Email archiving is important for any business, but critical for regulated firms. Archiving keeps important emails safe, within reach and is vital to keep compliant with email retention laws. By adopting email archiving software, you'll see better data handling, stay on the right side of the law, and cut down on IT expenses. Let's dive in to help you pick the best email archiving solutions for your company's needs.
What is Email Archiving?
In short: email archiving helps businesses keep, sort, and easily find emails for long-term use. It's key for staying compliant, managing data, and keeping info safe.
It's important to note that email archiving differs from email backup. Archiving is about keeping necessary emails accessible for a long time and in compliance with email retention laws, while a backup is for short-term data safety and recovery, like saving emails in a different spot.
Email archiving is necessary for compliance and data management. It offers a secure way to store emails with tools designed for this purpose. Companies must follow specific rules and laws requiring them to keep electronic communications. Archiving helps manage data better, cut storage costs, and smooth out legal and audit processes. Note that email archiving is only the beginning: social media archiving and SMS archiving are also critical compliance requirements your firm must meet.
Why Should You Archive Emails?
Email archiving brings several benefits for businesses, like:
Legal Compliance and Regulatory Requirements
Archiving emails is key for following the law and meeting industry rules, like those from the SEC and FINRA, which require keeping electronic messages for a certain time, known as the "email retention period" and other email retention laws. It helps companies manage and store these messages properly, avoiding fines and legal trouble.
Efficient Storage and Management of Emails
Email archiving tools make it easier for businesses to keep and organize important emails. This lets employees find information fast, boosting teamwork and decision-making. Plus, using cloud-based services can cut down on storage costs by making emails take up less space. Regulatory bodies like the SEC will request emails during firm examinations, so easy retrieval of emails is necessary for compliance with email retention laws.
Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
Archiving is also vital for recovering from emergencies and general email compliance. If data is lost or systems fail, archived emails can be a backup, helping businesses get back on track quickly. This protects important info and keeps operations running smoothly with little interruption. Be aware that regulatory bodies like the SEC may require that your email retention period extend beyond the life of the firm.
Improved Productivity and Reduced IT Costs
Email archiving software can boost productivity by cutting down the time employees spend looking for emails or managing their inboxes. It also eases the workload on IT departments by needing less storage and resources, leading to lower IT costs and better efficiency overall. To maximize these benefits and to ensure compliance, outsourced email archiving solutions are usually the best choice for most firms.
What Features Should You Look for in an Email Archiving Solution?
When picking the best email archiving solution for your company, focus on these critical features for better email management and compliance:
E-Discovery and Search Capabilities
A good email archiving tool needs to have strong search and e-discovery features. This lets you find and get specific emails or info fast, which is super important for legal matters and audits where quick access to the right emails is key. For cloud-based email archiving, this is a basic requirement and most providers support this capability.
Retention and Storage Policies
The software should let you customize how long emails are kept and how they're stored. This way, companies can set their own rules for saving emails to meet their specific legal and industry needs to comply with email retention laws. It makes sure emails are handled correctly, following the rules and laws about keeping emails. Regulators like the SEC have an email retention period of 5 years or more.
Data Security and Encryption
Email archiving software needs to focus on keeping your data safe and secure. It should protect your sensitive information from being accessed without permission, changed, or leaked. Make sure the software you pick follows top security standards and uses strong encryption for data, whether it's being sent or just stored. Look for providers that are compliant with SOC 2 or other third-party security standards
User-Friendly Interface and Ease of Use
When picking an email archiving solution, it's important that the software is user-friendly and easy to use. It should be straightforward, letting users find and manage emails without needing a lot of training or tech know-how.
Compatibility with Existing Email Platforms
Make sure the software works well with the email systems you already use, like Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, or Google Workspace. Good compatibility means it will fit into your setup easily, without messing up how you handle emails now to avoid gaps in coverage.
Scalability and Flexibility
Also, think about how the software can grow with your business. It should easily handle more storage, more users, and any new rules you need to follow. This way, you won't have to switch systems as your company expands or changes. Check if your archiving provider can cover other aspects of your compliance program as well, like marketing compliance under the SEC's new marketing rule.
Top Email Archiving Software Solutions
Choosing the right email archiving software is vital for your organization. We'll give you a quick rundown of the top options out there, focusing on their main features and advantages. This will help you pick one that fits your business's specific needs.
Popular Email Archiving Solutions
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Many cloud-based email archiving solutions are leading the pack today, thanks to their powerful features, easy-to-use design, and strong security. Some of the big names include Hadrius, ArcTitan, ComplyKEY MailMeter, Libraesva, Proofpoint Essentials, Mimecast, Global Relay, Barracuda, Microsoft Exchange Online, Proofpoint Archive, and Smarsh.
Comparing Email Archiving Solutions
When looking at these options, think about their ability to find emails quickly (e-discovery), how they manage email storage (retention policies) and compliance with the email retention period, security, how easy they are to use, whether they work with your current email system, and if they can grow with your business. These factors are key to finding software that's not just a good fit now but will also support your company as it evolves.
Making a Decision
In the end, the best email archiving software for you will match your unique needs and goals. Take a close look at what each option offers to choose one that will help your business thrive both now and in the future.
Hadrius for Email Archiving
Hadrius excels at SEC and FINRA-required email archiving, providing e-discovery, secure retention validated by third parties, and connects to all major email providers. Hadrius also covers communications beyond email, like SMS, social media messages, and more.
With its smart communications review feature, Hadrius uses AI to spot issues in electronic messages with fewer mistakes. This means less time wasted on manual checks and more time focusing on what matters. Its AI also makes email archiving simpler and more reliable for businesses, cutting down on manual work and speeding up the process.
AI and Email Archiving
The benefits of using AI for email archiving are clear: better accuracy, less manual work, and quicker results. Hadrius lets businesses concentrate on their main goals while it handles the complex world of email archiving and compliance. It's a modern, AI-based solution that reduces the risk and cost of not following rules.
Discover Hadrius' AI-Powered Solution
This post highlights the crucial role of email archiving and finding the right tool for it. Consider Hadrius if you're looking for an AI-powered compliance tool that covers everything from communications to marketing. Discover how Hadrius can revamp your compliance strategy with a demo today.
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