Email Archiving Solutions
If you’re a small business owner (or thinking about starting one), unless you have your own IT department, you may have a need for an email archiving solution. That’s just one of the many ways we can help you here at Blue Oak Technology Solutions. We are your off-site IT department, saving you the huge cost of hiring employees, with our monthly managed services. You choose only the services you need for one low monthly price.
Email Archiving – Not Email Backup
Although you might think you already know about archiving emails, there may be aspects you weren’t aware of. To archive emails is not the same as doing email backups. It is a form of email retention but is not the same as doing a mailbox data backup. An email backup is necessary as part of a larger data backup plan for disaster recovery purposes. Archived emails cannot be deleted or removed, p0lus they are indexed, as well, for easier search and location purposes.
Email Retention Policy
You will need to implement an email retention policy for your business needs. This is roughly the amount of time you keep your emails, but there is more to it than that. Typically this depends completely on the industry. Normally you might need IT teams and likely a legal team, to create policies that work. You may have multiple policies over a relatively short period of time, especially while your business is becoming adjusted, with its own unique email archiving needs.
Storage Issues
Email retention policies are essential when managing and archiving emails. This is because you are going to experience a storage problem at some point, especially if you’re attempting on-premise archiving. Blue Oak Tech can provide both data backup solutions for disaster recovery and cloud solutions (or other options) when you’re experiencing storage capacity issues. Also important to note, if you use Microsoft 365, your data is not automatically protected. Contact us for details – we are well versed in Microsoft products and software, too!
Automate Processes
One way to ensure email archiving best practices and retention procedures is to automate your processes. Here’s what Blue Oak Tech can do for your archiving solution:
- Automate archiving and legal hold processes. All incoming and outgoing emails are captured and stored in a secure repository or cloud-based solution.
- Automate email retention policies. This is where parameters are set. A typical configuration would be nonessential email after 30 days, H.R. after 7 years, legal disputes never.
- Double-check retention laws and regulations for your industry to ensure compliance
- Assemble a team to set retention policies
- Update policies annually
- Address storage issues
Industry Regulations
If your business is in an industry that is heavily regulated, such as anything healthcare-related or if e-commerce is a part of your daily business (but not in all cases), to ensure compliance for retention requirements, there are certain federal rules you must follow. Even if you are not regulated, there are best practices to follow for retention periods when archiving emails. Aligning with these standard retention periods should be your end goal, in case you’re ever named in any litigation.
Archive Email Management
When considering your email management criteria, we practice a safe legal boundary. In general, for routine business correspondence, 3-7 years is a standard reference. (However, 5-10 years is recommended for an even safer email retention period!) When the retention period ends, these archived emails can be purged. You should feel confident that you no longer need to retain data from those retention periods specified, with good email archive management.
Email Archiving Creates Data Index
Your email archive works for you as a reference source for data in online communication as well. You can set the parameters yourself, or leave them as the defaults, either way. By archiving email, you are also indexing and filing this data away, should you ever need it. No worries about preparing are necessary in cases that may involve an e-discovery request. By email archiving with a proper retention policy in place, you’ll have peace of mind knowing you’re prepared. An email archiving system helps to retain email data.
Cloud-Based Storage Solution
Nowadays, most small and medium-sized businesses use cloud-based storage. Even large businesses are largely utilizing the low-cost solutions that cloud-based services offer. These cloud-based services negate the need for on-premise servers, storage, and many other options are available if you haven’t had the time to check them out.
Blue Oak Tech can assist you in evaluating the needs of your business that may have a better, more effective, and more efficient solution.
Data Recovery
Every business should have a plan for data recovery, in case of the unexpected. Everyone enjoys the naïvette of believing disasters only happen to other people, for a while – until something (inevitably) happens. And let’s be honest here – anything can happen, and to anyone, at absolutely any given time. Nothing is tamper-proof when it comes to data.
Even simple human error can be disastrous, not to mention a mere security data breach, loss of data or theft of data. Data loss can not only disrupt your business continuity but bring down an entire organization, if unprepared. Let Blue Oak Technology Solutions help you with email archiving and a data storage and recovery plan!
Blue Oak Technology Solutions
If you’re in need of an email archiving solution, we’ve got you covered. Or how about these services we can also provide:
- Email Hosting
- Email Encryption
- Cloud Solutions
- Wireless Solutions
- Security Solutions w/24/7 Monitoring
- Data Backup Solutions
- Internet Content Filtering
- Equipment Acquisition
- Computer Repair
Plus, our services can be either on an on-demand, pay-as-you-go IT Services in Kansas City or as a monthly managed package of your design. Choose only what you need, and nothing you don’t.
Tech Support and More!
We provide technical support for our clients and we want to help your small to medium-sized business with the technology solutions you need for better management in the business community today. Contact us here at Blue Oak Tech, we’re a local family-owned business and provide professional, personalized, and customized support, for all your technological business needs. For the email archiving solution that’s right for you and more, plus excellent tech support whenever you need it, contact Blue Oak Technology Solutions. We look forward to hearing from you!
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