Digital Landfill

AIIM has released a new study on e-mail management practices at 1,000+ end user organizations.

In response to the question...Does your organization have a process in place to classify particular e-mails as formal organization records?...less than one in five respondents responded YES, with 73% responding NO, and the remaining 9% responding DON’T KNOW. Clearly, the vast majority of user organizations use e-mail to document their key business and organizational decisions, yet less than ONE in FIVE have tied this into any sort of records classification process.

Myth #1: Most organizations allow their employees to use instant messaging.

Myth #2: Most organizations have their act together when it comes to e-mail management.

Myth #3: No one in their right mind would ever try to retain all e-mail.

Myth #4: Records Managers are calling the shots when it comes to e-mail archiving and retention decisions

Myth #5: Backup and archive are two sides of the same coin.

Myth #6: Having a written policy with regards to e-mail retention is sufficient for most organizations.

AIIM has released a new study on e-mail management practices at 1,000+ end user organizations.

A written policy is a “necessary but not sufficient” condition for effective e-mail management.

44% of end user organizations say they have a written policy or strategy with regards to e-mail retention. While that is not exactly grounds for celebration, it is good news that nearly half have done SOMETHING.

More of a BAD NEWS situation arises when you take a look at exactly what that policy consists of. For example, only 60% of those responding YES say that their policy defines what is a record and what is not. Less than half (47%) apply retention periods based on the content of an e-mail (as opposed to a blanket approach to all e-mail). Only 57% covers what to do in the event of a litigation, clearly a priority as organization try to protect themselves from the perils of e-discovery.

Myth #1: Most organizations allow their employees to use instant messaging.

Myth #2: Most organizations have their act together when it comes to e-mail management.

Myth #3: No one in their right mind would ever try to retain all e-mail.

Myth #4: Records Managers are calling the shots when it comes to e-mail archiving and retention decisions

Myth #5: Backup and archive are two sides of the same coin.

AIIM has released a new study on e-mail management practices at 1,000+ end user organizations.

A common misperception in many organizations — one that is reflected in the latest survey findings — is that most organizations do not understand the difference between e-mail archiving and back-up.

For example, when asked...”How does your organization archive its e-mail?”...44% indicate that “e-mail is archived as part of the back-up process,” and 15% say they use .pst files for archiving. Both are fine practices for backup, but really have very little to do with an effective e-mail archiving strategy. When couple with the 18% who simply responded “We don’t archive,” the survey suggests that nearly 70% of end users have not strategy whatsoever when it comes to e-mail archiving.

Myth #1: Most organizations allow their employees to use instant messaging.

Myth #2: Most organizations have their act together when it comes to e-mail management.

Myth #3: No one in their right mind would ever try to retain all e-mail.

Myth #4: Records Managers are calling the shots when it comes to e-mail archiving and retention decisions

AIIM has released a new study on e-mail management practices at 1,000+ end user organizations.

The responses to the question...When e-mail management policies, procedures, and investments are discussed, which department generally has THE MOST influence?...are interesting...

Information Technology (50%)
Legal (18%)
Executive Staff (9%)
Records Management (9%)

Myth #1: Most organizations allow their employees to use instant messaging.

Myth #2: Most organizations have their act together when it comes to e-mail management.

Myth #3: No one in their right mind would ever try to retain all e-mail.

For copy of new AIIM study, go here AIIM

19% of end users describe their e-mail management policy as being they retain ALL e-mail indefinitely in case it is needed.

Clearly, such a strategy has significant risks from a litigation perspective.

Myth #1: Most organizations allow their employees to use instant messaging.

Myth #2: Most organizations have their act together when it comes to e-mail management.

AIIM¹s new e-mail survey -- AIIM -- indicates that 35% of end user organizations "Have not yet begun" to develop an e-mail management strategy (defined as a strategy for archiving, retaining, and disposing e-mail). Another 41% indicate they have begun to pursue a strategy, but "much remains to be done."

These findings dovetail with an earlier AIIM study in which 25% of those surveyed described their e-mail management environment as "complete chaos."

According to a recent study by AIIM, 48% of end user organizations DO NOT allow their employees to use instant messaging.

Of those who do, 10% provide a custom IM service for their employees, 4% use AOL Instant Messenger, 20% use MSN (Microsoft) Messenger, and the remainder a variety of services.

E-mail Management: An Oxymoron? (Full Study)

This study of 1,043 end users found that for most organizations, "e-mail management" is usually something of an oxymoron, and at best more a wish than a business reality. Most organizations make heavy use of e-mail-it is the central means by which most business decisions are documented-yet most organizations continue to have a very casual attitude toward its management. E-mail started its life in most organizations as a proxy for conversation, and organizations largely continue to manage it in an ad hoc and casual way.

Survey results provided courtesy of:
EMC, FileNet, IBM, and TOWER Software

I participated in a panel e-mail management and instant messaging on WAMU-88.5, the National Public Radio affiliate in DC. The interview will be podcast by WAMU--see their web site for details. Some excerpts from our user research were covered during the interview.

The panel also featured Michael Hall, Managing Editor, Instant Messaging Planet and Clifford Fishman, Professor of Law, Catholic University of America, and was conducted by NPR correspondent Corey Flintoff.

E-mail has migrated from a proxy for conversation to a key form of organizational documentation, but most organizations have yet to make the jump to truly leverage e-mail.

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Organizations have become to consider collaborative applications in addition to e-mail (51% say they are doing do). However, only a bit more than one in three (36%) currently use e-mail to trigger a workflow or process in their organization. Fewer than one in five (19%) posses the capability to classify particular e-mails as formal organizational records. Given storage concerns, it is very surprising that only 14% possess the technology infrastructure to separate e-mails from attachments; in other words, to store only one copy of an attachment rather than store a copy with every e-mail.