Strategies for Effective E-mail Management

Presentation Given by Tom Forsyth, CRM

Presentation for the ARMA Southwest Region CRM Conference Dallas, TX.

April 10, 2015

Presentation Agenda

         E-mail Usage and Challenges E-mail as a Business Record E-mail Strategies E-mail Best (& Worst) Practices E-mail Retention E-mail Classification E-mail Strategies with ECM Email Archiving E-mail Policies

E-mail Management Imperatives

       Strategic imperative for many organizations. Courts say e-mail is legitimate area of discovery. Easy target for regulators/lawyers hunting “smoking gun”.

Company must develop e-mail policy & procedures.

Trend that impacts on the adoption of ECM. Leverage ECM or Email Archive to manage e-mails.

Regulatory requirements for service organizations and financial institutions to manage e-mails.

What others say...

   “Organizations need to apply the net of information governance to capture the important data while letting the transient data go free” Jesse Wilkins in Technology for Managing Email “…smaller volumes of email coupled with better management and organization translate directly into smaller costs during discovery” – John Montana, J.D., Strategies for Minimizing Litigation Risks “Email to me is like gold mining. Given enough email, I can sift through it and always find some nuggets to hurt the other side” – Class Action Attorney

Challenge to Records Managers

 “There is a distinction between record retention which looks at whether or not you have an obligation to preserve a document and electronic discovery which looks at if the document exists whether you have an obligation to produce it.” - Ethan A. Berghoff, Baker & McKenzie Chicago.  Applying records management to e-mails should be a high priority before your organization gets involved in an e-Discovery situation .

.

Challenge to Records Managers

You need to keep your records long enough to satisfy retention requirements but no longer than necessary to reduce costs associated with discovery & storage

Components of a RM Program

Equipment & Supplies Assess Risk Information Security Access Control Storage Filing Email Archives Software & Technology Records Classification/ Taxonomy Appraisal Records Inventory Active & Inactive Records Policy & Procedures Electronic Records Retention Schedule Record Destruction Audits & Metrics Employee Awareness & Training Vital Records Protection Compliance Business Continuity/ Disaster Recovery Imaging Forms & Repts Mgmt Business Process Reengineering & Workflow

Typical employee sends & receives…

25,000

E-mails Per Year (100 day / 250 days year ) Source: “A Smarter Way to Manage E-mail” at www.clearstorysystems. com

Annual E-mail Volume Estimates

10

employees -1 year

250,000 E-mails

500

employees - 1 year

12.5 million E-mails

2,000

employees - 1 year

50 million E-mails

Corporate E-mail Usage Statistics

 An organization with: – – – 16,000 mailboxes 100 e-mails day per user (current average is 160) Creates almost 3 billion e-mails in 7 years!  Emails per user per day in file size: – – – 18MB of e-mail a day in 2007 21 MB in 2009 28MB by 2011  Email growth at 30% per year.  That equals 6 GB per User Each Year  Entire Organization: 100 TB Year!

E-mail Usage Statistics

      70% of them use e-mails to negotiate contracts and agreements.

84% use e-mails to describe operational and/or product strategies.

63% to discuss HR issues. 80% of data produced for discovery, audits, FOIA requests, etc. is email. Yet only 45% of organizations have an e-mail policy. Only 19% of organizations have adopted email archiving.

The Problems

 Regular backups of the e-mail database, –

is not a substitute for an email retention program

 Restoring multiple tapes to find e-mail, –

is a long and costly process.

 Users don’t want to delete anything, –

yet expect solid Outlook performance.

 Mailbox stores continue to grow, –

requiring more storage space, faster disks, etc.

Potential Strategies

 Maintain all emails (monolithic retention)  Impose Mail box limits  Deploy managed folders for temporary records or working documents.  Delete transitory records after 90-180 days.

 Print out emails and put them in folders.  Allow users to archive emails to PST files.

