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How To Manage The Email Storage Mess

Jamie Gruener, Senior AnalystThe Yankee Groupjgruener@yankeegroup.com

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Agenda The Email Pain

Bigger Problem: Document Management Rules

The Dilemma: User Quotas vs. Data Retention

Where To Start: Your Storage Management Strategy

• Classifying Application Quality of Service

• Document Retention Policies

The compromise: Setting Quotas and Retention

Technology Tips: Archiving, SRM, Consolidated Backup

Cost Payback: Calculating ROI

Final Recommendations

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The Email Mess

Email storage is growing at 38%+ annually

The average user sends and receives 40-60 emails a day

Email is one the fastest growing segment of the digital content market

Email is the fastest growing storage consumer from an application standpoint

Oh, and YOU have to manage it…

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How Much will It Grow in Next Year?

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Less than10%

10-30% 30-50% Greaterthan 50%

% o

f R

esp

on

den

ts

Source: Yankee Group/Sunbelt Survey of 250 Respondents

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Email Retention and User Quota Policies

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Yes No

Email RetentionStorage Quota

% O

f R

esp

on

den

ts

Source: Yankee Group/Sunbelt Survey of 250 Respondents

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The Bigger Problem: Data Retention Policies

If you are in business, you need a data

retention strategy

It’s not just verticals• FDA, HIPAA, NASD, Freedom of Information Act…

But how we ALL do business• Sarbanes-Oxley Act: New rules for auditing of

public companies

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So Are We Fixing the Problem?

I Don't Know55%

No, My Organization Is

Not Up to Snuff24%

Yes I am in Full Compliance

11%

No, we don't care what the SEC says, it's too expense

10%

Source: SearchStorage

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So What’s The Problem?

EmailQuotasFor Users

DataRetentionStrategies

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Achieving A Balance

You must find ways to limit user email allowances

But, you must also consider data retention policies through archiving

There are problems with quotas:• One size doesn’t fit all

• IT help desk costs can increase from call volumes

• Forcing a user to delete isn’t always the best move

• Some users will just move the data from the email account to their hard drive… (and onto backup disk/tapes…)

• Or, they will just print out all the documents and file them….

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Establish ApplicationQuality of Service/Priorities Understand business to select the right tools

• Know the relationship between email and storage

Establishing Data Quality of Service is important

• Availability, performance and measure of storage assets

Key Question: How will email data be treated as part

of a mgmt. strategy?

Action here should focus on segmenting data into

four categories

• Doing this will allow you to improve backup/restore policies,

better disaster recovery, and utility storage planning

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Data Classifications

ImmediateData Value

Access

High

Low High

MissionCritical Data

BusinessCritical Data

OperationalData

Archival/Reference Data

Data Lifecycle

Data Lifecycle

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Standardize Quality of Service

Key elements to rate data categories against:• Performance

• Scalability

• Availability

• Recoverability

• Security

• Mode of Management (are there specific management requirements for specific apps.)

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Set Some Email Guidelines/Steps

1. Determine areas of exposure• We’ll talk more about data retention policies shortly

2. Coordinate plan with email consolidation

3. Establish email quotas that encourage archiving• Give users an avenue to make decisions about deletion – with

some policy guidance

4. Coordinate email archiving policies

5. ID an email policy for what’s business-related

6. Select the best technology tools to support approach

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Step 1: Determining ComplianceWhich regulations are important to you?• SEC 17a-4

• SEC 17a-3

• NASD Conduct Rules 3010, 3110, 3070

• NYSE Rules 732, 351

• Sarbanes-Oxley (Any public company)

• NARA

• FOIA

• HIPAA

• Anti-Terrorism Bill

• FDA

Disclaimer: I am not an attorney

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Determining Compliance

Establish Data Retention Guidelines• What emails are important?

• What “terms” should be tracked?

• What files or client materials must be retained?

Draw a Corporate Team Together• This isn’t just an IT issue

• Corporate management, human resources, business units should be represented

Make It Enforceable and Defendable

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Consider How Email Consolidation Can be Incorporated

Part of problem is disparate email systems

means disparate storage

Disparate means you have a harder time

evaluating capacity

Consider ways to consolidate email storage as

part of process

Data retention programs should be timed to

launch with consolidation

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Why Have a Data Retention Plan?

You need to create efficiencies in saving core documents – especially email

Every electronic record should have its own lifecycle

Manages email (and other data) in a systematic way

Eliminates records that could increase increase legal exposure

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Key Questions To Address Here

What will meet the compliance requirements?

