In Part 1 of this closer look at Global Mailbox I shared some of the highlights of what’s new and how it works. With that baseline understanding, let’s look at some common use cases and how the solution can make your life easier.

Use Cases

Extremely time-sensitive file transfers: Some companies, for example in the financial services industry or communications, need to be always available to trade and process files with customers, suppliers and partners. An active/active deployment provides true 24x7x365 availability.

Time less a factor: For other companies that don’t require high availability and just need disaster recovery , an active/passive deployment can meet their needs and offer cost savings.

Note: As the above architecture diagram shows, Global Mailbox replicates mailbox data. Today, it does not replicate EDI information such as control numbers or event history. For companies that need EDI replication, use IBM B2B Integrator with Global Mailbox.

Other Ways Global Mailbox 6.0 Can Make Your Life Easier

If you’re a IBM B2B Integrator and IBM File Gateway user experiencing an explosion of data size and volume as your business grows, you can build on your existing footprint and extend to a second data center with Global Mailbox.

Ease of integration. Global Mailbox tightly integrates with these solutions, so you don’t need to recreate thousands of mailboxes. Once you install Global Mailbox, File Gateway has scripts that let you migrate from traditional mailboxes to Global Mailbox all in one swoop seamlessly. If some lines of business don’t need high availability for certain partners, you can select global mailboxes for those that do, as shown below. This allows you to stretch your budget and scale the solution as your business needs evolve.

Consistent user experience. Single sign-on from B2B Integrator to the Global Mailbox management UI makes it easy to move between the solutions as needed. The consistent user experience means you don’t have to spend time learning a new product; the way you send, receive and process files is the same.

Streamlined support. Finally, because Global Mailbox works with your existing infrastructure, if you need support during disaster recovery, the same teams that support B2B Integrator are there to help and can get your issues resolved efficiently and thoroughly.

I hope you’ve found this closer look at Global Mailbox helpful. If you have more questions, please post in the discussion forums and we’ll address them as quickly as possible.