Red Earth Software, developer of email management software for Exchange Server, has announced the release of Policy Patrol version 9. 

In addition to support for Exchange Server 2013, Policy Patrol 9 includes a number of new email signature features such as adding a QR Code to the email signature, inserting the sender’s thumbnail picture from gravatar.com, and converting plain text emails to html to allow professionally formatted email signatures to be added to emails sent from mobile phones.

Policy Patrol 9 now allows you to automatically insert the sender’s avatar (thumbnail picture) into the email signature without having to maintain your employees’ pictures in Active Directory. 

Policy Patrol pulls the sender’s avatar from gravatar.com, a free service that stores a user’s thumbnail picture and then allows programs such as help desks and CRM systems to display the thumbnail for the user. In this way the user only needs to upload their picture in one location, without requiring the help of  IT.

Another new feature is its ability to change the format of plain text emails to HTML when adding an email signature. All mobile devices send out emails in plain text, with the result that emails sent from mobile phones cannot include an email signature with pictures and formatting. Policy Patrol can now change the format of the email to html so that emails from mobile devices can also include a professionally branded email signature. 

QR codes are a type of barcode widely used in marketing to enable consumers to scan links and contact information on their mobile devices. Policy Patrol 9 can include personalized QR Codes in the email signature, such as a vCard, meCard, URL or email address. For each sender, Policy Patrol automatically generates the QR Code by pulling the information from Active Directory.

“With Policy Patrol 9 we are taking email signature marketing to the next level,” says Mike Spykerman, CEO of Red Earth Software. 

“Policy Patrol now includes a number of new features that help marketers reap the benefits of corporate email signatures; including the sender’s avatar in the email signature is a great way to personalize your email communications and gain more interaction with your customers and suppliers, and a QR Code in the email signature encourages the recipient to collect contact information or visit a certain URL. With the fast rise in smart phone usage, it is important that Policy Patrol can now ensure that emails sent from mobile devices also include professional email signatures.”

A 30-day trial version is available for download from http://www.policypatrol.com.