One4all: e-mail and instant messaging aggregator

Abstract

This paper presents an innovative platform that permits the aggregation of multiple e-mail and accounts, to make the day to day handling of e-mail messages more manageable and pleasant. The new product illustrates a launching supported by low level of investment and the search for innovation based in the finding of an unexplored need in the fast moving of the information and communication technology (ICT) global market. Low financial and human resources are the main problems of start-ups when disputing big companies. But one of the challenges of the ICT market can be an opportunity to a start-up, which is be focus on the solution instead of the technology. Just a small part of the market buys technology for technology's sake and maybe that, in part, can explain the quite conservative behaviour inside the IT industry, as Butje explained (1). Although there is a high demand for new solutions, most of the time to help simplifying the existent offer, very few want to be the first to try it. Users of this platform will benefit from not having to enter credentials for each of their e-mail accounts. To be able to access all e-mail accounts at once, the user logs on to the platform and the (pre-configured) e-mail accounts are visible. The user shall then have the option to view all e-mail messages within the same area (the messages are highlighted with different colours (or logos) depending on which account they are destined for). Another view is to have separate areas (or tabs) for each email account. The functionality shall also be extended to instant messaging accounts.