Osterman Research Reveals Email is Mistrusted and Underused by Healthcare Organizations

Vircom Inc., developer of Modus(TM) secure email management solutions announced today that an Osterman Research white paper it commissioned, titled Messaging in the Healthcare Industry, confirms that many healthcare organizations do not use email as a primary source of communication because email threats and imminent privacy regulations pose serious liabilities.

Spam, identity theft and viruses are largely responsible for healthcare's skepticism of email as a trusted means of communication. Additionally, regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) have placed stricter parameters on the transmission and storage of electronic personal health information (EPHI), resulting in heavier financial and legal burdens that make covered entities more cautious about email.

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"Providers and others in the healthcare industry can derive tremendous value from the use of email, both as a means of gaining a competitive advantage and through realizing the operational efficiencies that email offers," said Michael Osterman, president of Osterman Research. "However, messaging threats and a lack of security are discouraging the use of email in an industry that could put it to very good use."

"The impact of spam and viruses has seriously discredited email among certain industries - most notably healthcare," said François Bourdeau, director of marketing at Vircom. "This is where email security technology like Vircom's Modus(TM) makes a real difference," added Bourdeau. "Modus' global approach to secure email management enables healthcare professionals to communicate with their peers and clients with the confidence that information is protected every step of the way."

In addition to being a technology developer, Vircom assumes the role of educator by speaking at government roundtable talks, hosting web seminars and publishing white papers. "We're very close to the healthcare industry and have been actively collaborating with government and private groups to reestablish email as an indispensable tool for secure communication in healthcare."

To download Messaging in the Healthcare Industry from the Vircom website, visit: www.vircom.com/Downloads/Whitepapers.asp.

About Osterman Research

Osterman Research was founded by Michael Osterman in 2001. Since that time, the company has become one of the leading analyst firms in the messaging and collaboration space, providing research, analysis, white papers and other services to companies like Microsoft, America Online, Sun Microsystems, Yahoo!, Network Appliance, Iron Mountain, Postini, Hewlett Packard and many others. The core of Osterman Research's capabilities is its market research panel of IT professionals and end users that are regularly surveyed on a variety of topics related to email, instant messaging, spam, collaboration, security, storage, archiving, data retention, compliance and other areas. This continually updated knowledge base of information from decision makers and influencers helps Osterman Research to understand developments and gain insight into the trends that affect its clients.

About Vircom

Montreal-based Vircom is a leading developer of secure email management and authentication solutions for the demanding needs of Internet Service Providers, the real estate industry, corporations and healthcare. Vircom's mature Modus(TM) secure email management technology incorporates over 10 years of industry expertise, making it a powerful driving force in the defense against spam and email-borne fraud. Rated "Best Windows-based Anti-Spam Solution" by Network Computing and named a "2004 Recommended" product by SC Magazine, Modus has gained important industry recognition, including a record-breaking five-award distinction from Windows IT Pro magazine.

Vircom is also the developer of VOP Radius, a full-featured all-in-one RADIUS server that supports the latest RFCs, vendor specific attributes, NAS templates and has a multitude of preconfigured settings.

Contact information: François Bourdeau Director of Marketing Phone: 514.845.1666 x256 francois.bourdeau@vircom.com