On April 12, 2005, Return Path, a premier email performance management company, and IronPort, market-share leader in email security, announced a partnership to expand the Bonded Sender Program. Return Path will acquire all operational, marketing, and development activities for Bonded Sender, while IronPort will continue to provide infrastructure for the program, becoming a shareholder in Return Path. TRUSTe will continue to provide third-party oversight and dispute resolution services.

In 2002, IronPort launched Bonded Sender to help legitimate senders successfully deliver email messages into inboxes. Bonded Sender now helps deliver more than 25 percent of the world’s email. MSN, Hotmail, Roadrunner, and more than 36,000 corporate domains currently use the program. Legitimate senders post a financial bond to assure that they will not send spam. When users complain that they have received spam from a “bonded sender,” the company is fined. Legitimate senders are therefore forced to maintain high-quality email programs to avoid fines and to remain in the Bonded Sender Program.

Return Path will help Bonded Sender achieve 100 percent deliverability. Moving forward, Return Path’s strategic plan includes promoting wider adoption of the program across the email marketing industry and forging stronger relationships with senders and receivers. Program management of Bonded Sender will not change at this time for companies currently participating in the program.

TRUSTe will continue to serve as a critical partner in the Bonded Sender Program to help establish credibility and trust in email. Since the program launch in 2002, TRUSTe has monitored sender complaint rates and audited compliance with program standards. “We are thrilled to see Return Path, a company with strong expertise and credibility in the email industry, help expand the Bonded Sender Program,” said Fran Maier, executive director of TRUSTe. “We know they will make a great partner going forward, and we are looking forward to continuing to be the certification and oversight authority for Bonded Sender.”

 

AppLabs Technologies