Your team keeps working. Even when your mail server doesn't.
StrataMail Email Continuity is our own developed and operated mailbox continuity service. A separately configured mailbox gives your team access to captured mail through IMAP/SMTP clients or webmail during a primary-platform outage. Its message-copy path, retained history and recovery process are configured for your deployment. It is ordered separately from SpamWeeder Premium, VIPRE and Proofpoint Essentials filtering.
Just need a delivery queue? → See our standalone StrataMX Backup service
Disaster recovery email, not just a spooler
Most outage plans stop at holding inbound mail until the server returns. Disaster recovery email means your people can still read and send while the outage is happening, from a separate continuity mailbox. Accepted queued mail is delivered after recovery; other mailbox changes follow the agreed reconciliation process.
StrataMail Email Continuity: service specifications
| Feature | What you get |
|---|---|
| Service type | Our independent continuity mailbox service with a separately configured mail-capture and delivery path. |
| Client access | IMAP for reading and SMTP for sending through supported mail clients, including Outlook, Thunderbird and mobile apps; webmail is also available. |
| User preparation | Continuity credentials and client account settings or a separate profile are prepared in advance. The service does not automatically restore the primary provider's client connection. |
| Available mail | Messages captured by the configured copy or journaling path, plus accepted outage mail. History follows the agreed retention policy; existing folders are not automatically mirrored. |
| Recovery | Accepted queued mail is retried to the primary destination. Reconciliation of sent messages and other mailbox changes follows the agreed recovery process. |
| Filtering relationship | SpamWeeder Premium, VIPRE and Proofpoint Essentials each have their own outage features. Our mailbox is an additional, separately ordered service; routing compatibility is checked for the chosen setup. |
What StrataMail Email Continuity Does
StrataMail Email Continuity is a full business continuity service for inbound email. The configured design combines a user-access mailbox with a delivery queue during an outage:
1. Shadow mailbox — immediate access
Every inbound message is stored locally in a continuity mailbox the moment it arrives. Users access captured mail through the prepared continuity account in a supported IMAP/SMTP client or branded webmail. The available messages depend on the configured capture path and retention.
2. Relay queue — automatic recovery
At the same time, every message is queued for delivery to the primary mail server. Accepted queued messages are retried to the primary destination within the service limits. This delivery process is separate from reconciling messages sent from the continuity account or changes made to folders.
This dual-delivery architecture is what separates StrataMail Email Continuity from simple backup MX services, which only queue and redeliver — no webmail access during the outage event. See the full comparison →
What Users Experience During an Outage Event
- The configured outage route directs eligible incoming messages to StrataMail
- Each message is stored in the user's continuity mailbox in real time
- Users are notified — by IT, or automatically via StrataMail's outage alert system
- Users navigate to the webmail portal — branded with the reseller's or company's identity
- Their mail is already there — everything that arrived during the outage event is waiting
- Users read captured messages, reply and send through the prepared continuity account, within its configured limits
- When the primary mail server recovers, StrataMail detects it automatically
- The relay queue flushes — all mail delivers to the primary server
- IT checks delivery results and follows the agreed process for reconciling sent mail and other mailbox changes
Three Delivery Configurations
Our mailbox service is separate from the filtering service. These examples describe routing designs to assess and test for your setup; they are not features automatically supplied by a filtering subscription.
Configuration A — With SpamWeeder Premium filtering
SpamWeeder Premium provides filtering and its own queued-mail browser continuity. To add our independent StrataMail mailbox, we separately configure and test a supported capture path and outage route. These integration settings are agreed before cutover; buying the filter alone does not create a StrataMail mailbox.