 Set up global email archiving  Leverage archiving of business records to content management system.

So what are the bad strategies?

 Doing nothing & maintaining all emails  Imposing aggressive mail box limits  Archiving all emails to email archive.

 Declaring there are no emails that are business records.  Allow users to save emails to PST files, file shares or removable media.  Printing out emails to put in paper folders.

 Saving monthly back-up tabs of email servers.

E-mails as Business Records

 E-mail consists of record types like regular mail.

 E-mail messages are official records when: – – Created or received in the transaction of business Retained as evidence of official transactions.

 Attachments can be (separate) records.

 Meta-data is essential to managing your e-mails.

 Content (subject) determines retention.

 Many are related to your job functions.

Resumes Cover Letters References TYPICAL HR CONTENT RECEIVED BY E-MAIL I9’s or W-4’s Applications Employee Profile Worksheets

Other Types of Emails with Records

 Contracts & supporting documents  Contract negotiations  Credit & collection records via e-mail can be official records  Vendor invoices & credits received by e-mail  Purchase requisitions  Legal Opinions or 3 rd party subpoenas  Approval Documents (expenses, budgets, projects, etc.)

Best places to start…

        Understanding E-mail itself is not a record series; it is the content of the email that defines it is a record.

Start with a up-to-date retention schedule.

Establish policy for managing emails. Create an email file plan. Engage users in classifying emails. Ensure deletion is centrally managed.

Disable PST files & storing files on hard drives. Monthly Back-up Tapes are not for long term retention!

Elements of Email File Plan

      ID records to be retained in email inbox vs. other repositories (exchange server, email archive, ECM).

What records do you retain and how long?

Determine who is the record owner.

Decide if you implement on a go forward basis vs. how you address legacy emails.

Configure email archive or Exchange server for Folders and Retention settings. What is your strategy for long term records?

Retention Schedules for E-mails

   Common Retention Schedules – – – Complaints – 2 years Correspondence on program/policy development – 5 years Open records requests – 1 year Consolidate your schedule. – You don’t want 200 categories for e-mails!

– – Limit choices to 5 email record types per user.

Set up categories for “working” e-mails such as: – Only a small number of records are related to e-mail Reference – Internal Projects

3 Zone E-mail Strategy Approach

   Transitory E-mails (90 days): 35-75% Reference or Working E-mails (1-2 years): 20-40% * Actual Business Documents: 5-15% * If 75% of e-mails are transitory, then 37.5 million of the e-mails in an organization with 2,000 mailboxes can be readily disposed of!

* These are documents that would be managed according to your retention policy.

Strategies for Managing E-mail

 Users are responsible for managing their own e-mail.  Put reference records in managed folders. – Apply retention to the managed folders.

 Archive emails in email archive.  Transfer emails with business content & longer term retention to email archive or ECM.  Leave non-records in messaging system. – Delete personal (transitory) messages after 90 days.

Foundation for E-mail Solutions

 Declare & classify e-mails that need to be retained.  Users should migrate official records to appropriate “folders” using a secure and accessible archive system or repository  The archives should be on a shared LAN drive - not .PST files on your hard drive.

Foundation for E-mail Solutions

 Utilize e-mail archive/repository to preserve, provide access and apply retention rules.

  Your email appropriate retention schedule should be applied to the records in your archive system. Apply record “holds” in risk management event.

 Force a user review of e-mails.

E-mail Warning Process

 Automate e-mail warnings & deletion process – – Force a user review of “up for deletion” e-mails.

Users warned at the “80th” days that e-mail will be deleted on the “90th”.

 Users browse list and either: – Archive – Leave to be deleted – Delete directly  Purge transitory e-mails.

