E-Policy
Internal and content-driven e-Policy (yep, another "e" word) can be a third reason to archive; selective archiving of the doctor's mailbox and the Human Resources department is entirely possible if you need to meet best practice for email records management.

A centralized e-policy can also give an organization greater security and minimize liability associated with inappropriate email content. Email jokes, for example, can spread quickly throughout a company -- and sometimes contain viruses like the recent W32/Sobig.

Choosing what's right for you
Archiving solutions can range from stripping attachments from email messages to an offline file store to complex backup and retrieval systems involving CD or DVD jukeboxes. So how do you choose and implement archiving that's right for your organization?

First, decide on what's driving your need to archive and research solutions that provide just the modules you need. There's no need to invest in a "storage medium vendor" that will attest to the SEC that the archiving process meets the conditions of the regulations if you're only trying to decrease the data stored on the front-end server and reduce the backup/restore times your mail server.

Second, email archiving should integrate with your existing messaging and backup systems. Don't assume that such a critical subject requires a complex integration project.

Finally, make sure you choose vendors that understands email. Maintaining message integrity is essential to the user for legal proof or otherwise. Also ensure that whatever archiving solution is used, the data will remain accessible years from now. This may mean ensuring that your supplier will remain in business or that the architecture fits in with your ongoing messaging strategy.

It's a lot to think about, but with the cost of storage dropping tremendously, email archiving is a practical and potentially critical activity your business should consider.

Dave Hunt is the CEO at C2C Systems Inc., at http://www.c2c.com, a leading provider of email lifecycle management solutions for Exchange.