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New Legal Reasons Why All Businesses Need an Email Archiving System

The internet has caused businesses to change quite a bit over the past two decades. One of the major trends is business communication done via email. In fact, many business deals are made today without a face-to-face meeting or even a phone conversation. After a few emails are exchanged, the deal is closed.
With so much business happening through email, an expected side effect has started to pop up. Lawsuits have been filed with a bit of a he-said, she-said style, but they are not just heresy in a court of law. Since business dealings are now done through email, many lawsuits include emails from one party, or the other proving what was said or what wasn’t said.
If your company is sued by another business or a consumer, are you prepared to defend yourself in a court of law? Do you have records of all the conversations had through email backed up somewhere? An email archiving system is now vital to every business simply at a way to prove the details of any transaction happening through email.

Newly Updated Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Under the newly updated FRCP or Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, your electronic records may be requested. If they are requested by a court order, you must provide them, which includes emails.
The FRCP governs the production of evidence in any Federal case. The new rules have been adopted by 17 states when it comes to electronic stored information discovery. Another 18 states are considering adopting the new rules. If your business has the potential of being sued, it’s important to be prepared to supply the necessary information for the federal court system.

Why is an Email Archiving System Vital to your Business?

Since the standard method of communication has become email, it’s important to have an email archiving system. Not only will emails often contain the details of a business transaction, but they may also contain the company’s intellectual property. An email archiving system will allow you to archive old emails in a secure storage space. You will also need a backup and restore solution for your email archiving system.
There are several reasons to make sure you have an email archiving system for your business. It starts with legal considerations, but extends past fulfilling a court order. While it’s important to comply with the FRCP standards, there are many other reasons for your company to archive emails.

Ability to Search

Maybe it’s just something as simple as an idea you shared with one of your partners or maybe you need to find an old invoice, with an email archiving system, you will be able to easily search and find just what you need. The system will hold all your past emails and will allow you to simply search through the huge database to find what you need.
If you were to search through a disk-based backup, you may spend weeks trying to find the right disk with the email saved on it. As your data grows, this will become even more difficult and will easily become much like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
With an email archiving system, you will be able simply search through the archives and retrieve the emails you need.

Eliminating the Risk of Loss

A centralized storage solution for your emails helps to greatly reduce the risk of user error leading to the loss of data. With the right solution, you won’t have to worry about losing intellectual property or important transaction details due to an employee making a mistake. Instead, the data is stored centrally giving you full access and ownership.

Legal Compliance

Of course, the most important reason any business needs an email archiving system is the legal reasons. Without one in place, lawsuits may not go your way and you may end up losing money through litigation. It’s very expensive to restore your emails from tapes and if the wrong tape is damaged, you may not be able to find the necessary email.
Gaining access to historical company data through a searchable index provides better protection during a lawsuit. Emails are admissible in many courts now and there’s no statute of limitations when it comes to how far back your company can search.
It doesn’t matter if you run a multi-million dollar corporation or a small, family-owned business; you need an email archiving system. The investment will protect you in the event of a lawsuit and also provides an easier way to access any intellectual property shared through email.

At Business Information Solutions, Inc. we provide businesses with safe, secure and reliable email hosting. Our experts make sure your email has the best security so hackers, malware or encryption agents can’t access your files and emails. Learn more about our email security solutions on the BIS, Inc. website.

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