300 billion e-mails a year
During the time you spend reading this post, one or more emails will drop into your work email inbox. No wonder: email is an important means of communication. About 300 billion electronic messages are sent and received worldwide every year. They are written to each other not only by people in the framework of personal and official correspondence. In the era of the Internet of Things, even servers and mechanisms that work without human intervention exchange letters.
In addition to the means of communication, e-mail also serves as a repository of information. Data about accounts of other online services, invoices, contracts, business presentations, etc. — all this should not only be stored correctly and safely, but also have quick and convenient access to this data. Even if the letter you need now was received or sent not yesterday, but several years ago. And if the message can become an argument or proof in any dispute, such a need becomes critically important. That is why companies should act correctly from the very beginning in everything related to the storage and prompt access to data from electronic correspondence.
Choosing an e-mail archiving strategy
Let's start with the basic things, namely, approaches related to archiving electronic correspondence data.
The first option is archiving on the server. Centralized automatic archiving that functions independently of the end user. This is the most common approach, because it allows you to control all e-mail messages, minimize the work of the IT department and comply with corporate security policies in full. The only and rather significant disadvantage is that this type of archiving is appropriate for organizations where there is a full-time system administrator, and where there is capacity for storing and processing data from mailboxes.
The second option is archiving on the user's side. It is mainly used in conjunction with the POP3 protocol. It uses a local mail client (for example, Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird) and accepts the appropriate folder structure. The peculiarity of this approach is the increased risks: data may be lost because of an accident. For example, if an employee's laptop is stolen on a business trip, or if the computer's hard drive fails.
After the decision related to the type of archiving has been made, it's time to think about where to place the archive. There are two alternatives. The first is the cloud. A reasonable choice if the company is small and its business is not related to information technology. The responsibility for archiving and data security lies with the provider. When choosing a cloud solution, we recommend that you prefer the maximum level of availability and security. It will be a little more expensive than the default service, but still cheaper than the services of a qualified system administrator and the cost of purchasing and maintaining a corporate server.
The second is the local storage. It makes sense when a company places increased demands on the security of correspondence, does not agree to trust any external mail services, and it has a responsible and competent “admin” on staff.
Adding a backup
Archiving or backup? At the stage of forming a strategy for working with data, each customer asks himself this question in one form or another. It is impossible to put an equal sign between these processes. We have two completely different ways to handle data. They can complement each other, but in no case replace each other. If archiving is a way to save disk space on servers and at the same time provide quick access to data from the archive, then backup is about security. Backup prevents data loss, and if something goes wrong, it allows you to quickly restore information.
A backup, unlike an archive, does not provide quick access to data. But at the same time, it protects the archive from loss because of a software failure, malfunctions on the hard disk or from the consequences of a hacker attack. So, the archive of e-mail boxes must necessarily fall into the category of data that requires backup.
We use the advantages of e-mail archiving
So, when everything is clear with the technical part, it's time to find out in which situations the maximum benefit can be derived from archiving email.
First, when restoring data sent to customers. Situations when customers accidentally delete important information themselves (online service credentials, contract, invoice, etc.) happen all the time. And when the manager of your company helps the customer to restore vital documents and facts from correspondence, it immediately sets the client up in a positive way: “These guys know how to work!”
Secondly, when filling out the mailbox. Admit it: you yourself missed important messages or could not “get through” to the addressee because your or his mailbox turned out to be full. With the archiving service, such situations are in the past. As well as the painful cleaning of your own inbox from thousands of unnecessary messages manually.
Thirdly, in case of an accident on the server. Often the failure of the mail server literally paralyzes the work of the company. But not when there is an archive of correspondence at hand. Until the mail is repaired, you can transfer communication with the client to another channel (for example, to a messenger) and thereby ensure business continuity.
Fourth, maintaining the speed of mail operation when backing up and/or moving to other equipment. Due to clogged channels and high load on the equipment, access to mail can be difficult. But not for those who use mail archives. This makes the production process more productive even during periods when routine or urgent work is performed on email servers.
Applying the right solution
In companies for which email is really the “nervous system” of the entire business, MailStore Server has been used for a long time and productively. This decision is noted by Microsoft Corporation. It works great in both small and medium-sized and large companies. MailStore Server offers particularly fast full-text search by email and by email attachments, works perfectly with the MS Outlook application and supports web access. What is important, it is extremely user-friendly, because it allows you to keep the usual folder structure.
It is important to say that MailStore Server has a 30-day trial version with no limitation of functionality. Write to us and we will help you conduct a comprehensive test of the solution in your organization.
