e-mail archiving
Home > Storage Technology Definitions - E-mail archiving
SearchStorage.com Definitions (Powered by WhatIs.com)
EMAIL THIS
LOOK UP TECH TERMS Powered by: WhatIs.com
Search listings for thousands of IT terms:
Browse tech terms alphabetically:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #

e-mail archiving



Digg This!    StumbleUpon Toolbar StumbleUpon    Bookmark with Delicious Del.icio.us   

DEFINITION - E-mail archiving is a systematic approach to saving and protecting the data contained in e-mail messages so it can be accessed quickly at a later date. In the past, companies often relied on end-users to maintain their own individual e-mail archives. The IT department would back up e-mail, but not in a manner that made messages searchable. If a specific e-mail needed to be traced, it often took weeks to find it. With today's compliance legislation and legal discovery rules, it has become necessary for many IT departments to manage the entire company's e-mail archiving in bulk so specific messages can be located in minutes, not weeks.

Policy-based e-mail archiving software applications allow IT managers to manage large e-mail archives, as well as to free up space on production servers and speed up backup times. These applications typically include indexing and search capabilities, access logs to provide a "virtual paper trail" in the event an e-mail is subpoenaed, and a lifecycle management component, which acts as kind of a traffic cop for all e-mail coming in to the company. The life cycle management component uses rules set up by the administrator. It will classify which e-mail messages need to be archived, migrate the messages to the most economical and efficient storage media, and automatically delete messages when they are no longer needed.

LAST UPDATED: 06 Jul 2006

Read more about e-mail archiving:
- Curtis Preston explains why both small and large businesses need to pay attention to e-mail archiving.
- SearchStorage.com has an e-mail archiving school that teaches you how to pick the right archiving software for your business.


Do you have something to add to this definition? Let us know.
Send your comments to techterms@whatis.com


Digg This!    StumbleUpon Toolbar StumbleUpon    Bookmark with Delicious Del.icio.us   




TechTarget Storage Media
Storage Magazine View this month\\'s issue and subscribe today.
Storage Decisions Apply online for free conference admission.
SearchStorage.com
HomeNewsMagazineTopicsLearningWebcastsWhite PapersBlogsEventsAbout Us

About Us  |  Contact Us  |  For Advertisers  |  For Business Partners  |  Site Index  |  RSS
TechTarget provides enterprise IT professionals with the information they need to perform their jobs - from developing strategy, to making cost-effective IT purchase decisions and managing their organizations' IT projects - with its network of technology-specific Web sites, events and magazines.

TechTarget Corporate Web Site  |  Media Kits  |  Reprints  |  Site Map




All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2000 - 2008, TechTarget | Read our Privacy Policy
  TechTarget - The IT Media ROI Experts