Many businesses utilize cloud-based email services that include built-in cloud email storage. However, depending on how the storage element of the email service is configured and used, businesses could encounter issues with security, costs, and regulatory compliance.
Cloud email storage – often as part of a cloud-based email service – has become an increasingly popular option in the last decade due to the risks associated with on-premises email storage (i.e., loss of data due to a corrupted hard drive) and the cost of on-premises email storage (both direct costs and “unseen” costs such as maintenance, electricity, back-ups, etc.).
However, there can also be issues with cloud email storage services. If appropriate access controls are not implemented, emails can be exposed to hackers; and, due to the growing volume of emails stored in the cloud, storage costs can increase exponentially – notwithstanding that some emails may have to retained indefinitely to comply with legal requirements.
For these reasons, a number of businesses have adopted separate cloud email storage solutions that archive inbound and outbound emails in real time, that support granular role-based access controls, that deduplicate content as it is archived (to save up to 80% on storage space), and that have advanced search capabilities to meet compliance requirements.
The Benefits of Cloud Archiving vs Cloud Email Storage
By archiving inbound and outbound emails in real time, businesses have an immutable copy of each email – which not only supports regulatory compliance, but which also means that if an email is deleted by accident, a copy of the original can be retrieved within seconds. In terms of “unseen” costs, this capability significantly reduces the number of calls made to IT helpdesks!
The deduplicating capability of cloud archiving solutions removes all repeated content and attachments – not only to reduce cloud email storage costs, but also to accelerate searches and reduce the number of results. This capability makes it quicker and easier to respond to audit enquiries and data access requests as required by GDPR, HIPAA, and multiple other laws.
The security of cloud archiving is no different from cloud email storage inasmuch as emails are encrypted in transit and at rest, and access to them is governed by role-based access controls. However, archived emails cannot be altered or deleted without the appropriate permission – potentially securing data against insider fraud, negligence, and corporate sabotage.
Find Out More about Cloud-Based Archiving Solutions
Cloud-based archiving solutions have the same redundancy, back-up, and remote access benefits as cloud email storage, and also enhance security, reduce costs, and accelerate searches to make it easier to retrieve emails deleted in error or required to comply with data access requests and other regulatory requirements – thus increasing productivity and business reputation.
To find out more about cloud-based archiving solutions and how they compare to cloud email storage, speak with ArcTitan. ArcTitan is a cloud-based email archiving solution which can be easily set up to allow you to securely archive your organization’s emails and simply retrieve archived emails. ArcTitan complies with all major regulatory standards including HIPPA and Sarbanes Oxley.
ArcTitan is simple to set up and manage while being incredibly feature rich. The cloud-based archiving solution offers customizable role management, active directory and Exchange integration, a full reporting suite, and automatic backup. It is compatible with all major email servers and email services and, importantly, ArcTitan is easy to use – eliminating any risk of misconfiguration.