eclipso Mail & Cloud – Your Right to Privacy!

We talked to Claus-Peter Beringer of eclipso Mail & Cloud about his email and cloud services, and he had the following to say:-

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Claus-Peter Beringer: Thank you very much for allowing me to introduce my startup and myself at startup.info. My family, my team, and I are doing very well despite all the limitations of this difficult time.

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded eclipso Mail & Cloud.

Claus-Peter Beringer: Long before the introduction of the General data protection regulation (EU-GDPR) in May 2018, I had the idea to start my own email and cloud service. The service should definitely do without the term “mail” in the domain and brand name because I wanted to create a brand with a recognition value. This is how the name “eclipso” came about during a meeting with a good friend. If you want to know what is behind it, you are welcome to have a look at the solution on our website.

Initially, it was a sideline project for friends and family, but it soon became clear that there was a need for an alternative to the industry’s big players. So the first customers came to us.

How does eclipso Mail & Cloud innovate? 

Claus-Peter Beringer: In short, everyone has the right to privacy. But especially in the area of written communication, there are serious differences between the providers. The topic of data protection is perceived by some as an annoying evil, instead of seeing the chance to offer customers real added value. Right from the start, we placed great value on collecting as little personal data as possible.

The principles of “privacy by design,” “data economy,” and “data minimization” were already taken into account during the development. eclipso Mail & Cloud can be used anonymously and without providing private data. Energy efficiency and climate protection are important to us. Therefore we operate our systems exclusively with 100% green electricity.

eclipso Mail & Cloud was developed for people who value security, privacy, transparency, and a fair pricing model.

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?

Claus-Peter Beringer: We are in the fortunate position that the pandemic has affected us only marginally. We have great customers and partners. Only advertising revenues in the freemium segment have declined somewhat, as some advertising partners cut their advertising spending at the beginning of the pandemic. On the other hand, we were able to record a significant increase in subscribers.

In February 2020, we founded the eclipso Academy. We support educational institutions such as schools, grammar schools, adult education centers, universities, e-learning platforms, chambers of commerce, and many more in the implementation of further education and training programs. Some schools or school classes approached us so that we could offer support unbureaucratically and free of charge.

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

Claus-Peter Beringer: Fortunately, nothing has really gone wrong so far. However, the time factor needed to position a brand is not to be taken lightly. First and foremost, you need the patience to achieve healthy growth and gain customer confidence.

How do you deal with stress and anxiety?

Claus-Peter Beringer: Even in difficult times, the following applies: strength lies in calm. We do not rush anything and concentrate on the essentials. The advantage in the current situation is that you also get to take care of the small trivialities and improve continuously.

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Claus-Peter Beringer: Of course, we have chosen a segment that is already being worked on by some big players. But big players often have a big disadvantage: There is almost no personal customer support anymore. That is why customer support is a central point in our strategy, even if it means investing more time and money. In the end, however, it pays off that customers have a contact person and do not have to deal with anonymous chatbots, especially with a product as technical as ours.

Moreover, our SEO strategy is slowly paying off. In the meantime, we have achieved good to very good rankings in search engines and are also becoming more and more recognized internationally.

Your final thoughts?

Claus-Peter Beringer: I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers and partners who have accompanied and supported us on our way so far. As human beings, I hope and wish that we will act and stand together as one and not be blinded by ideologists and propagandists, not only in difficult times. 

Your website?

eclipso Europe: https://www.eclipso.eu

eclipso Germany: https://www.eclipso.de

eclipso Austria: https://www.eclipso.at

eclipso Switzerland: https://www.eclipso.ch