Managed Folders for Retention

Working Documents (2-3 years) Business Records (7 years) Long Term 10+ years Permanent Projects Issues Financial Collection Records Final Contract Resolutions These Messages could go into Email Archive or ECM system

Managing E-mail with ECM

   Ad hoc e-mail classification by user – Within e-mail Client Desktop – Outlook, Lotus Notes, Domino E-mail Archiving of all e-mails – – MS Exchange Server Message Journaling Selective Archiving of e-mails – E mails from specific business process “in-boxes” – Such as [email protected]

An ECM Based Solution

1. Connect E-mail to the transaction.

E-mail is part of the process:

1. E-mails and attachments drive business processes.

2. E-mails and attachments are part of the transaction.

An ECM Based Solution

2. Keep user in E-mail application.

Users live in the E-mail client:

1. Access content from E-mail client application.

2. Interact with the business process transaction directly from the E-mail client.

Specifically…

 ECM solutions offer integrations for Office Outlook  Users can remain in preferred applications  Leverage familiar Office/Outlook features  Ease deployment and installation efforts

Classifying E-mails

    User

declares

an e-mail as a business record based on content & relationship to the business process.

User

classifies

a folder.

it as a record by “drag and drop” into The folder has been pre-configured to: – – – Determine which document type the e-mail belongs to.

Assign e-mail meta-data automatically to keywords (index) values associated with the doc type.

Retention rules in the ECM system are applied to e-mails.

A shortcut or link to the e-mail can be maintained in your Outlook mailbox.

Outlook functionality

ECM Integration functionality

ECM Functionality Within Outlook

– – Upload e-mails/attachments into ECM  Drag/drop to Outlook folder  Click “Upload” button  Store email and attachments either as: – – Separate documents One document Retrieve/open

any

content stored in ECM – Leverage ECM functionality – Attach documents from ECM to e-mails – Launch and/or Execute Workflows from the e-mail message

Upload E-mail (drag/drop)

Upload E-mail (toolbar button)

Import your e-mails and/or attachments into your ECM system

Import Options

E-mail

(e-mail format)

.txt .rtf .htm/html

.msg

Attachment

(native format)

.doc/docx .xls/xlsx .ppt/pptx .pdf Or save e-mail and or attachments as TIF images using “Print to TIF drivers”

Automate Indexing of E-mails

 MAIL System Keywords  Mapped Keywords  Static Keywords  AutoFill Keyword Sets  Keyword Data Sets  Host LOB Applications

Approach Advantages

       Content owners are involved with classifying emails.

Emails stored in ECM system can be linked to and retrieved along with other transactional documents.

Emails managed for retention using ECM – – Date drive retention for individual document types Event driven retention for groups of related records. Legal Holds can be applied to email records so they are not removed according to retention. Emails can be full text searchable. Emails that are business records are stored in a single central repository.

Maximizes benefit from your ECM deployment.

Five Second Rule

 Employees will spend up to 5 seconds manually classifying documents.

 Otherwise they will use the 5 seconds subverting the classification system.

 Overall compliance drops significantly. – Mark Diamond CEO of Contoural at ARMA 2012

“Email Classification Strategies that Actually Work”

E-mail Archiving with ECM

      Store both e-mails & attachments Create special collections based on meta-data criteria Search archive for messages – – E-mail meta-data Full Text Search Recover e-mails even if deleted from Exchange.

Original messages can be replaced with “stub”.

Purge messages after retention period fulfilled.

MS Exchange Platforms

Microsoft Exchange 2000 SP3 August roll-up 2004 Microsoft Exchange 2003 SP1 or greater Microsoft Exchange 2007

Exchange Server Incoming E-mail

ARCHIVE ALL E-MAILS FROM EXCHANGE SERVER TO E-MAIL ARCHIVE USING MESSAGE JOURNALING

E-mail Database & Disk Groups

ECM User

Journal Mailbox & E-mail Archive Services

Exchange Server Incoming E-mail

ARCHIVE EXISTING E-MAILS FROM EXCHANGE SERVER OR YOUR PST FILES USING WEB CRAWLERS Exchange Crawler

E-mail Database & Disk Groups

ECM User Workstation Crawler

Journal Mailbox & E-mail Archive Services

Stubbing Service

 Provides direct access to e-mail in the archive via Outlook client  Connection made to the archive via a “stub” of the e-mail in Exchange  Reduces the size of e-mail messages stored in Exchange

Email Archiving Advantages

     All emails are archived in a central repository outside of Exchange; it could be in the cloud. Retention can be applied to the emails such as emails can be managed for a monolithic period (2 to 5 years).

