Glossary

ClassificationEmail messages must be analysed to determine their value to the business and retainedaccordingly. Automated tools can analyse email text and attachments to perform initialclassification, but humans should periodically review to ensure accuracy.

MetadataEmail metadata is essential to message retrieval, whether for organisational efficiency or tosupport legal and regulatory requirements. Any email application should at least capture dateand time sent/received, sender, recipient, subject line, and whether there are attachments.

AttachmentsEmail attachments are challenging to manage because of their size as well as the differentversions stored in the email repository. An effective email solution will provide attachmentmanagement, including single-instance storage and versioning. Look for solutions that can analyseand index text-type attachments such as Office documents or PDFs. Collaboration suites withsingle-stored/multiple-access documents can minimise attachment proliferation.

AuthenticityWhen an email is replied to or forwarded, the body of the email is text that can be edited ordeleted. Attachments can be added or removed. The list of recipients can be changed, either byadding new recipients and lists or through the use of the BCC: (blind carbon copy) function.The system should maintain access to all the emails in the thread and be able to retrieve themessages in a particular thread or to or from particular users.

SecurityEmail may be encrypted during transmission but should not be encrypted for storage if it will beretained for extended periods. Many applications (including other messaging systems) do notunderstand encryption. Email may also be digitally signed, but with the same caveat -applications that do not recognise the signature may not be able to process it appropriately.

Auditing the System The system must keep an audit log of access to the messages and any changes (if allowed)made. Email message metadata should not be changeable - at least not date, sender, recipient,or subject line. Many applications support logging of email activity - when an email was read,that it was read, and so forth. These logs may need to be treated as records in their own right.

Auditing the PolicyEmail is challenging to manage effectively because of the volume and the perceived informality ofthe medium. Compliance starts with a policy that addresses how email will be used - and howit will be managed. But compliance doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The organisation must auditcompliance to the program regularly and address gaps in a timely fashion.

Email needs to be managed like any other business record.

Essential Concepts for Managing Email Records Management

Channelling the Flood of Emails

AIIM EuropeThe iT Centre, 8 Canalside, Lowesmoor Wharf, Worcester WR1 2RRTel: 01905 727600 Fax: 01905 727609Email: info@aiim.org.uk Web: www.aiim.org.uk

Email policyWhile 99.9% of companies use email for business purposes and 83% have aformal policy for email use, AIIM research reveals that only 45% ofcompanies have guidelines for email retention. Into this gap fall emails thatshould be retained but aren’t - and the reverse.

A policy is crucial so that your employees know what to do, but so isauditing to ensure that the policy is being followed correctly. A formalemail policy that is not adhered to is a greater liability than no policy at all.You should also incorporate other forms of electronic messaging, such asinstant messaging and mobile phone messaging into a broader electroniccommunications policy.

StandardsWhilst not specific to email, MoReq2 is an EC endorsed model specificationfor Records Management systems. It identifies basic requirements thatelectronic records management products must adhere to, and includes asection detailing the required ability to save inbound and outbound emailsto the RM system, including threaded replies and linked attachments, withautomatic or human selection and appropriate metadata addition.

DiscoveryLegal discovery requires organisations to produce all records relevant to aparticular subject for which they are being investigated or customer theyare in dispute with. Guidelines vary between countries but emails are nowgenerally included in the pre-trial document exchange process. A legal holdmay be required to freeze all potentially relevant records from the time ofnotification.

TrainingIt’s obvious that unless conversion of email to records is entirely automated,your users will need to be trained on how to declare a record and have itassociated with its proper retention schedule and classification. Users shouldalso be trained on the basics of managing their email - what needs to beretained, what not to keep, how to manage laptop PST files, the basics ofcategorisation, etc.

ComplianceAs a business record, email must be part of an organisation’s complianceinitiative. Emails outside the control of a records management system, butstill held by a company, are still at risk of discovery and could make thecompany unnecessarily liable for information that it failed to control.

CostUnmanaged email has both hard and soft costs. An email system not tiedto a records management program risks losing vital corporate knowledge.Saving everything leads to overwhelming storage costs and tremendousdifficulty in retrieving email. Artificial constraints on inbox size leads usersto invent workarounds to keep the content they need, which leads tomultiple copies of emails proliferating throughout an organisation. Deletingemails after a set period of time can lead to difficulty in executing legalholds, while also prematurely flushing possible records.

Effective Email Storage

Single-instance storageEmail management applications should provide single-instance storage to increasethe efficiency of the system. This is especially effective with messages that containlarge attachments.

