Simply put, E-Mail Archiving is a process
by which E-Mail messages and associated attachments
are copied and/or migrated to an “archive server” for
the purpose of managing storage space requirements
resulting from large volumes of e-mail and their attachments,
for the purpose of retaining e-mail messages as required
by a number of government and regulatory agencies,
or in many instances, both.
With respect to E-mail Archiving as it relates
to storage capacity management, it is estimated
that the average corporate e-mail user sends and
receives a minimum of 50 messages per day, with
attachments ranging in size from as small as 5k
for a WORD document or Excel Spreadsheet, to as
large as 10MB for PowerPoint Presentations, audio
and video files, product brochures and manuals,
etc. When this volume of messages with attachments
is multiplied through hundreds, thousands, or even
tens of thousands of e-mail users, the storage requirements
for an e-mail system quickly becomes costly and
unmanageable.
With respect to E-mail Archiving as it relates
to regulatory requirements, a number of regulatory
agencies now mandate archiving e-mail messages for
the purpose of search and discovery by internal
and external auditors and compliance officers. Due
to many recent corporate accounting scandals, insider
trading scandals, employee harassment cases, and
the fact that business transactions are now being
conducted via e-mail, all electronic messages are
considered to be business records. As with any traditional
paper-based document, e-mail messages are now required
to be available for review throughout a retention
period as defined by a regulatory agency.
A partial list of the regulatory agencies
that mandate e-mail archiving include:
- Banking - FDIC and OCC
- Securities brokers and dealers - SEC Rule 17a-4
- Publicly owned corporations - Sarbanes-Oxley
Act
- Health care - HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act)
- Pharmaceuticals - FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
- Defense companies – DoD (Department of
Defense)
- Nuclear Power Plants – NRC (Nuclear Regulatory
Commission)
For more information on e-mail archiving for addressing
server storage capacity management, Click
Here
For more information on e-mail archiving for the
purpose of satisfying regulatory requirements, Click
Here
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