In the face of new FCRP regulations on e-discovery, many are now wondering, what is email archiving and how does it affect businesses in relation to the new Federal laws? Simply put, email archiving is a process of recording and saving copies of email communication that companies and organizations send and receive either within their network or to people and entities outside their operations. These messages are saved for record-keeping and documentation.
What is email archiving and why was it developed?
Regulations on record keeping and information management are being implemented in various agencies for years. This is because regulated industries such as healthcare, finance and government offices are required to keep records dating back to at least three to five years. Because of the increased prevalence of internet-based communications, the US government saw the need to implement e-discovery and treat email and instant messaging data as valuable evidences in litigation among other types of electronic documents, that is. Organizations are now required to produce these records in court when summoned and this legal requirement has posed a challenge for those who do not have an email archival solution in place.
Importance of archiving email
To understand what is email archiving, you need to appreciate just how important it is for any organization. From a legal standpoint, this system allows corporations to easily retrieve information that the court requests from them at the soonest possible time. With a carefully laid-out policy and archiving system, companies save time and money otherwise spent weeding through volumes and volumes of email and electronic communications in order to get to the ones that are highly relevant to their current purposes.
Who is involved
To answer the question, what is email archiving sufficiently, it is also important to note which parts of an organization or business are involved in this process. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a function that is left in the hands of the IT department. Policies for archival are implemented through the company's legal, IT and human resources departments. These three areas are responsible for developing parameters for the archival system -? e.g. which records should be archived and for how long, the method of archival and retrieval, etc -? as well as for training involved employees on the set procedures and the systems that should be used.
DataCove is a networking appliance that will make this task easier. This cost-effective email archiving solution is suitable for organizations of all sizes, helping businesses and agencies comply with the latest federal regulations on e-discovery. Contact us through this website to learn more about this email compliance product.
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