At the recent World Hosting Days, Julian Assange delivered a stark warning about the future of our data, and the ownership of our own digital content. “We’re losing control” was the message, and it is a real challenge for our industry.
If the Snowden revelations taught us anything, it’s that responsibility to protect content lies with the user – we sadly can’t trust the big Internet companies when it comes to managing our personal data. In our eyes, customers need the combination of a honest service provider that do not fool around with users´ data and software that takes care of content encryption to provide the bedrock for secure services both now and in the future.
Since 2006, we’ve enjoyed a long standing partnership with 1&1, one of the world’s largest hosting companies. It was, in fact, our first customer that accelerated our position as a SaaS pioneer; its owner, United Internet, is actually an investor in Open-Xchange. Our relationship with 1&1 means that all users can genuinely take security into their own hands, making people truly responsible for their own content.
This approach is all about being able to manage your digital life through one, easy-to-use service. 1&1 MailXchange is now based on the OX App Suite, which does just that – providing 1&1’s users with a consolidated platform for all their digital activities. It enables people to manage their photos, videos and music, as well as their emails, contacts, Twitter and Facebook feeds via an intuitive, user-friendly interface – and across all devices.
We may no longer live in a PC world but there are a few relics still hanging around, such as Outlook. It’s a system that works on desktop but is not as intuitive on other devices. Our approach is that email needs to work responsively across all platforms – allowing for effective collaboration while most importantly being secure.
1&1 users can access their webmail and mail exchange on any device without the need to synchronize. 1&1 MailXchange powered by OX App Suite automatically sets the best view for the user’s device – scaling to provide a seamless, responsive experience from desktop to mobile device. It is also automatically restored, meaning there is no loss of data if connection is lost and allowing productivity to continue in unstable conditions.
If we play the email and apps game by the big internet players’ rules that build their business on selling users´ data we’re surrendering our data and freedom of communication. They will own it, and only let us access it on their terms. Our 1&1 partnership is built from the shared belief in empowering users to take full ownership of their own personal, private digital domains. Now is the time to redefine our relationship with our data, by taking control, owning it and using it on our terms.