Overcoming Email Storage and Content Management Challenges

Email Storage:

Most organizations are quick to agree that they have various challenges related to managing their email system and its associated data. The bad news: no single email systems solution is sufficient to resolve all of the challenges. Email system challenges have common themes, but they are not the same for every organization. These challenges come in a variety of forms, influenced by a number of environmental factors.

Addressing email storage challenges typically requires some combination of people, processes, and technologies.

At the same time, not all information is created equal. In the highly competitive created equal marketplace, IT organizations have come to realize that providing fast and reliable access to the most critical information is a top priority. The pressure on IT organizations to meet that requirement is directly proportional to the rapid rate at which information is growing-conservatively estimated at a 50 to 60 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

This assessment needs to apply a number of different lenses to the email data storage and management practices associated with the email system. The assessment should review the current requirements and capabilities of the email system from the perspectives of the following: - End-users and their performance, availability, and archive expectations - Storage and system administrators responsible for the email storage and servers - Business units that have incorporated email storage into defined business processes - Human resources and compliance officers (for content auditing purposes) - Legal department for discovery requirements

Gap analysis
The assessment should be used as a foundation for a "gap analysis,"' which identifies the shortcomings and prioritizes the needs to be addressed concerning the email storage system and its data.

Email storage system capabilities and legal compliance

Datalink has developed a hierarchical framework that can guide businesses with analysis of their email storage operations and position them to move forward to address any identified shortcomings. The framework includes the following levels: - Consolidated, Tiered Storage Infrastructure - Has the organization optimized and consolidated the number of servers and storage system to support the email storage environment? Have email storage network devices been consolidated and centralized to provide simplified device management?

- Email Recovery
- Email Availability
- Email Archive
- Email Regulatory Compliance

How to proceed The above mentioned framework and associated questions can serve as a top-line guide for analyzing and addressing an organization's email storage and management practices and its associated infrastructure. However, due to the buzz in the industry about ILM and regulatory compliance, there will be a natural tendency to jump to the highest level of the framework and assume that by fixing that level, the email  storage system will become more manageable and have fewer problems.

As with any construction, it is important to build a solid foundation before adding the upper levels. The same applies to a well-designed email storage system-this means addressing each level fully before moving on to the next.

Second, by understanding the criticality of information when it is created and as it ages, there is an opportunity to: - Meet the high performance and availability requirements of the most critical information - Store and manage the rest of the information as cost effectively as possible - Meet the compliance, access, and security requirements of the business This approach provides organizations with in-depth knowledge of the email system's capabilities at each level. It exposes the data and storage management challenges associated with the email system and reveals the potential technologies and best practices that could be incorporated to build a well-designed and manageable email system.

About this white paper
Datalink recognizes that two important elements are required for email storage system integrity: availability and security. This discussion focuses on the responsibilities and challenges surrounding email systems, including data storage and management, availability, legal compliance, and the potential solutions that resolve these challenges. The intent is to expose the needs that exist at each level of an email storage system using the framework presented, and then discuss the appropriate, integrated technologies and processes that would address those needs through Datalink's Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) strategy.