Emails are full text searchable. Special collections can be created for eDiscovery purposes. Ideal for organizations that require all emails to be archived (i.e. banking institutions, brokerage firms).

Selective E-mail Archiving

 Specific e-mails/attachments imported as ECM documents based on rules  Allows select content to participate in business processes as it makes sense  Documents stored in ECM, cross-referenced to related content and/or sent to a Workflow

Exchange Server

Stubbing Service

Journal Mailbox & E-mail Archive Services E-mail Database & Disk Groups

ECM User

Organizational Value

E-mail Recovery

 Automatically capture and archive e-mail  Recover e-mail via a single interface  Support compliance initiatives

Exchange Performance

 Reduce cost of Exchange administration  Eliminate the misuse of e-mail in-boxes/clients  Keep e-mail administrators and users happy

Archiving Vs. Outlook Integration

        Enterprise E-mail Exchange Server Journal Auto Capture/Index E-mails – All or selective groups Full Text Searching Ability to build sub-sets Audit Logs E-mail Retention Where there is need to archive all e-mails for regulatory compliance/discovery          Outlook/Notes/Groupwise Desktop, Role-based User Defines Content Capture Content Tied to Business Function Auto Indexing with ability to index other criteria Native Format E-mail & Attachment stored together or separately E-mail exists along with other records that are part of process Manage email for retention: – – Date based Event based

Comparison - Email Options with ECM

E-mail Technologies

  Messaging Applications – – – Messages stored in inbox; difficult for others to access Not designed to handle growing volumes of emails.

Does not provide litigation holds except for entire mailboxes.

Archiving Solutions – – – – – – – Move or copy messages to a central, separate repository Uses defined rules to archive emails:  Age, size, attachments, sender/recipient, content, etc.

Indexed to provide faster search May provide de-duplication or single instance storage.

Facilitate retention & disposition Tamper proof storage. Replace message with stub in Messaging System.

E-mail Technologies

  E-mail Management Solutions – – – – – Set up walls between groups like banking & consulting Scan for inappropriate content, sensitive or confidential data Address proliferation of PST files on user desktops  Scour archives for messages to de-duplicate & send to archiving.

Classification by message content or metadata Apply tags or labels to emails Compliance Solutions – – – Address specific compliance requirements May include archiving component. Email monitoring & notification  Block messages or sent alerts

E-mail Technologies

  Discovery Solutions – Streamline message discovery & litigation support – – – – – Apply litigation holds & ability to lift holds. Email archiving component. Searching tools to find responsive messages. Add metadata like bates # to messages Redaction & Exporting Security Solutions – – – Scan for threats (incoming or outgoing) Assert control over mobile deivces. Centralize encryption methods.

Managing Emails in the Cloud

      Does the cloud solution support managed folders and retention?

Does the cloud solution enable legal holds?

How do you get large amounts of emails back when you have that eDiscovery project?

What are the security issues relating to Cloud storage? Are the emails stored in your jurisdiction?

Will the cloud solution allow me to put emails in my ECM Solution?

How does the cost increase over time?

Program Costs



In her Webinar titled “Email Archiving: Avoiding an ‘End-Run’ Around RIM”, Deborah Juhnke, CRM, provides this analysis for an Email Archiving program:

– – – – $6 per user per month and 5K users = $30K per month Program cost to organization is $360K in year one. With 30% growth, cost goes up to $468K in the 2 nd year Cost is $1.34 million after 5 years.

