A History of IT Innovation

MailMarshal story

The Marshal Software story is a chapter in Designertech’s history of which we are very proud. Our company has always been about finding solutions to customers' needs, whatever they may be. In the 1990s, when use of the Internet by business was exploding, we identified that good-quality Internet security products were not readily available. Some of our top software developers at the time decided to create something to meet a client’s spam-filtering needs.

The first version of the mail content management system that was to become MailMarshal was developed over a long weekend and implemented to solve that particular problem. The solution worked so well that we decided to 'productise' the solution, and CleanMail was released in 1997. The product was later rebranded MailMarshal, and the Marshal Software division was created to market and distribute the shrink-wrapped products created by the Designertech team.

The products proved to be a runaway success, winning enthusiastic recognition from users and industry experts between 1998 and 2001. In 2002 NetIQ approached with an offer to purchase the Marshal Software business as a going concern. That transaction was completed in the same year, and Marshal continues as a successful company to this day, although it is no longer affiliated with Designertech.