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Email treasure chest
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Email treasure chest Ken Yearwood Statistics show that as much as 60% of business-critical data resides in email, making it the most important repository of data that a company may own. This huge amount of data translates into a significant burden on corporate storage resources. These facts – combined with a recent onslaught of regulatory compliance rules – are forcing organisations to take a deeper look at email storage, retention, and archiving practices. Email has become the electronic equivalent of DNA evidence. Taking this into account is crucial for businesses that don’t want to end up in a corporate scandal. Before embarking on email archiving, IT professionals need to understand a range of business and technology issues. These challenges, and the opportunities presented by email archiving solutions, are as follows:
Electronic discovery and litigation Ken Yearwood, email archiving manager, EMEA, Proofpoint
Email has become the electronic equivalent of DNA evidence
Electronic discovery – or ‘e-discovery’ – usually refers to the retrieval of data from a computer to meet a legal request. However, the term can also be used whenever data retrieval is required for regulatory compliance. As a result, all organisations require search and discovery capabilities for email, even if they are not currently involved in litigation. Recently, the electronic discovery burden on IT organisations has increased both in frequency and demand. In fact, a global survey performed by Osterman Research found: r 5XPUIJSETPG*5PSHBOJTBUJPOTIBWFSFGFSSFEUPFNBJMPS*.BSDIJWFTPSCBDLVQUBQFTUP support their organisation’s innocence in a legal case r PGPSHBOJTBUJPOTIBWFCFFOPSEFSFECZBDPVSUPSSFHVMBUPSZCPEZUPQSPEVDF employee email or instant messages This is not surprising when you consider email is just as admissible in court as paperbased documents. The risks related to non-business related content that can be found in email are high, and furthermore, it’s worth being conscious that for every email delivered, two copies are created (with the sender and recipient).
Storage management The pressure to increase storage limits continues to grow as the amount of email sent each day – as well as the size of messages and attachments – increases. This ever-increasing storage demand is driven in part by faster connection speeds, and partly by the fact that the role of email as a primary channel for corporate communication continues to expand.
Knowledge management Beyond the capacity issues associated with storage management, email has also become the de facto filing system for many enterprises. Maintaining an archive can greatly improve productivity. In addition, vital content cannot be deleted by a disgruntled employee. There are three main types of archiving solutions available. The original, or traditional solution, has primarily been the in-house option. An alternative to this is to contract with an outsourcer that provides archiving as a hosted service. Finally, businesses can deploy a hybrid solution that combines certain elements of the in-house and outsourced models. This is very much a forward-thinking strategy. Email use within the corporate environment will only continue to rise. If left unchecked, corporate email can leave a business vulnerable. With regulatory compliance changes coming through from Brussels frequently, and with legal discovery and storage management concerns growing, the question is not whether your organisation will need an archiving solution, but rather, when it will need one. The key is to be prepared, and to understand the key risks, rewards and reasons for archiving as you will be in a better position to make the right choice when the time comes.
40
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009
Email treasure chest Ken Yearwood Statistics show that as much as 60% of business-critical data resides in email, making it the most important repository of data that a company may own. This huge amount of data translates into a significant burden on corporate storage resources. These facts – combined with a recent onslaught of regulatory compliance rules – are forcing organisations to take a deeper look at email storage, retention, and archiving practices. Email has become the electronic equivalent of DNA evidence. Taking this into account is crucial for businesses that don’t want to end up in a corporate scandal. Before embarking on email archiving, IT professionals need to understand a range of business and technology issues. These challenges, and the opportunities presented by email archiving solutions, are as follows:
Electronic discovery and litigation Ken Yearwood, email archiving manager, EMEA, Proofpoint
Email has become the electronic equivalent of DNA evidence
Electronic discovery – or ‘e-discovery’ – usually refers to the retrieval of data from a computer to meet a legal request. However, the term can also be used whenever data retrieval is required for regulatory compliance. As a result, all organisations require search and discovery capabilities for email, even if they are not currently involved in litigation. Recently, the electronic discovery burden on IT organisations has increased both in frequency and demand. In fact, a global survey performed by Osterman Research found: r 5XPUIJSETPG*5PSHBOJTBUJPOTIBWFSFGFSSFEUPFNBJMPS*.BSDIJWFTPSCBDLVQUBQFTUP support their organisation’s innocence in a legal case r PGPSHBOJTBUJPOTIBWFCFFOPSEFSFECZBDPVSUPSSFHVMBUPSZCPEZUPQSPEVDF employee email or instant messages This is not surprising when you consider email is just as admissible in court as paperbased documents. The risks related to non-business related content that can be found in email are high, and furthermore, it’s worth being conscious that for every email delivered, two copies are created (with the sender and recipient).
Storage management The pressure to increase storage limits continues to grow as the amount of email sent each day – as well as the size of messages and attachments – increases. This ever-increasing storage demand is driven in part by faster connection speeds, and partly by the fact that the role of email as a primary channel for corporate communication continues to expand.
Knowledge management Beyond the capacity issues associated with storage management, email has also become the de facto filing system for many enterprises. Maintaining an archive can greatly improve productivity. In addition, vital content cannot be deleted by a disgruntled employee. There are three main types of archiving solutions available. The original, or traditional solution, has primarily been the in-house option. An alternative to this is to contract with an outsourcer that provides archiving as a hosted service. Finally, businesses can deploy a hybrid solution that combines certain elements of the in-house and outsourced models. This is very much a forward-thinking strategy. Email use within the corporate environment will only continue to rise. If left unchecked, corporate email can leave a business vulnerable. With regulatory compliance changes coming through from Brussels frequently, and with legal discovery and storage management concerns growing, the question is not whether your organisation will need an archiving solution, but rather, when it will need one. The key is to be prepared, and to understand the key risks, rewards and reasons for archiving as you will be in a better position to make the right choice when the time comes.
40
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009