Connect has today launched an upgraded version of their Email Continuity service that enables users to send and receive email through mobile phones and PDAs.   Connect's Email Continuity, launched last year, was developed to provide SMEs with 24/7 access to their email, if their Exchange server was out of action.  However, at the time, the only way to access emails was via a web browser which made it too slow to run on most PDAs.   Now the upgraded Email Continuity service allows the service to be used on mobile phones, including iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Google's Android.  Prices start from £43 a month for up to 10 users.

With the current economic climate, small businesses are reluctant to replace aging servers so making them vulnerable to server failure. 

Most of these enterprises are also hugely reliant on ensuring 24/7 access to email - according to recent research by Connect, 42% of IT directors at small to medium sized businesses, said that they would face redundancy if their company had no access to email for more than 24 hours.

Mark O'Dell, Director of New Technology at Connect, states:

"As the use of mobile devices in the commercial world gathers pace, it is important that SMEs ensure that their staff can have 24/7 access to email and other key applications.  This is likely to be even more critical for employees who are based outside their offices. That is why this new, upgraded version of our Email Continuity enables employees to carry on working if the unforeseen happens - from a short term email server failure to a major disaster."

O'Dell continued:

"In the past, this kind of technology was only available to very large organisations that had the resources to have a comprehensive business continuity solution in place.  However, it is now possible for the smallest of enterprises at a fraction of the cost."

The new service costs from £43 a month. For more information, visit Connect's email continuity website.