Smart Messaging Via Agents, Rules & Filters
Rules, filters and agents are created by filling out forms. Banyan and Lotus have built these forms into the mail client; MailScout for cc:Mail requires a separate piece of software to create and manage its rules, which are then sent via e-mail to the rules engine. Both cc:Mail products take this approach. Notes Mail and BeyondMail go a step further by allowing a free-form script to be used to define the behavior of their products. While this ultimately provides the most power and flexibility in creating agents, many of our clients have found this feature difficult to use. Banyan and Lotus post scripts for common tasks on their Web sites that users may download and plug into their products. This lets users continuously add value to their system. Peloria recently added a feature that lets administrators create and manage rules on behalf of their users.
Six Smart Messaging Types
Although it is pos
sible to create rules, filters and agents for almost any task, we've found the following most helpful. We use "out of the office" agents to respond to and delegate mail to another when we are away. When traveling, we use pager filter rules to send us summary messages. When we want to send notices or reminders, we use scheduled actions. A past-due action will trigger an agent if an action does not occur (such as if a reply is not received). We use mail assistant agents to copy, file, forward or delete inbound or outbound messages based on preestablished criteria. But our personal favorite is a junk mail filter that we use to delete mail that does not meet our specific criteria.
Several of the products we tested let you stack features to create complex rules. For example, here is a description of a rule that we use at noon on Fridays: Send notice t
o Mr. Smith asking for his time slips (scheduled action). If no reply is received within four hours, send a second notice and cc: his supervisor (past-due action
). When Mr. Smith's time slips arrive, file copies in my time slips folder (mail assistant), and send an alert with the subject to my pager (pager filter).
Most wireless computing devices, such as pagers and PCS phones, are constrained by the number of characters they can receive and the cost of message delivery. This is an area where smart messaging really shines. Although it wouldn't be practical to forward every message to your pager or phone, you could receive important messages via those devices.
One of our favorite applications is to have certain messages summarized from our inbox and sent to a two-way pager. Before messages are sent, however, their contents are analyzed and sets of relevant replies are uploaded to a pager for selection. Using the interactive nature of the two-way network, we can originate messages from the field and trigger agents back at the office to carry out functions, such as manage mail, forward messages and update calendar. Although we've chosen to write our own agents t
o accomplish this task, the Lotus and Peloria products let you implement some of these features.
Client or Server?
E-mail processing can be automated in two ways. One is to build smart-messaging functionality into the mail client software. An advantage to this approach is that no back-end hardware, software or administration is necessary.
For example, with Banyan's Beyond Mail for POP3, rules, filters and agents can process your mail, regardless of the mail server or service provider you're using.
Updated December 5, 1997
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