Policy types
The first step in creating a new policy is to choose the policy type. A range of policy types are available and different actions are associated with each one, as summarized below:
Automatic reply
An automatic reply policy can be used when you need to send an automated response to emails. For example, if you have advertised a job and are receiving a large number of applications, you may wish to send confirmation that emails have been received and are being processed. Similarly, you might have an enquiries email address and want to send a standard response (perhaps including some company literature), or you might want a more consistent Out of Office message to be sent (and perhaps only active on certain days of the week such as weekends).
When an automatic reply policy is created, you are asked to select a template to be used as the content of the automated response. A number of standard templates are available in both HTML and plain text format but you can also add your own templates using an intuitive template editor.
By default, settings on the original message tab are defined to deliver the message (without modification) to the intended recipient. Also by default, auto response settings are set to send the automated message from the recipient to the sender. All of these settings can be adjusted if required. For further information see adding an automatic reply policy
Message redirection
A message redirection policy can be used when you need to redirect incoming email messages to an alternative address. For example, you may wish to redirect all messages sent to members of a particular team to the team manager, or if a staff member is on holiday you may wish to redirect their messages to someone who is covering their role. Alternatively, you might have a domain that is being retired and want messages addressed to a user at the old domain to be re-addressed to the same user at your primary domain, or you may need to set up a catch-all policy so that all messages sent to unrecognized email addresses at your domain are redirected to a single mailbox for review.
When a message redirection policy is created, you can choose to redirect messages to an alternative email address, or to the same recipient at a different domain. By default, settings on the original message tab are defined to deliver the message but modify recipient(s) to the alternative address specified. Also by default, auto response settings are not set - i.e. no response message is sent which means that the sender is not aware that their message was redirected. All of these settings can be adjusted if required. For further information see adding a message redirection policy.
Sender modification
A sender modification policy can be used in cases where users need to send emails from different email addresses and therefore need the facility to control which email address appears in the ‘From’ field of any messages they send. For example, your organization might consist of two companies, where some employees work in both, or you might have individual members of a team who log on to Outlook with their own profile, but any messages they send should appear to come from the central team mailbox.
When a sender modification policy is created, you can choose to change the sender's address to an alternative email address or domain. By default, settings on the original message tab are defined to deliver the message but modify the sender's address to a given alternative. Also by default, auto response settings (on the auto response tab) are not set - i.e. no response message is sent which means that the recipient is not aware that the message originated from a different sender. All of these settings can be adjusted if required. For further information see adding a sender modification policy.
Add recipients
An add recipients policy can be used in cases where you need to automatically add recipients to email messages. For example, you might require a copy of every message sent or received by a group of users to be discreetly sent to a monitoring mailbox for review by a manager, or you might want to automatically add a manager as a BCC recipient on all messages sent from a specific employee. You can also use this to add a mail-enabled Public Folder recipient.
When an add recipient policy is created, you can choose to add recipients in the To, CC and/or BCC fields of the email message. By default, settings on the original message tab are defined to deliver the message but add given recipients. Also by default, auto response settings are not set - i.e. no response message is sent which means that neither the sender or recipients are aware that recipients were added automatically. All of these settings can be adjusted if required. For further information see adding an add recipients policy.
Ethical walls
An ethical walls policy can be used to prevent prohibited email communication - for example, your organization might include two departments where a conflict of interests could arise if communication between them occurs.
When an ethical walls policy is created, you specify two constituent parties (A and B) between which email transmission will be blocked. For example, you might define A as all users within the finance department and define B as all users within the trading department.
If required, you can choose to notify the original sender and /or recipients and / or other parties when an email between the two specified parties is attempted and blocked. The content of this notification message is defined in a template; a number of standard templates are available in both HTML and plain text format but you can also add your own using an intuitive template editor.
By default, settings on the original message tab are defined to abort delivery of the original message. Also by default, auto response settings are set to send the automated response (i.e. the notification) message to the original sender and recipient(s) so that they know the message was stopped. All of these settings can be adjusted if required. For further information see adding an ethical walls policy.
Advanced
An advanced policy can be used to create a policy from first principles when your requirements do not match one of the predefined policy types above. When an advanced policy is created, you can define basic information and conditions; once the policy is saved you can then edit it and update conditions, exceptions, original message, auto response, date range and next policy options to define more precise criteria and required actions to be taken when the policy is processed. For further information see adding an advanced policy.