During the time you spend reading this post, one or more emails will drop into your work email inbox. No wonder: email is an important means of communication. About 300 billion electronic messages are sent and received worldwide every year. They are written to each other not only by people in the framework of personal and official correspondence. In the era of the Internet of Things, even servers and mechanisms that work without human intervention exchange letters.
In addition to the means of communication, e-mail also serves as a repository of information. Data about accounts of other online services, invoices, contracts, business presentations, etc. — all this should not only be stored correctly and safely, but also have quick and convenient access to this data. Even if the letter you need now was received or sent not yesterday, but several years ago. And if the message can become an argument or proof in any dispute, such a need becomes critically important. That is why companies should act correctly from the very beginning in everything related to the storage and prompt access to data from electronic correspondence.
Choosing an e-mail archiving strategy
Let's start with the basic things, namely, approaches related to archiving electronic correspondence data.
The first option is archiving on the server. Centralized automatic archiving that functions independently of the end user. This is the most common approach, because it allows you to control all e-mail messages, minimize the work of the IT department and comply with corporate security policies in full. The only and rather significant disadvantage is that this type of archiving is appropriate for organizations where there is a full-time system administrator, and where there is capacity for storing and processing data from mailboxes.
The second option is archiving on the user's side. It is mainly used in conjunction with the POP3 protocol. It uses a local mail client (for example, Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird) and accepts the appropriate folder structure. The peculiarity of this approach is the increased risks: data may be lost because of an accident. For example, if an employee's laptop is stolen on a business trip, or if the computer's hard drive fails.
After the decision related to the type of archiving has been made, it's time to think about where to place the archive. There are two alternatives. The first is the cloud. A reasonable choice if the company is small and its business is not related to information technology. The responsibility for archiving and data security lies with the provider. When choosing a cloud solution, we recommend that you prefer the maximum level of availability and security. It will be a little more expensive than the default service, but still cheaper than the services of a qualified system administrator and the cost of purchasing and maintaining a corporate server.
The second is the local storage. It makes sense when a company places increased demands on the security of correspondence, does not agree to trust any external mail services, and it has a responsible and competent “admin” on staff.
Adding a backup
Archiving or backup? At the stage of forming a strategy for working with data, each customer asks himself this question in one form or another. It is impossible to put an equal sign between these processes. We have two completely different ways to handle data. They can complement each other, but in no case replace each other. If archiving is a way to save disk space on servers and at the same time provide quick access to data from the archive, then backup is about security. Backup prevents data loss, and if something goes wrong, it allows you to quickly restore information.
A backup, unlike an archive, does not provide quick access to data. But at the same time, it protects the archive from loss because of a software failure, malfunctions on the hard disk or from the consequences of a hacker attack. So, the archive of e-mail boxes must necessarily fall into the category of data that requires backup.
We use the advantages of e-mail archiving
So, when everything is clear with the technical part, it's time to find out in which situations the maximum benefit can be derived from archiving email.
First, when restoring data sent to customers. Situations when customers accidentally delete important information themselves (online service credentials, contract, invoice, etc.) happen all the time. And when the manager of your company helps the customer to restore vital documents and facts from correspondence, it immediately sets the client up in a positive way: “These guys know how to work!”
Secondly, when filling out the mailbox. Admit it: you yourself missed important messages or could not “get through” to the addressee because your or his mailbox turned out to be full. With the archiving service, such situations are in the past. As well as the painful cleaning of your own inbox from thousands of unnecessary messages manually.
Thirdly, in case of an accident on the server. Often the failure of the mail server literally paralyzes the work of the company. But not when there is an archive of correspondence at hand. Until the mail is repaired, you can transfer communication with the client to another channel (for example, to a messenger) and thereby ensure business continuity.
Fourth, maintaining the speed of mail operation when backing up and/or moving to other equipment. Due to clogged channels and high load on the equipment, access to mail can be difficult. But not for those who use mail archives. This makes the production process more productive even during periods when routine or urgent work is performed on email servers.
Applying the right solution
In companies for which email is really the “nervous system” of the entire business, MailStore Server has been used for a long time and productively. This decision is noted by Microsoft Corporation. It works great in both small and medium-sized and large companies. MailStore Server offers particularly fast full-text search by email and by email attachments, works perfectly with the MS Outlook application and supports web access. What is important, it is extremely user-friendly, because it allows you to keep the usual folder structure.
It is important to say that MailStore Server has a 30-day trial version with no limitation of functionality. Write to us and we will help you conduct a comprehensive test of the solution in your organization.