Storage applicationsMessages should be declared as records and moved into an electronic recordsapplication, email archival solution, or electronic document management solution.All of these provide more robust management of the messages and access rightsthan the native messaging applications. Storage options then apply as with anyother records management system.

Storage mediaSelect the storage media based on access and retrieval requirements, volume ofmessages to be stored, retention periods, and any applicable legal or regulatoryrequirements. Email stored on write-once, read-many (WORM) storage may bemore defensible from an evidentiary perspective, but retrieval times will beslower. Optical storage capacities are increasing rapidly.

PaperStoring important emails as paper (the “print & file” approach) may be a solutionof last resort and is “backwards compatible” with traditional records keeping.However, filing cabinets will fill, shared access is restricted and they are time-consuming to retrieve. In addition, the conversion process can cause irreparabledata loss to both the contents and the metadata. The information printed may

bear little resemblance to that actually sent - especially where graphics andhyperlinks in HTML email are concerned. Email should be stored in its nativeformat in an appropriate electronic system. Paper-based emails may not beconsidered admissible in court without the associated linkage information andmetadata, which most people fail to print out.

TapeIt is perfectly acceptable (and desirable) to use tape as a disaster recovery back-up for a properly managed RM database where the primary storage is magneticdisc, or where the tape is managed as part of the repository by the RM system,but the practice of relying on tapes generated by the back-up system as thearchive itself is simply invalid from a records management viewpoint.

Managing email through an RM system or email archival system allows a single,official copy of the record to be maintained. Other copies are destroyed. Thiseases the challenge of tracking down multiple tapes in multiple locations todestroy content according to a retention plan. Long-term access to email, as withother electronic documents, is problematic. Best practice is to write to high-quality media, examine periodically to ensure the information remains accessible,and plan to migrate documents to new media and/or current technologyperiodically.

AIIM PROVIDES:� Executive Networking � Market Education � Professional Development � Industry Advocacy

www.aiim.org.uk

Effective Email StorageEffective Email Storage

Records Management

Records Management

Anti-virus& SecurityAnti-virus & Security

Essential Concepts forManaging Email

Essential Concepts forManaging Email

Despite the volume of email as a whole, individual emails are, to simplify the issue, potential business records. Treat them that way. Records management systems and email archiving systems are thetools needed to channel the flood of emails into a manageable tool that adds value to the organisation. Email requires software that can save the email, at least as text if not in its native file format(text, HTML, RTF, etc.), save the appropriate metadata for indexing and retrieval, apply the appropriate retention schedule, manage attachments, and provide an audit trail.

After you have succeeded in placing your emails into the correct records management retention schedule, you still need to store and preserve those email records forshort- and long-term access. So, what are the options:

Email management is not optional. You have too muchemail flowing into your in-boxes and it’s almost certainlyout of control. It has the potential to overwhelm yourorganisation, drowning productivity and exposing you tolegal risks.

Saving all emails in a vast, undifferentiated lake is a recipefor disaster. Many IT departments think that backing upemails to tape is sufficient. It is not. In addition to theproblem of merely finding the correct email - sincebackup files do not index emails - saving emails that youdon’t need exposes a company to unnecessary risk. Thewise company will filter its emails so that they aremanaged by a Records Management or archival system.Email management is not just a storage issue.

Most emails are ephemeral and need to be disposed of,some are dangerous and need to be siphoned off. Otheremails are business records and need to be saved in arepository that can provide access to that informationwhen required, and allow managed deletion at the end ofits retention period.

Unmanaged, email can cause great damage to the healthand image of your company. Guided into the appropriatechannels, email can continue to power your organisation.

Five things to do right now:• Ensure all staff have access to a filing area for those

emails deemed to be records. This may be a dedicatedemail archive, a general DM or ECM system, a networkfile-share, or as last resort, a paper file.

• Ensure that all staff understand which emails should betreated as records, and where they should be filed.

• Provide guidance on how to deal with attachments torecords-defined emails, and how it is better to use linksto shared documents where possible.

• Set a policy for dealing with the email folders of staffwho leave.

• Consider how you would respond to a legal challengethat might involve email records.

AIIM Certificate TrainingProgrammes- online, classroom and in-house training classes

Improve your organisation's adherence to best practice, and yourown performance, whilst building your professional qualifications.The AIIM Certificate courses have been developed specifically forAIIM in conjunction with our Education Panel of internationalindustry experts.

