or human resource documents.

Globalpex Content Certification Services

Pricing: Physical mail, about $5.87 for 10-page document with 3-year retention (not including shipping charges); certified e-mail is $0.25 plus $0.05 per year for retention of a 300K message.

Verdict: Globalpex complements existing delivery services by certifying the contents of a package. It also reduces the cost of expedited delivery and converts paper to more manageable files for retention. This service, additionally, provides approximately 50 percent cost savings over alternatives for certified e-mail, while adding greater security and retention. Finally, Certified Instant Messanging offers standard 30-day retention plus advanced reporting – with no license fees.