An email archiving solution has many advantages for a company. And it’s not just managers and end-users who stand to profit, but IT administrators too! But what specific benefits do email archiving offer the IT administrator and is it really worthwhile implementing yet another software solution?
Scenario: Corrupt, bloated and scattered PST Files
We’re sure you’re familiar with the challenges presented by local PST files. PST files continually generate a high workload for IT administrators. The file format is prone to errors and is therefore also fraught with risk. What’s more, PST files that have been saved locally on a user’s device can be very difficult to find again. In some circumstances, this can result in data loss and have legal implications. While the legal position on email retention periods may vary on the international stage, most companies are subject to some form of compliance requirement on email retention and handling. As PST files are normally beyond the control of the IT administrator, the file format is an inappropriate means of implementing compliance requirements.
Advantages of email archiving for the IT administrator
A professional email archiving solution can help resolve problems caused by PST files that are corrupt or simply too large. By storing PST files in a central email archive, end users can quickly search and find their emails. This is a big help for IT administrators in their everyday activities as they can reallocate resources and focus on other matters.
But email archiving doesn’t just help you deal with PST files, it offers other benefits for the IT administrator, such as:
- Reduce the workload on email servers
Emails can be deleted from email servers as soon as they are fully archived, which means that the servers can be streamlined and run noticeably faster. This also helps speed up backups of email servers as storage is kept lean, reducing both maintenance times and storage costs for the IT administrator.
- Eliminate mailbox quotas
Server-based email archiving allows the volume of data on the email server to be kept at a constantly low level, eliminating the need for mailbox quotas. IT administrators no longer have to worry about the availability of adequate storage space. As a result, the users’ need to create local PST files to save emails due to a full inbox limited by a mailbox quota is no longer present.
- Ensure a complete archive through journaling
Journaling makes it possible to record all incoming, outgoing and internal email traffic. At the time of sending and receiving, a copy of the respective email is stored in a special journal mailbox. An email archiving solution makes it possible to copy the emails from the journal mailbox into the archive before users can delete or tamper with them. This procedure has the advantage of making sure that the archive’s integrity is retained even if users delete emails from their mailboxes. Please note: While journaling is a feature offered by Microsoft for Exchange Server and Office 365, other email servers have similar functions which are called “multidrop mailboxes” or “catchall mailboxes”.
End users also profit from an email archiving solution. As an IT administrator, you’ll be familiar with the onerous task of having to run searches for ancient emails: With an email archiving solution, each user is able to locate his/her own emails using a search function, and then restore these themselves from the email archive. Alternatively, users also have the option of replying to or forwarding archived emails by opening them directly in Microsoft Outlook or another email client (with no restore). This saves IT administrators valuable time and helps free up resources that can be allocated to other tasks.
Important to know: Email archiving is not the same as a backup, which merely holds important data for a limited period of time so that it can be restored as and when necessary. In contrast, an email archiving solution’s job is to store emails for many years in a form that is accessible, complete, faithful to the original and tamper-proof. Besides the benefits outlined above, email archiving can be important for a company due to the fact that business emails often contain sensitive information that is subject to specific rules and regulations.
Professional email archiving for Exchange Server and Office 365
Leading global email archiving solutions for SMBs such as MailStore Server offer a wealth of additional, product-specific benefits for IT administrators. Here are a few examples:
- Supports virtually all relevant email systems
- Modest system requirements
- Quick and easy to set up
- Qualified technical support
- Full online documentation
- Highly stable, great performance, and easy to maintain
Are you interested in finding out more about the email archiving solution MailStore Server? If so, why not register for one of MailStore’s webinars and get to know the software better?
Sponsored by MailStore Software
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