Email Archiving

In this computer age, the shift away from paper and toward digital formats has created some confusion when it comes to rules and regulations regarding business email storage. Since these are virtual documents, companies can easily make the mistake of underestimating their importance and deleting them simply because they presume they aren't needed anymore. But doing so can lead to hefty fines or even criminal proceedings, as professional emails with commercial and/or legal content are considered, for all intents and purposes, documents that need to be stored carefully for a certain period of time.

In the United Kingdom, regulations have been put into place that require all businesses to keep electronic records of business data, including emails. These email archiving laws in the UK require businesses to keep copies of emails for a specific time period. Examples of email retention laws that businesses must comply with include the Freedom of Information Act, the Companies Act 2006 and the Data Protection Act.

In the EU, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in May 2018 and means that any organisation that handles the personal information of EU citizens or residents is subject to the GDPR. These regulations ensure that an individual's data is more secure and they have more control over it. Failure to comply could result in a fine of €20 million (£17 million) or 4% of your company's global revenue. Email archiving isn't just for convenience – it's a legal necessity. Using adequate archiving methods for storing digital documents ensures that business emails are properly preserved in full compliance with the regulations regarding quality, integrity, security, privacy and inalterability. Therefore, email archiving tools are optimal solutions that make it easier to comply with legal archiving requirements and at the same time keep all digital documentation safe.

The length of time an email needs to be kept for depends on the email retention law. In the UK's current Data Protection Act, Principle 5 stipulates that "Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes". Although it doesn't specify the exact retention period, there are some points included that companies should bear in mind when creating their data retention policy. For private companies, the retention period is a minimum of three years, but for those in the medical field, the length increases to a minimum of 40 years for medical examination records. Even if you're sure that your company is adhering to email retention policies, it's still a good idea to check with your legal representative to make sure your business is doing everything correctly.

In principle, archiving emails of a commercial and/or legal nature is a task for all businesses in the UK, without exception. Depending on the industry, some companies need to adhere to more email retention policies than others. It's of utmost importance to check which regulations are significant for your particular company.

The ability to access and recover data is important for companies of all sizes. Your company can either rely on data backups or archiving, but what is the difference between the two? You need to find the best method of email retention for your company.

A backup is a copy of data, which can be used to restore the original in case your data is lost or damaged. Data loss can happen due to hardware failure, human error or a natural disaster – saving your data with an email backup means you're prepared for these worst-case scenarios.

An archive is a collection of records that is stored long-term and can be accessed in the future if a certain piece of information is needed. Since archives usually contain data that isn't currently being used, it frees up space elsewhere, easing the burden on faster and more frequently accessed data storage systems. In other words, an archive holds original data that has been removed from its original location.