On a daily basis, sensitive information like invoices, contracts, and internal business content is sent via email. So, it’s important to have a solid archiving solution in place to ensure that this data can always be retrieved.
There are three main ways to archive emails: Third-party solutions, on-site solutions, and cloud-based solutions. Third-party solutions host your email archive through outsourcing, meaning that the business doesn’t have to bear the cost of hardware or software. On-site solutions, on the other hand, require you to handle your own archiving, through the use of external software. Nowadays, companies are increasingly focusing on cloud-based solutions. This type of solution typically means lower entry costs and a simple monthly subscription charge. Most of the leading email archive solution providers, like Veritas Enterprise Vault, Barracuda Message Archiver, and EMC SourceOne offer two or even all three of these methods. These email archiving solutions collect your emails in two different ways: they either take content directly from your mail server (this process is known as journaling), or they copy your emails while they are being sent/received. These archives also feature a search function, allowing you to locate important emails quickly in cases of emergency. However, a cloud-based solution also means that all data will be located on the provider’s system together with other companies’ data. If another company gets hacked, your information could also be compromised.