Email archiving refers to the systematic process of saving and recording a company's email messages, including all attachments like spreadsheets and images. This system of archiving serves various purposes, including records keeping, documentation, and policy compliance.
A shot of the past
Some years back, email archiving was conducted manually. Companies relied on their employees to maintain individual email archives, which the IT department made back-up copies of. This manner of archiving serves the purpose of documentation and record keeping, but it has one big disadvantage. The emails in such archives are not searchable and finding a single specific message can take days or weeks.
Policy-based archiving
At present, there are federal laws and policies that require companies to maintain properly functional email archives. Fortunately, there are now policy based software programs that companies can utilize to accomplish the above mentioned requirement. These programs allow IT managers to easily manage email archives, shorten back-up times, and free up a lot of space on their companies production servers. The last one is possible because email archiving software programs utilize their own storage systems that are separate from the company's existing data base.
In addition to these primary features, most modern archiving software applications also include search and indexing capabilities as well as access logs that provides virtual paper trails for emails that have been subpoenaed for certain legal purposes. Most software applications also have a life cycle management component that can classify, manage, and delete email messages in the archive as per rules set by the archive administrator.
All of these features included in an archiving software program make for a faster and more convenient means for companies to archive all their incoming and outgoing email transactions. Moreover, these software applications assure that companies are complying with archiving policies set by the law.
A toss-up of types
Software applications for email archiving can either be in-house or hosted. In-house programs refer to archiving solutions that are integrated to the company's network and managed by its own IT department. Hosted programs, on the other hand, provide for email archival systems that are managed by a third party firm or company. The choice between these two types of program should consider the company's size, its existing resources, and the expertise of its staff.
Data Cove by Tangent is a simple network appliance with an easy and simple program for email archiving. This user-friendly device features a simple interface and plug-and-play function. Easy to install anywhere in a network, it is suitable for businesses and organizations of any size. Contact us today for more information.
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