What is the difference between SocketLabs' Cloud-Based and On-Premise solutions and how do I choose?
SocketLabs offers email delivery solutions as either on-premise or cloud-based. Our cloud-based solution is called SocketLabs Email On-Demand. The SocketLabs Email On-Demand servers are hosted and fully managed by our email delivery experts to ensure top deliverability and performance. Our On-premise solutions include Hurricane MTA Server and Hurricane Assembly Server and may be a better choice if you have the capability and desire to manage the server yourself, have experience with bulk email delivery and have a significant volume of outbound email (usually at least more than 2 million per month).
Why should I trust SocketLabs to deliver my email?
The SocketLabs team has over 14 years of experience building effective internet email delivery systems and servicing prominent customers such as Microsoft, Walmart, Citicorp, AOL, Dell, Lockheed-Martin, AT&T, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Samsung, Visa International, MTV and American Airlines. Every day our team of email gurus help companies to deliver hundreds of millions of messages to the inbox.
What does SocketLabs do to increase my deliverability and get more email into the inbox?
Our software and systems have been engineered over the past 10 years with special ISP specific traffic shaping algorithms that know how to contour delivery uniquely to each ISP such as yahoo, hotmail, aol and corporate domains. Our systems analyze and process responses from these ISPs in real time, and adjust delivery accordingly. Special functionality enables our systems to detect invalid addresses and addresses associated with complaint reports and can automatically suppress delivery to those addresses. Our support for all the latest in authentication protocols such as SPF, SenderID, DomainKeys and DKIM enable us to prove who we are and command the authority to send the email. Through partnerships with other industry players we are able to gain further respect and trust with the ISPs through accreditation and whitelisting programs. We really do a whole lot more than this, but these are just some of the highlights.
What makes SocketLabs Email On-Demand different from other SMTP relay or email delivery services?
What is your pricing for SocketLabs Email On-Demand? Is there a contract or term commitment?
Pricing for SocketLabs Email On-Demand starts at just $39 per month. You can find the complete price list here Our plans are month-to-month and there is no commitment beyond the current month.
Do you offer a free trial or a money-back-guarantee?
To prevent spammers from abusing our systems, we can not offer free trials. However if you would like to try SocketLabs Email On-Demand risk free, you can sign up for an account, and if you are not satisfied with the service, let us know within the first month and we will refund your money. Plans start as low as $39 so your investment in this "trial" can be very small, and with our money-back-guarantee, risk free.
With such competitive pricing, how can your service be that good?
Unlike other email service providers, who need to pay to license their software, we built and OWN all the software we use. Your email is sent through our powerful, patent-pending, Hurricane Platform. Because we control the code we can support and enhance it with ease. We can make the systems work in harmony with us, reducing friction. Also, our customer retention rate is incredibly high. Our business is growing and the increased volume enables us to offer more for less.
Can I use SocketLabs Email On-Demand to send unsolicited email or email to lists I purchased or rented?
No. You may not send unsolicited email through our service. You may only send email to recipients that specifically granted you and your organization permission to email them. If you purchased, rented or otherwise obtained all or part of your email list from a third party, you may not send to that list through SocketLabs Email On-Demand. If you are not sure whether your list qualifies, please contact us.
Do you offer email marketing software that will allow me to upload my list and create, send and track campaigns? What about auto-responders or surveys?
SocketLabs Email On-Demand is an SMTP relay service that by default does not include any email marketing software. For a small additional fee we can provide a web based, fully hosted system which will enable you to upload your lists and create, send and track email campaigns. Support is also included for auto-responders and surveys. This software works as an add-on to your SocketLabs Email On-Demand account. Pricing for this option is plan dependent, but starts at an extra $49 per month. All the pricing options can be viewed here.
Is there any reporting included with SocketLabs Email On-Demand? How do I get access to statistics on the email I am sending?
Yes, our web based Control Panel gives you access to real time reporting for your account and the ability to download statistics data to your own computer.
What is required on my end to make my email application compatible with a SocketLabs Email On-Demand account? Do I need to make changes to my DNS, setup Domain Keys, SPF or anything like that?