| Step | What Happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Inbound mail arrives at SpamWeeder (primary MX) |
| 2 | SpamWeeder filters — spam and malware blocked |
| 3 | Clean mail delivered to primary mail server |
| 4 | Primary destination is unavailable — the agreed outage route is used |
| 5 | The tested route delivers accepted mail to the separate StrataMail service |
| 6 | StrataMail stores mail in shadow mailbox + queues for relay |
| 7 | Primary recovers — relay queue drains automatically |
Configuration B — Customer-Supplied Filter
Keep an existing filter where it fits your design. For Proofpoint Essentials, VIPRE or another platform, we verify recipient handling, copying or journaling options, and the permitted outage-delivery route. Support for one alternate destination is not by itself proof of a working mailbox continuity design.
| Step | What Happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Inbound mail arrives at customer's filter (primary MX) |
| 2 | Filter processes mail per existing configuration |
| 3 | Clean mail delivered to primary mail server |
| 4 | Primary destination is unavailable — a supported, tested route directs accepted mail to StrataMail |
| 5 | StrataMail stores mail in shadow mailbox + queues for relay |
| 6 | Primary recovers — relay queue drains automatically |
Configuration C — Direct delivery and secondary MX
A lower-priority DNS MX can direct accepted outage mail to our queue when the primary destination is unavailable. The queue-only service is StrataMX Backup. A separate continuity mailbox, user access and any pre-outage message-copy path need their own configuration. The DNS record alone does not create mailbox continuity, and a separate filtering purchase is not the definition of this service.
The M365 Migration Use Case
Migrating between Microsoft 365 tenants? StrataMail Email Continuity is the safety net under your cutover. During a tenant-to-tenant migration, DNS propagation can take hours or days. Mail arrives unpredictably at either tenant during the propagation window — and standard migration tools like BitTitan and Quest handle mailbox data, not inbound mail safety.
| The Problem | The StrataMail Solution |
|---|---|
| DNS propagation takes hours — sometimes days | StrataMail acts as a neutral catch-all during the window |
| Mail arrives at the wrong tenant, gets bounced or lost | All mail captured by StrataMail regardless of DNS state |
| Migration tools don't protect inbound mail | StrataMail fills the gap — safety net under the migration |
| Users lose email access during cutover | Shadow mailbox gives users webmail access throughout |
| IT has no visibility into what arrived | Admin panel shows queue depth, delivery status, event log |
Learn about M365 Migration Coverage →
DKIM Preservation
StrataMail Email Continuity preserves DKIM signatures on all relayed messages. When mail is queued during an outage event and redelivered to the primary server after recovery, the original DKIM signature is intact. This matters for organizations using M365 Distribution Groups or other platforms that require valid DKIM for internal mail processing. Messages relayed through StrataMail arrive at the primary server with their original DKIM headers — no signature stripping, no validation failures.
Supported Primary Mail Platforms
StrataMail Email Continuity works with any SMTP-reachable primary mail server, including: Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online), Google Workspace (Gmail), Microsoft Exchange (on-premises), cPanel / WHM, Plesk, Zimbra, Postfix, Sendmail, Exim, Kerio Connect, and any SMTP-compatible mail platform.
Reseller & MSP Program
StrataMail Email Continuity is built as a reseller platform. Add full business continuity to every customer domain — under your own brand, with your own pricing, from a single reseller account.
- White-labeled admin control panel — your logo, your colors, your brand
- White-labeled webmail — your branding on the portal customers use during outage events
- Per-domain provisioning — add and manage customer domains through the portal
- Usage dashboard — domain status, queue depth, outage events, relay activity
- Outage alerts — email and SMS notifications when a customer's primary goes down
- Branded alert emails — alerts sent from your address, not ours
- Volume pricing — effective rates from $3.00–$6.00/domain/month depending on tier
- Dedicated reseller support channel
Reseller tiers start at $29.99/month for up to 5 domains.
View Reseller Pricing → | Learn About the Reseller Program →
Direct Customer Pricing
- $18.00/domain/month — includes shadow mailbox, relay queue, 30-day retention, monitoring, and outage alerts
- One-time setup fee: $149/domain
- SpamWeeder Premium add-on: +$9.00/domain/month
Protecting 5 or more domains? The reseller Starter tier at $29.99/month is a better value. See the comparison →
Next step
Talk to us about Email Continuity
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