Posts Tagged ‘Email Archiving’

Email continuity isn’t something many think about but when Gmail experienced a server down situation not long ago, millions in productivity was lost and suddenly email continuity and email archiving was the hottest topic around.

Ensuring email is always available isn’t something the typical user thinks much about but email archiving is a critical requirement for every organization to help ensure email continuity. It is essential that it is centralized and secure. Email archiving should be about more than just email storage for the sake of record keeping and compliance because businesses can no longer afford an email outage for any length of time.

We live in an ‘always-on’ world where access to email is taken for granted. Much like breathing, access to email is now seen as something that is always there. We expect to be able to access our emails from our Blackberry devices, iPhones, laptops, computers, an internet cafe half way around the world and anywhere at all we might find ourselves. Email continuity isn’t a word in our vocabulary but it is exactly what we expect.

Email systems are far more complex than most people realise. Little thought is given to what happens when you press send. When an email is sent from a device, it is navigating a pathway direct to the server using a unique number to access that server. Using a name causes a minor delay and one no one really notices because the email route needs to be checked in the DNS. The DNS is the registry of all information about each and every domain and sub domain. Each domain (and many sub domains) have unique email information associated with the. This is where email continuity systems are hit first.

The DNS lookup for the MX (mail exchange) record happens and most systems have one address for delivery. Larger ones have two or three to ensure that if one mail server goes down, another one can either accept the email on its behalf and deal with it, storing it or sending it along, otherwise it may be an exact clone of the downed system, offering seamless email continuity services. This lookup is an important part of ensuring email is always available for people as it is at this point that if there is a problem at the main server something may go wrong. If there is a backup available – even if it is not a mirror system – it means few will even notice anything has changed.

We expect email 24/7 and it is so important that businesses mirror servers are a more typical solution. When the main system is being repaired or maintained the mirror system takes over immediately this move is seamless. This form of email continuity is relatively expensive so many companies fall back onto a separate email archiving system. That archive system can sit on the same rack, but that is quite a risky option. A far better option is to put it the backup onto another physical server or store it in the cloud.

Ensuring email is never down is important now more than ever. Email continuity is expected and no matter how complicated, it is expected that IT departments just get it done meaning having a reliable system is essential.

Want to find out more about email archiving then Mimecast, can help you choose the best IT help for email for your needs.

Over the past 5 years, we have become more dependant than ever on email as the premier mode of business communications but can we really be sure that our inboxes are as secure as they should be?

A secure but flexible email management solution allows companies to have fast, easy access to copies of emails should they be required for investigation. Beyond the law, it makes excellent business sense to implement a sound internal method for managing email.

Deciding to invest in comprehensive mail management is imperative for these reasons. Luckily, this investment will quickly and ultimately pay for themselves – and will give you the security of knowing that your mail data storage is being put to its best use.

Email is so much more than a method of communication though. More than ever, we are using information from previous correspondence to aid in project management, contract negotiations and content development, so easy access email management allows to such data is invaluable.

If your communications are archived properly, locating data is quick and inexpensive – without it, one might spend hours attempting to reconstruct a valid time line.

If your employees regularly carry out negotiations through email, successful email management allows for copies of all correspondence will be stored in an easily accessible database.

If your company experiences high turnover rates, the ability to transfer past emails in a well-organized manner to newbies saves time and money. With this information, new employees can take over right where the previous individual left off.

The power to access email across an organization is a near priceless tool in managing your company’s knowledge. As we are working in an information economy, this knowledge is power! You’ve already put in the time and effort to develop this knowledge – you deserve to be able to find it with near-effortless ease.

Jennifer Flowers is a writer with a passion for digital technology. She specializes in email continuity and email migration support for global business.