Manufacturing Customer Story

Feinmetall protects its global email with Retarus Email Security

Feinmetall protects around 800 email inboxes in its globally distributed, hybrid Exchange landscape with Retarus Email Security.

Initial Situation

Inadequate third-party solution

Feinmetall GmbH, based in Herrenberg, Swabia, is a leading manufacturer of contact probes and test systems for the semiconductor industry. Founded in 1964, the company employs around 650 people at 15 locations worldwide. Before switching to Retarus, Feinmetall had been using a third-party email security solution. However, this solution required considerable manual effort, had a poor detection rate and no quarantine function. Feinmetall therefore decided to look for a suitable alternative as soon as possible.

Objective

All-encompassing, full-service solution

Feinmetall’s declared aim was to significantly reduce the manual workload. The new solution was to be a secure, high-quality, stable and high-performance email gateway that could be integrated into a hybrid Exchange landscape. The selection process took around three months. The decision in favor of Retarus was based, among other things, on good experiences with Retarus in the past and the possibility of using Retarus to tackle other topics such as EDI, e-invoicing and supplier integration in the future. In addition, Retarus Email Security impressed with its good price-performance ratio.

The support from Retarus before and during the implementation was very pragmatic, goal-oriented and efficient

Dirk Gerlach, Head of IT, Feinmetall

Special challenges / approach

Gradual ramp-up

Feinmetall successively introduced Retarus Email Security for its various email domains. First smaller, then larger domains were switched to Retarus’ Secure Email Gateway and then, in the same order, outbound. Finally, the settings were fine-tuned. As part of the project, the routing for Feinmetall’s hybrid Exchange environment was optimized. Previously, all emails were initially routed through the company’s German headquarters in Herrenberg and only then forwarded to Exchange Online (Microsoft 365) mailboxes for international users. The complete global rollout for 650 employees with approximately 800 email addresses took around six months. The email security processes themselves remained largely unchanged; however, with Retarus they now run more securely and with significantly less manual effort.

Benefits

Less effort, employees on board

To support the rollout, short information sessions were held for employees. The workforce is now more actively involved than before and benefits, particularly through the digest, from self-service capabilities (improved reports, easier release of messages and attachments from quarantine) as well as increased transparency. Feinmetall’s objectives were fully achieved. Email operations are running smoothly; since the introduction of Retarus Email Security, there have been no major outages and, most importantly, no successful email-based attacks.

Key Facts

  • Email protection for inbound and outbound messages
  • Hybrid Exchange infrastructure
  • Generally transparent for users
  • Contractually agreed service levels (SLA)

Conclusion

Further Retarus services already in the works

Following the introduction of Email Security, Feinmetall would also like to introduce Retarus’ Cloud EDI Gateway and Global E-Invoicing. Both projects are already underway and are expected to be completed in 2026.