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Archiving e-mail will be tricky, and if one wants to change say from Domino / Notes to Exchange / Outlook, then what? Must keep a server just to be able to access archived e-mail? Must have a separate software able to read Lotus and Microsoft and whatever a company will use? And if there are attachements of different softwares? The idea of archiving is interesting, but I can't see a easy way to do it.
We archive to PST files are readable by MS Outlook. If we do change to another email server software I think we will still stay with some form of Outlook for our client. Even if we don't keeping an outlook client around is not that bad.
--Jim
--Jim
As a member of a team that has worked for a year to design and implement an email content filtering and email archiving solution - IT"S NOT EASY. There are a lot of products that can fulfil one function or the other, but it's difficult to find all requirements in one product. We have deployed the archiving solution, met the requirements and we are now working to implement retrieval tools and processes to fulfil all needs.
The problem with storing things centrally is that you have to search through a large single location containing e-mails with possible no relevance to one another. For most small businesses the simplest and straight forward solution is to use the "Save As" option in the mail client to save key e-mails with other key correspondance. A customer's folder may then contain reports, faxes, note and e-mail correspondance in a single location.
If people save their email as *.txt messages in any folder on their local machine... they won't have an easy way to search through the messages and find the one they want to retrieve. We implemented a Groupwise 6 mail system last year and we can typically search through about 6 gbs of current email data in about 15 seconds. I don't know how the groupwise system indexes the files or what dbase engine they use but it is many times faster for me to use it on the email server than for me to do an "explorer" type search on my hard drive. It will even let me search through email documents that are attached to the email. For example, if the email had a "html" page attached to it... it will also search that page during the "blazing fast search" So I know it isn't just searching the "subject" or "to" lines of the email.
isn't really a good solution. To go through hundreds of .pst files to satisfy a request for information from a Federal agancy, or if you use email communications as a resource (such as between subcontractors on a project etc.) is an almost impossible job. If you ever have the misfortune to have to provide email information you may only be given as little at two or three days to provide printed copies of all emails pertaining to an investigation. (Ask some of the Mutual Fund IT people about this.) It needs to be pulled into a searchable format such as html, pdf or a database for long term archiving.
This article started by stating that federal regulations require that all email communication between the "company" and the "employee" must be archived. No where in the HIPAA Security Rule is this a requirement unless the email contains Individually Identifiable Health Information (IIHI). It may be a "company" policy to archive all email traffic (as a catch-all), but it seems to me that this approach is indicative of "sloppy" planning that will manifest itself in other compliance issues where "catch-alls" simply don't work. Even email archiving (unless it is file-to-file encrypted) is not a guarantee of HIPAA Security Rule compliance.
I understand that the thrust of this article was to purpose outsourcing as a reasonable solution to a complex problem, and it may very well be, but it is not OK to begin on a false premise.
This does not serve the HIPAA related members, many of whom are struggling to understand and implement policy.
I understand that the thrust of this article was to purpose outsourcing as a reasonable solution to a complex problem, and it may very well be, but it is not OK to begin on a false premise.
This does not serve the HIPAA related members, many of whom are struggling to understand and implement policy.
We are currently using Exchange 2000 and archive to PST files which we then burn to DVD. This is a bit cumbersome. Has anyone found a cleaner method for dealing with this huge amount of data long term? --Jim
You should look into an outsourced solution that can handle the large amount of disk space required. Burning to DVD raises other challenges, such as knowing where to find that particular email on which disk to satisfy a discovery request from the courts.
Check out Iron Mountain - http://www.ironmountain.com/
Digital Services
Digital Archives
Check out Iron Mountain - http://www.ironmountain.com/
Digital Services
Digital Archives
You touched base on this with respect to office chatter and junk mail but a larger effortwill be defining what types of content exist and the achival period for each. The collaborative use of e-mail in projects, committees, product or business strategies, contracts, etc. means there are several different classes of content. It is also true that each of these will have their own regulatory or liability issues. A business needs to carefully decide what the various types of records are, do they want to archive them, and if so then for how long. Be prepared to work through other policies as well and understanding of the liability and other issues will highlight new sensitivities.
Then begins the search for a technology/vendor that can deliver on the requirements. Experience is it is one step at a time, and important to make progress. People understanding policies and engaging 'best practices' are a fundamental part of controlling costs associated with e-mail.
Then begins the search for a technology/vendor that can deliver on the requirements. Experience is it is one step at a time, and important to make progress. People understanding policies and engaging 'best practices' are a fundamental part of controlling costs associated with e-mail.
I work on the Hipaa Security regulations for my healthcare facitlity. No where in those regualtions does it say the organization needs to archive it's e-mail. Which regulations are your referring to?
I'm searching for this "regulation" myself.
One would think that the author would have provided us with a regulation ID, code, or article number to support his statement of "Government regulations require healthcare companies to save all e-mail messages to and from their employees."
One would think that the author would have provided us with a regulation ID, code, or article number to support his statement of "Government regulations require healthcare companies to save all e-mail messages to and from their employees."
Here is a link to a whitepaper that provides names and numbers of various government regulations pertaining to e-mail.
http://www.ferris.com/rep/20010301/default.asp
http://www.ferris.com/rep/20010301/default.asp
any message containing PHI/ICD is treated the same as a medical record, and must have a retention policy for archival. what the author i believe is conveying is that more then just these messages need to be archived.
Has anyone looked at Bridgehead Software Mailstore? It is an add on archival AND retrieval by policy email product. So there is no confusion about this I am an Agent for the product in Scotland but you can view what it does here: http://www.gtsme.co.uk/dat@suremail/index.html
Jim.
Jim.
it addresses all of these concerns, particularly security, and takes about a day to implement. No brainer really (apart from the price)
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