Deep Dive Into Email Archiving Products
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This document provides an overview of key considerations for email archiving systems, including 11 essential attributes. It discusses why organizations implement archiving, such as managing mail server growth and providing legal and compliance functions. Technical requirements and differences between systems are examined, like completeness of the archive, integration capabilities, content handling, search functionality, and end user experience. Implementation and purchasing models like in-house, hosted, or managed services are also covered. The document emphasizes that email archiving involves all parts of the business and recommends not waiting to implement an archive.
Deep Dive Into Email Archiving Products
- 1. Deep Dive Into Email Archiving ProductsEleven Essential Attributes of Email Archiving SystemsStephen FoskettContoural, Inc.sfoskett@contoural.com
- 2. Introducing Email ArchivingMail ServerEmail ArchiveMail ServerEmail ArchiveMail ServerEmail ArchiveMail ServerEmail Archive
- 3. Why Archive Email?Manage Mail Server GrowthIT wants to control email system data growthKey features: Stubbing and compact storageProvide Compliance and Legal HoldLegal or business needs a record of emailKey features: Completeness and searchManage System UsageManagement and users want enhanced accessKey features: PST ingestion, flexible interfaces
- 4. Buying and Building Your System:What Do You Require?Business RequirementsLitigation ReadinessRegulatory ComplianceCost ReductionFunctional RequirementsIntegration with clientsMessage classificationTechnical RequirementsHow will the system plug into your architecture?Capacity – mailboxes, storage, activityPerformance and scalability
- 5. Key Technical Differences:CompletenessHow Complete Is the Archive?Can it guarantee that every message is captured?The “double-delete” problemGateway vs. scheduled sweeps vs. journaling vs. log shippingDoes it Record What People Do?Capturing what users do with a message (read, file, ignore, forward) is toughMAPI sweeps vs. log shipping
- 6. Key Technical Differences:IntegrationCan it Ingest an Existing Mail Store or PST File?Pull in pre-existing content from mail serverHow hard/expensive to ingest PST content?Will it retain the user’s folder structure?Warning: You have to flag this stuff as possibly incomplete and perhaps even unreliable!Can It Handle Multiple Email Systems?Multiples of the same typeHeterogeneous systems (Exchange, Notes/Domino, UNIX, Apple)
- 7. Key Technical Differences:ContentHow Does It Handle Non-Message Content?Attachments, calendars, tasks, contactsEmail-specific vs. generalized (SharePoint, IM, filesystems, databases)Can It Do Single Instancing Or Deduplication?Does it single-instance entire messages or attachments separately?Block deduplication can be added to the storageWhat about single-instancing in general archives?
- 8. Key Technical Differences:LegalWill Legal Be Happy With the Output?What type of audit/access logs does it produce?Can it create chain of custody reports? Bates numbering?How secure is the back end? (Encryption, SAS70 audits)Is Litigation Hold Functionality Integrated?If the archive supports litigation hold, how granular is it? (Object, message, folder, user, mailbox, mail store, etc)How flexible is the hold function? What about multiple holds?
- 9. Key Technical Differences:SearchHow Is the Included Search and e-Discovery?Try out the search in ways you might use itConsider a real e-discovery request from legalCan it search across mailboxes or repositories?How quick and complete is the search function?Can It Integrate with Third-Party Tools?Can you plug in your own enterprise search or e-discovery tool or does “integration” mean “export”?What about account/access control, reporting, logging, and audit tools?
- 10. Key Technical Differences:End UsersWhat Will End Users Think Of It?Client integration – what will they see? (search, toolbars, plugins, software install)Web clients – Does it integrate with webmail?Off-line access – What happens when users are on a plane? What if you lose connectivity?Mobile client use (BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm, iPhone, Symbian)
- 11. Location and Purchasing ModelIn-HouseNeed to purchase software and hardwareInvest in personnel to manage solutionHostedLocated outside – a specialized system built for you, often close (network distance)You often must pay for software and hardwareIncludes day to day management servicesManaged ServiceLocated outside – often very far awayPart of a larger system providing service to manyIncludes day to day management services
- 12. Getting StuckIT looks into e-mail archivingArchiving project put on roadmapIT reaches out to legal for policyLegal hasn’t reached a consensusCompliance and records management enter a discussionSteering committee is formed (is e-mail a record?)Steering committee meetsSteering committee meetsSteering committee meets…
- 13. Getting Un-StuckEmail archiving is not an “internal project” for IT, records management, or legalEveryone has to get involvedBusiness objectives must drive solution selectionCreate a business case!Who will benefit?Make it a priorityShow that it will get doneMoney shouldn’t be the primary consideration!
- 15. Buying and Building Your System:Getting It Up and RunningPolicies are critical to functionWhat categories of messages?How to categorize?How long to retain?Can you automate deletion?System can come before policy, both are neededPolicies involve every part of the businessHave to ask the right questionsEducation of end users is criticalDon’t wait to get the archive running
- 16. Audience ResponseQuestions?Storage magazine article, webcast, whitepapersContact me:Stephen FoskettContoural, Inc.sfoskett@contoural.comhttp://blog.fosketts.net