E-mail Policy Elements

          State the principles of your e-mail policy – – E-mail belongs to organization and not the user E-mail management adheres to regulatory requirements E-mail usage: what is acceptable, what is effective Retention and Disposition, Archival Issues Back-ups Legal Issues (holds, discovery) Privacy, Monitoring, Security and/or Technology Mobile & Remote email like web-based email Procedures & Responsibilities for Compliance Training Audit

Effective E-mail Usage

        E-mails should always be professional.

Use an appropriate content-based subject line Be careful on what you send/forward.

Copy only those who need the information.

Don’t automatically “reply to all” on e-mails.

Is e-mail always the best way to communicate?

Use collaborative tools like IM, Blogs, SP, ECM, Wiki, RSS, especially for one way communication.

Do you need to send attachments? Send a link instead!

Email Charter (www.emailcharter.org)

          Respect recipients time Short or slow is not rude Celebrate clarity Quash open-ended questions?

Slash surplus CC’s Tighten the (email) thread Attack attachments Give the gifts of EOM or NNTR Cut out content-less responses Disconnect!

Guiding Principles for Email Management - AIIM

         E-mail belongs to the organization E-mail is a business tool.

E-mail should be used appropriately.

E-mail must be managed according to its content and value to the organization.

E-mail should be stored appropriately.

E-mail is not a record series by itself.

Users must be trained on your email policy and file plan.

User participation is based on their roles.

E-mail policies have to be enforced & applied equally.

ROI

     ECM offer a strong payback on your organization’s investment. 50% of ECM adopters report an ROI of 1 year or less while almost 30% report they were able to recover their investments in less than 5 years AIIM provides an e-mail ROI calculator which can help you to develop an ROI for e-mail management solution. The calculator can be accessed at: http://www.aiim.org/Shop/Product/1743 AIIM Professional Members can access it at: http://www.aiim.org/Membership/ROICalculator.aspx

Where to Start?

     Be proactive in reducing the volume of emails Address emails from a policy perpective – – – Usage, Retention & Disposition, Privacy, etc.

This will reduce the amount of email to be managed.

Framework to ensure your EMM meets legal, regulatory & operational requirements.

Implement policy with training Use technology as a tool for compliance Audit your program for effectiveness & user compliance.

ARMA & AIIM Resources

  

ARMA International: Requirements for Managing Electronic Messages as Records

(ANSI/ARMA 9 2004)

AIIM International: Performance Guideline for the

Legal Acceptance of Records Produced by Information Technology

(ANSI/AIIM TR31).

ARMA International: Vital Records Programs:

Identifying, Managing, and Recovering Business Critical Records

(ANSI/ARMA 5-2003).

ARMA Webinars

   

A Case Study: Establishing an Effective Email Program by John Annuziello Email Classification Strategies that Work by Mark Diamond, Founder & CEO of Contoural.

Email Archiving: Avoiding an “End-Run” Around RIM by Deborah H. Juhnke, CRM Halt the Hoarding of Email & Other Documents by Mark Diamond of Contoural.

Other Resources:

  

Contoural White Papers:

– – – 10 Best Practices for Archiving Email Archiving ROI & Business Case What IT Can Do If Y ou’re Going To Be Sued

Technologies for Managing Emails

– by Jesse Wilkins, CRM, CDIA+

The Risks of Email Mismanagement:

– http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0104.htm

Acknowledgements

 Lois Dillard, CRM  Pat Dixon, CRM  Karen Harris, CRM  Susan Hubbard, CRM  Angie Fares, CRM  Jesse Wilkins, CRM  Mark Diamond, CEO, Contoural, Inc.

 Hyland Software, Developers of OnBase

Questions? Thank you!

Tom Forsyth, CRM Account Executive DataBank IMX LLC 1421 Patton Place, Suite 200 Carrollton, TX. 75007 Phone: 469-521-0570 Cell: 214-616-027 E-mail: [email protected]