What defines a record we need to hang onto?

Where should it be stored?

How long should it be stored?

Who is in charge of compliance, training, enforcement and the process?

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Set Up Email Quotas

Consider Limits on the Following:• Size of attachment

• Size of mailbox

Provide Archiving Options to Power Users• Users want to have some control over what’s deleted

• Give them a way out

Add additional elements of policies• Encourage user zipping

• Set up Intranet bulletin board

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The Attachment Issue

Attachment strategies are crucial to quotas• Give users an avenue to store and archive important files

Avoid the hidden file scenario• Detach, save on hard drive, fill up hard drive, send to backup

server, fill up backup server….

Coordinate file policies with data retention• ID which files need to be saved and which need to be deleted

• Don’t force users to arbitrarily delete files

Use of Intranets will be crucial to reducing this problem

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Provide a Reasonable Lifecycle: Combining Quotas and Data Retention

First stop: Captured email onHigh-performance array

Second Stop: Moved to IDE DrivesAfter 30 days

Third Stop: Moved to TapeAfter 90 days

Final Stop: Deleted After 7Years

EXAMPLE:

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The Backup and Archiving Process: Things To consider

Database

File system

Volume mgr

Mail server

Live data

Fast mirrorresync Broken

mirrors

Logs

StorageCheck-Points

Roll back

Copy-on-

write

Secondary server

Replication

Incremental backup

Full backup

Logs

Increm.backup

Fullbackup

+Synthetic

full backup

VaultFullbacku

p

Backup Logs

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The Technology Matrix

EmailStorageMgmt.

Strategy

Software

Services Hardware

Multi-layered Strategy:

•Backup•Archiving•Storage Resource Mgmt.•HSM

3rd Party Services:

•Backup•Archiving•Offsite Tape

Integrated Platforms:

•Nearline Storage•Digital Content Stores•Tape Systems

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Technology Tips: SoftwareOverriding Tip: Start with Evaluating What You Have…• It makes no sense not to take advantage of existing deployments

Backup: Take advantage of product extensions• ID vendors that have integrated HSM modules

• Some tools already provide policy-based migration

Archiving: A Must Have for Compliance• This is one of the fastest growing market segments

• Many tools assist with vertical compliance issues

• Very strong indexing engines and compression

SRM: Assists Capacity Quotas and Ownership

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Technology Tips: Software (Con’t)

Special note on Storage Resource Mgmt.• ID largest consumers of email and file volume

• Determine thresholds of compliance

• Create policies on migration of files

A necessity today• Provides longer-range view of capacity trends

• Allows the tie-in of chargeback (or awareness of how

departments are using storage such as email)

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Selecting Archiving Software To Reinforce Data Retention Policy

Software needs to reinforce data retention• Tie into key terms to require archiving of data

• ID users where compliance issues will be larger issue

Special issues to consider for file archiving• Consider software packages that filters email based on

terms and file sizes

• Some software provides migration capabilities for certain mailboxes

• Look for compliance focused tools – and research whether these tools meet your individual requirements

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Technology Tips: Integrated Platforms

Consolidated backup appliances are the rage• Select vendors based on software support and

performance requirements

Digital Content Storage• Be clear on software indexing capabilities

• Performance can be a gotcha if you don’t watch out

Tape Libraries• What people have done for a long time

• Continues to work for the long haul

• Drawback: Making sure you can easily locate data on tape

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Technology Tip: 3rd Party Services

Archiving and Backup Services another option

Pros• Some professional expertise you may not have

• Is likely one of the easier approaches

Cons• Danger of SLA enforcement

• Accountability

• Expense can be greater, depending on situation…

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Determining ROI: Quotas

Questions to

Consider

Annual Cost

Estimate

Cost With

Quotas

Savings

Additional TB

Without Quotas

Tape Library

Software Cost

(backup, utilities)

Floor Space

Labor

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Determining ROI: Data Retention

Here the costs are much more clear cut• Similar to Disaster Recovery Planning

What’s the cost of non-compliance?

What’s the cost of not having the data available or a plan?• 70% of ABA attorneys say electronic discovery procedures will

increase

• But 80% of same attorneys say corporate clients have no established plans for electronic discovery

What that costs you depends on the mood of the judge… Don’t risk it.

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Final Recommendations

You must balance quotas and data retention policies

You must balance the needs of efficiency with the needs of compliance

This is NOT just an IT issue

Email can be managed in a systematic way

Develop a strategy that bridges requirements with broader IT initiatives (such as a storage strategic plan)