If you've ever asked yourself why you should archive your email content, you're not alone. In 2009, analysts at IT market research firm Enterprise Strategy Group estimated that as many as 50% of companies don't archive email.

And they really should. Hoarding emails isn't going to land you on a reality TV series next to a lady with 300 cats and a house filled with decades of carefully cataloged trash. Archiving electronic content is the kind of obsessive pack-rat behavior that's sure to pay off in the end.

There are a number of reasons why email should be archived and while they do differ from entity to entity, there are three basic reasons to keep in mind:

Legal Considerations

Business in the U.S. has been known to get quite litigious, and our sue-happy society is a major factor for having an archiving solution. Through the use of eDiscovery, Legal Holds, and Early Case Assessment, a company can greatly improve its chances of surviving, and succeeding, in the event of legal action.

Regulatory Considerations

Because the U.S. has such a large number of legal requirements, in regards to business records retention, an archiving system must be available in order to accommodate these retention requirements. Healthcare, financial, state and local governments along with a number of other sectors must all abide by strict requirements - impossible without an archiving solution.

Performance Considerations

Archiving the contents of email servers can greatly improve the performance of the email server and significantly decrease the amount of time necessary to backup the email databases. Additionally, end users no longer have to spend countless hours organizing their mailboxes in order to stay under the imposed quotas. An archiving system maintains mailbox sizes and ensures that they are always under quota.

The first step is admitting you have a problem...