Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1596
www.iltanet.org E-Mail Life Cycle 27 ample memory. If you're using a virtual infrastructure, you'll need appropriate resources for e-mail and coordinated virtualized storage technologies. Adding extra servers or rolling out upgrades takes time that key IT staff could be spending on more strategic projects. Plus, you'll have to budget overtime costs for migrating between mail servers during off hours. Software adds further burdens to strained budgets, not just for e-mail server software and client licenses, but for the overlapping patchwork of risk management and policy tools required to keep e-mail running smoothly; and, of course, many of those need their own hardware. You'll also need to invest in good antivirus, intrusion prevention and antispam tools to protect your users and network. In addition to license costs, factor in the expense of regular updates that your IT team will need to test and deploy. You can avoid that by investing in managed appliances that filter e-mail connections at the edges of your network, though again this means paying subscription and management fees as well as licensing. You'll also need to make sure that your network is protected from denial of service attacks. The more point products that are introduced into an environment, the more potential there is for device failure. dOn'T fORgET REguLaTIOns and COMPLIanCE Legal industry regulatory requirements have their share of e-mail costs as well. Messages need to be archived and have disclaimers attached. Because regulatory rules can vary by message, you'll also need to implement a rules- based information lifecycle management policy (ILM). ILM can be expensive and can also require significant amounts of storage hardware to manage the explosion of information that's flowing in and out of your network. Drivers for archiving go beyond just regulatory requirements; many organizations are retaining e-mail messages for internal governance and litigation protection. There's also the additional cost of implementing the appropriate search and audit tools for e-discovery. And then there's the ever-increasing storage you need to put in place as the number and size of messages and file attachments keep growing. Attempting to discover e-mail messages when they are stored as .pst files distributed across remote worker's laptops can be a very expensive, error-prone and time-consuming task. PROTECT COMPany InfORMaTIOn Data loss prevention (DLP) is an additional cost that's becoming more important not just for regulatory compliance, but also for customer confidence. Key business information and customer data need to be protected. Adding DLP to an existing e-mail solution means investing in and integrating additional hardware, software and business processes. suPPORT aLsO COsTs Ongoing subscriptions and regular updates for all these tools add up. You'll need to manage how many licenses you have, and if you've over-licensed, it's next to impossible to get reimbursed by your suppliers. Service and support add to the price. Because you probably won't get all the tools you need from a single vendor, you'll have multiple purchase agreements, multiple licensing schemes, multiple renewal dates and, of course, multiple interfaces, configurations, policies, reporting tools, patch schedules and support contacts for your IT team to manage. sOfT COsTs snEaK In What would it cost you if your company's e-mail service went down for a day or a week? What if you lost data? What would the financial impact be of a perimeter security breach or a serious virus outbreak? What would happen if you were unable to meet an e-discovery request? And finally, how much are you spending today to support internal e-mail users? These are all factors in the total cost of e-mail and they can easily be double or triple the hard costs. In-ThE-CLOud sERvICEs COuLd savE Unified e-mail management solutions, typically delivered as a cloud-based service, could provide firms with the tools they need to ensure smooth e-mail operation, all in one place. The global research firm IDC believes that cloud-based IT infrastructure services are a smart alternative for small- and mid-sized businesses. Subscribing to cloud-based services can make a difference to your bottom line. Not only will you reduce capital costs, you'll bring down operational expenses. There's no need to worry about over-licensing, as you'll most likely pay a per-user subscription that can adapt to the changing headcount requirements of your organization. It's also easier to charge back service costs to business units, based on number of users. Typically, software as a service has low barriers to entry with no procurement costs and fast return on investment because you get applications and services that are ready to run from the start. With all the hardware running at third-party data centers, there's no need to invest in hardware or data center space. Make sure that the solution you select offers all the individual e-mail service and management elements you need, so that you aren't trading quality for lower cost. A well-designed cloud service will scale automatically, giving you all the performance and storage that you need for your e-mail archives, security and management so you don't need to worry about planned or unexpected downtime. Unified e-mail management should give you a single service, a single interface and unified reports. Upgrades and updates should be transparent so that you don't need to employ dedicated support staff for the service. ILTa