Consulting
Messaging consulting built on practice
I am Rafael Pfister, an independent messaging specialist based in Switzerland and founder of Adeptio GmbH. For more than 14 years I have been building, running and repairing email infrastructure: Exchange Online and Hybrid, encryption gateways, HIN in Swiss healthcare, mail routing and authentication. The articles and tools on this website are real-world examples of how I approach problems. You can hire me per project or as a freelancer part-time.
Services
- Microsoft 365 & Exchange Exchange Online and Hybrid: architecture, operations, hardening and mail routing.
- Secure email & gateways HIN, SEPPmail and encryption gateways in regulated environments.
- Mail flow troubleshooting Systematically resolving delivery issues, NDRs, mail loops and misclassifications.
- SPF, DKIM & DMARC Introducing and repairing email authentication until p=reject is within reach.
- Load testing & sizing Deriving load profiles, simulating bursts, sizing gateways and relays on solid numbers.
- Exchange Online migration Moving mailboxes and mail routing to the cloud in a controlled way, edge cases included.
- Messaging freelancer Per project or part-time: Exchange and gateway expertise embedded in your team.
Security & forensics
- Email penetration testing Testing spoofing, gateway bypass, open relays and exposed services from an attacker’s point of view.
- Email incident response Compromised mailboxes, business email compromise, attacked Exchange servers and gateways.
- Email forensics for authorities Establishing origin, authenticity and mail path: analyses and reports for prosecutors and police.
Migrations
- Exchange migrations Exchange 2016/2019 to SE, SE to Exchange Online, tenant-to-tenant and cross-forest.
- Totemomail migration A new operating system base or the move to Kiteworks EPG, with rules, keys and WebMail.
- SEPPmail migration Replacing or upgrading the on-premises appliance, moving clusters, switching to SEPPmail.cloud.
- HIN gateway migration From the classic HIN Mail Gateway to Stargate or another solution.
- Mail gateway migrations Replacing Proofpoint, FortiMail, Barracuda, xorlab, bulk mail and SMS gateways, vendor-neutral.
How I work
- Direct, no intermediaries. You talk to the person who analyses, implements and documents.
- Project-based. Clearly scoped engagements with a defined outcome, from a half-day review to full migration support.
- Transparent. I state terms and availability in the first conversation, not the third.
- Traceable. Every engagement ends with documentation your operations team can maintain; changes are planned so they can be rolled back.
- Remote or on site. German-speaking Switzerland, in German or English.