The Practitioner and Specialist levels can be taken as onlinemodules. The Master level is a 4-day classroom course plus anassessed case study exercise. For additional information aboutthe training & certificates visit www.aiim.org/education

Enterprise Content Management (ECM)

This course is designed from global best practices among our50,000 members. The Enterprise Content Managementqualification covers the full spectrum of ECM applications and isideal for project managers, consultants and implementation teammembers. It covers requirements planning, ROI calculation andchange management.

Electronic Records Management (ERM)

This course explores records management in relation to thebusiness needs of all types of organisations, both in the publicand private sector, embracing all records, but with a particularemphasis on electronic records. It is particularly useful for ITstaff needing a more detailed knowledge of records managementand for traditional records managers needing to update.

Business Process Management (BPM)

This course program covers the practice of BPM, role of ECM inBPM, business analysis, process improvement, flowcharting ,process modelling, BPM approaches, BPM technologies, andCollaboration, along with the business case and implementationstrategies.

Information Organisation and Access (IOA)

Uniquely positioned to cover best practice in these newtechnologies, the course covers concepts and technologies forenterprise search, content classification, categorisation andclustering, fact and entity extraction, taxonomy creation andmanagement, and information presentation.

Email Management (EMM)

Covers the concepts and technologies of email management,such as classification and auto-classification, retention, governance,security, archiving and backup, as well as advanced email topics,such as identifying requirements and policies, and alternatives toemail such as instant messaging, wikis, and feeds.

Enterprise 2.0 (E2.0)

Learn how to use Web 2.0 technologies to improve collaborationand innovation across the enterprise. The course objectives andcontent is defined and reviewed by AIIM Education AdvisoryGroups in the US and Europe. These Education Advisory Groupshave subject matter experts from a number of leading companies.

© 2008 AIIM • Written by Bryant Duhon, Priscilla Emery, and JesseWilkins • Illustrated by Mark Leonard • Based on a design byRings Leighton Design Group

Manage the FloodManage the Flood

No IT Department is an IslandBecause email touches all areas of an organisationand is key to getting work done, multipledepartments need to work together to createthe email management strategy. While IT has thetechnical skill to create the infrastructure, othergroups have the knowledge needed to determinewhat needs to be saved. The ideal team shouldconsist of IT, RM, Legal, HR, the Chief ComplianceOfficer, and several end-user departments (for anoperational reality check). As with any initiative ofsuch broad strategic importance, it must be fullysupported by the CEO and other executives.

Sponsored by

Visit www.aiim.org.uk for:� Educational Training Courses & Certificate Programmes

� Information Management Events

� Case Studies

� User Research

� White papers

What is EMM?

Course materials produced in partnership with:

Access Sciences

The Email Management(EMM) CertificateProgram contains three

training programs taken in any

order, or a 4-day Master class

covering all EMM topics.

The EMM Strategy workshop

covers the business drivers for

more effective email management,

roles and responsibilities, policies

and procedures, and strategies

for email management.

The EMM Practitionerprogram covers the concepts

and technologies of email

management, such as

classification, retention,

governance, security, archiving,

backup, tools and technologies.

The EMM Specialist program

covers global best practices for

implementing solutions for email

management as well as advanced

email topics, such as how to

identify requirements, develop

an email policy, implement a

solution, and alternatives to

email such as instant messaging,

wikis, and feeds.

The EMM Master program

provides you with a detailed

understanding of email

management, with the main

elements from the above

training programs in addition

to case study exercises.

Some of the programs are

available exclusively as highly

interactive onsite training classes

while others may be taken online.

Putting it all Together

EMM Strategy Workshop 1-day executive awareness workshop

Learn:• Business drivers for more effective email

management

• Strategies for managing email

• The email policy

• Email procedures

• Implementing email policies and procedures

• Technology in support of email

management

• Roles and responsibilities

• Auditing compliance and effectiveness

EMM Practitioner10 online modules or

2-day training class

Learn:• How email works

• What email management is

• Managing the inbox

• Email messaging applications and clients

• Remote and mobile email access

• Capturing and managing messages,

attachments, and metadata

• Email classification including

autoclassification

• Effective email governance

• Email security

• Email management tools and technologies

• Email archival approaches

• Email and ECM

Take this first stage course in Email Management andbecome an AIIM Email Management Practitioner(EMMP) after passing the online exam.