Since we use SMTP as the protocol and all email applications support SMTP, they are all compatible (and easy to integrate with) our service. When we provision your account we will send you an SMTP host name, user name and password. Simply enter this information into your email software and it will automatically start routing its mail through your new SocketLabs Email On-Demand account. You do not need to make any DNS changes, setup SPF, Domain Keys, DKIM or anything else - we do all the setup on our end!
What happens if I go over the number of email messages allowed with my selected SocketLabs Email On-Demand plan?
When you exceed your allowance you will start to receive periodic email messages from us to let you know. We will allow you to exceed your allowance by 100% and will bill you for the overage at the end of the billing period. For example if your plan allows 5,000 message monthly, we will allow you to send up to 10,000 messages in any month and bill you for the additional messages at the end of the period. Our overage rate per message is is exactly the same as the per message price included in your plan. For example if your plan includes 25,000 messages for $79/month, your overage rate would be $0.00316 per message (79/25,000=.00316). Of course you can change your plan at any time from your Control Panel.
Are there any restrictions on the size of the email messages I send or the bandwidth I use?
Our plans are based on a generous average message size of up to 128KB. Your included bandwidth equals the number of messages on your plan multiplied by 128K. So if your plan includes 25,000 messages per month, your included bandwidth would be 2.98GB (25,000*128,000)(1 Gigabyte = 1073741824 bytes). Any overages will be billed at the rate of $10 per GB.
Can I change my plan if my email requirements change?
Absolutely! You can change to a smaller or larger plan at any time from within your SocketLabs Email On-Demand Control Panel.
Will the email messages I send through SocketLabs Email On-Demand look like they came from my email address or SocketLabs?
The messages you send will appear to the recipient as though they came directly from you.
How does SocketLabs Email On-Demand handle bounces and/or feedback loops?
We have developed very advanced systems that automatically encode your outbound email in such a way that the bounces and feedback loop reports are sent directly to us for processing. Normal replies to messages continue to be routed to you. All of this is invisible to the recipient. If you want all of the gory details on how we do this, please ask. Your SocketLabs Email On-Demand control panel gives you instant access to the bounce data in real-time.
What happens if I get blacklisted or blocked?
We constantly monitor the email you send and when we see that you are being blocked we will proactively work with the ISP to rectify the problem and lift the block. It is all included in the price of the service.
How much experience does it take to manage an on-premise solution?
In order to effectively manage an on-premise solution you will need to have a thorough understanding of email delivery, including how to setup SPF, SenderID, DomainKeys, DKIM and DNS records. Our on-premise solutions have a great deal of intelligence built-in, such as our Smart Delivery Rules that shape traffic on a per domain basis, bounce handling, feedback loop analysis and automatic suppression lists which can protect your reputation by preventing redelivery to failed or complaining addresses.
What is the difference between Hurricane MTA Server and Hurricane Assembly Server? Are both required?
Hurricane MTA Server is a robust and intelligent SMTP server (MTA). Hurricane Assembly Server is a message assembly server that can build email messages based on an HTML template and recipient data source. Both products can work independently of each other and on their own. When the two products are used together however, they form a very powerful platform for email generation and delivery.
Can I get a web demo or trial copy to evaluate in-house?
Yes, we offer free 30 day trials of the Hurricane Platform so you can fully evaluate its effectiveness in-house. We can also arrange a web based demo of the platform coupled with a free consultation on your email delivery needs. Just contact us to arrange either or both options.
Can the Hurricane Platform be clustered or configured for fail-over?
Yes, many options are available to address these issues depending on your specific needs. Just contact us to discuss these options.
Can the traffic shaping/throttling rules built into Hurricane MTA Server be updated?
Yes. We update these rules periodically and with just a click, you can update your installation with the latest rule set from our evolving database. An active support subscription is required.
What makes Hurricane MTA Server different from the competition?
First, there is actually very little competition. There are only a few other SMTP servers of this class on the market. Most SMTP servers are not very robust and will not perform well at all. If you are comparing us to one of the few other "high-end" SMTP servers/MTAs on the market, here is how we differ:
