Email service provider (ESP) maintenance notifications and Bloomreach communication

When you use Bloomreach with an external email service provider (ESP), you may receive ESP emails about planned maintenance.

This article explains what these messages mean, how they relate to Bloomreach, and what action you may need to take.

Who sends these maintenance notifications?

The ESP, not Bloomreach, sends these maintenance notifications. The ESP usually also publishes the same information on its public status page.

Bloomreach is generally not on the ESP’s mailing list and doesn't manage these notifications on the ESP’s behalf.

Does Bloomreach send communication about ESP maintenance?

The ESP usually communicates planned maintenance directly. Bloomreach sends notifications only if:

• There is a broad impact across much of the platform or across many customers.
• You need to take specific actions in Bloomreach, such as making configuration changes, updating DNS records, or completing migration steps.

If neither condition applies, expect maintenance communication only from the ESP. Bloomreach doesn't duplicate the ESP’s maintenance message.

Will ESP maintenance affect send-outs from Bloomreach?

Behavior during a planned ESP maintenance window varies by provider, but a typical scenario looks like this:

• During the maintenance window, you might not be able to log in to the ESP user interface or send new messages through its API.
• The ESP usually queues submitted emails and sends them after maintenance ends.
• The impact is usually limited to a short delay (for example, 15–20 minutes) rather than message loss.

From the Bloomreach side:

• Bloomreach continues to trigger campaigns according to your configuration.
• For messages handed over to the ESP during the maintenance window:
  • If the ESP accepts messages, it typically queues them and delivers them after maintenance ends.
  • If the ESP temporarily rejects or can't accept messages, delivery depends on the ESP’s retry and queueing behavior and the integration’s error-handling logic.

Because the ESP controls this behavior, always refer to the exact wording in the ESP’s maintenance email or status page for the most accurate provider-specific information.

Transactional email fallback

If your setup uses the Transactional email API, you may be eligible for the Transactional email fallback.

This feature lets you configure a second ESP integration as a backup. If sending through the primary ESP fails, for example, during a maintenance window, Bloomreach automatically falls back to the secondary integration.

Key points:

• It requires two separate ESP integrations in your Bloomreach project.
• Under normal conditions, the system evenly distributes transactional sends across both integrations.
• If one integration fails, the system automatically routes messages through the other, which reduces the impact of ESP outages or maintenance.
• Bloomreach must enable this feature per account. Contact your Customer Success Manager to enable it.

Note: This feature applies only to emails sent through the Transactional email API. It does not apply to standard campaign emails or scenario-triggered emails.

What to do if you receive an ESP maintenance email?

1. Read the ESP email carefully.
   • Note the date, time, estimated duration, and affected components, such as APIs, the UI, specific regions, or environments.
2. Check your campaign schedule.
   • If critical campaigns are scheduled during the maintenance window, you can:
     • Leave them as-is and accept a short delay.
     • Reschedule them to start before or after the maintenance window if timely delivery is business-critical.
3. Consult the ESP status page.
   • Use the link usually included in the email, such as the provider’s public status page, to monitor real-time updates.
4. Check Bloomreach status if you suspect a wider issue.
   • If you see unexpected behavior beyond what the ESP described, such as significant or prolonged delivery issues, check the Bloomreach status page and release notes for Bloomreach-side incidents or announcements.

ESP maintenance notification example

Subject: Upcoming scheduled maintenance notice

Dear customer,

We will perform scheduled infrastructure maintenance on [day, date] starting at [time, time zone]. The estimated impact duration is [X–Y minutes].

During this window, you will not be able to log in to the [ESP name] application or send new messages through the API. Any emails already submitted will be queued and sent automatically after the maintenance ends. You do not need to take any action.

As we come back online, you may briefly experience slower performance or intermittent errors, but this should resolve within a few minutes.

This maintenance is essential to keep our platform secure, reliable, and running smoothly.

Start time
[Date], [time, time zone]

Estimated duration
[X–Y minutes]

Components affected

• Web application
• REST API sending
• Event and tracking endpoints

If you have any questions, contact your usual support channel.

Best regards,
[ESP name] Team