As part of setting up the mailing functionality of the LMS, it is ensured that the LMS correctly sends all emails (system mails, enrolment mails, notifications, invitations to courses or events) with a predefined sender address (e.g. claim@customer.imc-learning.com).
Important note: In the on-premises operating model, the customer's IT is responsible for providing its own mail server for which the LMS has permission to send mails. The mail server is already connected as part of the initial installation of the standard software. Technical problems are to be analysed by the customer's IT.
In cloud operation, we can distinguish between the following options for configuring the mail dispatch of the LMS, based on the sender address desired:
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Standard Technical Setup - Scheer IMC Sender Address
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Enhanced Technical Setup - Customer Sender Address
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Sending via Scheer IMC Mail Server
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Direct Sending via Customer Mail Server
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Standard Technical Setup - Scheer IMC Sender Address
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Scheer IMC is providing our customers with an environment under a subdomain of the IMC URL http://imc-learning.com (i.e., https://customer.imc-learning.com).
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The customer only needs to agree on the subdomain as part of the system setup.
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Scheer IMC will take care of the SSL certificate and URL setup.
Mail delivery is simplified, as the LMS sends mails under an Scheer IMC sender address (i.e., claim@customer.imc-learning.com), whereby the domain of the email address corresponds to the URL of the system.
Scheer IMC takes care of the necessary configuration, meaning the relevant security settings are made on the Scheer IMC side to ensure successful sending.
However, it should be noted that the customer does not have access to the corresponding mailbox if users reply to the sent mails. And a recipient address is still required on the part of the customer for the receipt of system
Enhanced Technical Setup - Customer Sender Address
The customer can use the LMS via any URL and send emails from their own sender address or various sender addresses (depending on the configuration). This reflects the current procedure as you know it.
As part of an Enhanced Technical Setup, there are two further options for setting up email dispatch. In both cases, the email is sent from the customer's address, and both options incur additional costs for the customer:
Sending via Scheer IMC Mail Server (with Customer's Sender Address)
The mail sending of the LMS takes place via a sender address of the customer (e.g. claim@customer.com).
For this, an SPF record for the customer.com mail server must be set by the customer's IT department, otherwise there is a high risk that emails will be identified as spam.
An exceptional case for which no SPF record is required is if the mail server customer.com only sends emails to its own users and the LMS explicitly allows emails to be sent.
In addition to an SPF record, mail can be sent with a signature. DKIM signing is supported by Scheer IMC and can be implemented as part of an additional order.
In this case, Scheer IMC creates the corresponding key pairs and makes them available to the customer's IT department for storage in the customer.com DNS entry.
For additional information please check DKIM & DMARC.
Direct Sending via Customer Mail Server (with Customer's Sender Address)
If it is not possible to set a SPF record or if there is an explicit wish not to send via the Scheer IMC mail server, the customer's mail server can also be connected directly to the LMS. The mails are still sent via a sender address of the customer (e.g., mail@claim.customer.com).
The direct connection of the LMS to the customer's mail server does not require a separate order within the scope of the Technical Setup, but it does mean that Scheer IMC has significantly fewer options for analysing mail problems.
The following three current restrictions must be observed:
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The mail server must be directly accessible (a VPN connection is not possible),
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the authentication is via SMTP-Auth, i.e., Scheer IMC requires a user's login data for setup, and currently only TLS 1.2 is supported, and
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the further security settings (security policies) of the customer's mail server are the responsibility of the customer (the IP address of the LMS server may have to be released or there are restrictions on forwarding to the actual recipients).
In this variant, from the point of view of the LMS, the mail sending is completed whenever the LMS has transferred the mail to the customer's mail server, i.e., the mail sending is marked as successful or logged in the LMS.
All further analyses and examinations in case the mail does not reach the recipient are the responsibility of the person in charge of the customer's mail server and therefore outside the responsibility of Scheer IMC.