EMM Specialist10 online modules or

2-day training class

Learn:• How to develop a business case for

email management

• Defining the problem and planning the

project

• Building the right project team

• Developing the email policy

• Identifying and gathering requirements for

email management

• Implementing the solution

• Long-term preservation of messages,

attachments, metadata

• Email and discovery

• Instant messaging

• Blogs, wikis, and RSS feeds as alternatives

to email

• Web-based commercial email

After completing the AIIM Email ManagementPractitioner course, become an AIIM EmailManagement Specialist (EMMS) after passing theonline exam.

EMM Master4-day training class

The EMM Master program

comprises main elements

from the Strategy workshop and Practitioner

and Specialist programs in addition to case

study exercises.

Become an AIIM Email Management Master(EMMM) after passing the online exam and case study exercise.

EMM Master Preparation2-day training class

Available to students that currently hold

both the EMM Practitioner and EMM

Specialist designations.

Onsite Class Only

Designation

Designation

Designation

Onsite or Online Classes Onsite Class Only

Why EMM? How to Implement EMM

Onsite or Online Classes

Email Management (EMM)

Email management is not optional.You have too much email and it’salmost certainly out of control.Radicati Group estimates that thereare 750 million current email users(each averaging 85 emails daily).Gartner indicates a 40% growth inemail every year. As email hasbecome central to how business getsdone, the management of email hasnot kept pace with its importance.The continued lax attitudesurrounding the use of email, and alingering perception that it’s “just”email, exposes all organisations tounnecessary risk. Any email -whether residing on the messagingserver, in the “deleted” folder,“archived” and saved locally, or on ashared drive - is legally discoverable.

In addition to exposing organisationsunnecessarily to risk, mismanagementof email is also costly in terms ofstorage space and back-up costs.While difficult, you can control youremails as you control any otherbusiness document or record. Andemails must be treated as any otherbusiness document and potentialrecord. Some emails are ephemeral

and need to be disposed of. Other emails are business records.You have to separate the wheat fromthe chaff - and there’s a lot of chaff -and then save the wheat in arepository that can provide access tothat information when required.

You shouldn’t keep everything, butyou do have to keep the importantemails. This poster provides theessential elements that you need toknow as you set out to control youremail.

We believe that email needs to belinked to a records managementsystem, which allows the appropriateretention schedules to be appliedwhile easing retrieval issues andensuring that emails and attachmentsare stored once. Unmanaged, emailcan overwhelm your IT systems andcause great damage to the health andimage of your company. Guided intothe appropriate channels, email cancontinue to power your organisation.

Sponsors

Sponsor profiles

Visit www.aiim.org.ukfor:

� Educational Training Courses &Certificate Programmes

� Information ManagementEvents

� Case Studies

� User Research

� White papers

ChannellingChannelling

FloodFloodthethe

EmailsEmailsofof

ChannellingChannelling

FloodFloodthethe

EmailsEmailsofof

Professional Development

AIIM Training ProgrammesEnhance your business and professional skills with training from AIIM –

the industry authority.

www.aiim.org.uk/training

� Enterprise ContentManagement (ECM) Learn how to take control of your

information assets.

� Electronic RecordsManagement (ERM) Learn how to take control of your

electronic records.

� Business ProcessManagement (BPM) Learn how to improve your

business processes.

� Information Organization andAccess (IOA) Learn how to optimise findability

and enterprise search.

� Enterprise 2.0 (E2.0)Learn how to use Web 2.0

technologies to improve

collaboration and innovation across

the enterprise.

� Email Management (EMM)Learn how to improve the control

of corporate emails.

Position yourself to be tomorrow’s leader. Contact AIIM today to find out more.

AIIM MembershipThere’s good reason why leading ECM professionals and suppliers join AIIM.It’s because we are leading the way to the understanding, adoption and useof information management technologies.

Whether you are a user or supplier of content management solutions, AIIMhas a membership designed for you and your organisation:

Professional MembershipIf you are an ECM end-user or consultant, why not becomean AIIM Professional Member. Keep yourself up to date withthe issues and practices of enterprise content management.

Benefits include discounts for training courses and events, a regular AIIMmagazine, networking opportunities and access to member-only resourcesthat focus on enhancing the knowledge of industry professionals.

Trade MembershipAs a supplier, why not enrol your organisation as an AIIMTrade Member. This membership allows you to leverage yourmarketing spend, gaining enormous visibility for the products

and services you provide. Our regular member meetings will keep you andyour colleagues up to date on industry issues and to have your say in theongoing efforts of AIIM to promote the ECM Industry.

You can join the AIIM Associate Member community for free by registering at:www.aiim.org.uk/membership

For more information please contact AIIM Europe on +44 (0)1905 727600.

AIIMMembership

AIIM - The global enterprise content management association

AIIM Europe8 CanalsideLowesmoor WharfWorcester WR1 2RRUK

Tel: +44 (0)1905 727600Fax: +44 (0) 1905 727609Web: www.aiim.org.uk

IBM UK Ltd 76/78 Upper Ground South Bank SE1 9PZ London

Contact: Amy Jones

Tel: +44 (0)20 8818 6014

Email: ibmecm@uk.ibm.com

Web: www-306.ibm.com/software/data/content-management/

IBM ECM provides improved workforce effectiveness by enabling companies totransform their business processes; access and manage all forms of content; secureand control information related to compliance needs, and optimise the infrastructurerequired to deliver content anywhere at anytime.

IBM ECM automates and streamlines all records-based activities, eliminatesburdensome end-user participation, enforcing compliance and creating businessadvantage while reducing the cost of compliance and risk management through thedelivery of an integrated, open platform that provides interoperability with thewidest selection of IT systems, thereby reducing costs and improving efficiency.

Getronics UK Ltd Foxhunter DriveLinFord WoodMilton KeynesBuckinghamshireMK14 6GE

Contact: Alan Hendry

Tel: +44 (0)1908573723

Email: alan.hendry@getronics.com

Web: www.getronics.com

Getronics is a leading international provider of Information and CommunicationTechnology (ICT) services and solutions, focusing on workspace management,application services and consulting & transformation services. Getronics’ serviceportfolio enables people to share information and to work together efficiently,securely and effectively, wherever and whenever they need. Getronics is asubsidiary of KPN ICT Services. For further information about Getronics, visitwww.getronics.com.

The Content Group Content HouseSt James’s PlaceCranleighSurreyGU6 8RP

Contact: Emily Thorpe, Marketing Manager

Tel: +44 (0)1483 275 588 Fax: +44 (0)1483 273 855

Email: ecm@thecontentgroup.co.uk

Web: www.thecontentgroup.co.uk

The Content Group is an independent Enterprise Content Management (ECM)consultancy and solutions provider whose proven ECM Expert best practicemethodology ensures successful ECM projects for their clients globally.

The Content Group works with its clients in developing ECM strategies and in theimplementation of ECM strategies. Drawing on its best practice methodology, TheContent Group is leading the development of the first ever Publicly AvailableSpecification for ECM with BSI British Standards.

The Content Group’s ECM Expert best practice ensures its clients receive unbiasedadvice combined with “Best by Design” technology recommendations resulting inunparalleled ECM project success.

SAPERION Ltd Garrick House 26-27 Southampton Street Covent Garden London TW18 3BA

Contact: Mike Crosby - UK Country Manager

Tel: +44 (0)20 7717 8472 Fax: +44 (0)20 7717 8401

Email: mike.crosby@saperion.com

Web: www.saperion.com

The European software provider SAPERION offers midsize and global organisations ahigh-performance software platform for Enterprise Content Management.

The SAPERION products empower corporations by addressing the needs for efficientmanagement of all company information while creating competencies across theoperation by streamlining and automating business processes.

SAPERION’s vision is to bring together companies, people and processes so that theycan respond quickly and make informed decisions in today’s dynamic markets.

Group Technologies UK 97 Buttermarket Street Warrington WA1 2NL

Tel: +44 (0) 1925 624950

Email: info@group-technologies.co.uk

Web: www.group-technologies.co.uk

GROUP Technologies is a leading provider of secure, process-oriented, legallycompliant e-mail management solutions. Companies can centrally integrate e-mailcommunication into their business processes and at the same time ensure that theentire e-mail process remains in compliance with current governmental andindustrial regulations.

GROUP‘s core solution iQ.Suite provides a powerful and flexible infrastructure forprocessing, storing and managing e-mail from its creation to its disposal. Itscomprehensive functionality includes virus and spam filtering, data and contentscanning, legal disclaimer, encryption, classification, automated archiving and intelligentretrieval of e-mails and their attachments.

Sponsors

AIIM EuropeThe iT Centre, 8 Canalside, Lowesmoor Wharf, Worcester WR1 2RR

Tel: +44 (0)1905 727600 Fax: +44 (0)1905 727609

Email: info@aiim.org.uk

Web: www.aiim.org.uk