London, UK – Many times small businesses in the United States believe that they are exempt from laws governing electronic records – or they simply don’t have the time and staff to deal with the issue, notes Robin Bingeman, from the email archiving software company Cryoserver. However, the consequences for failing to adequately store emails can be dire, even for businesses that are sole proprietorships.
For instance, any doctor, dentist, or medical clinic must adhere to the provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which require that all patient records – including emails – that reveal medical or personal information must be kept private.
Financial institutions must adhere to regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other government agencies that require the retention of financial transaction records for a minimum of six years. Businesses that handle credit cards are subject to regulations that require them to keep such data private. Without a compliance solution, it can be difficult to comply with these regulations.
"These requirements can seem rather daunting," notes Bingeman."But, they don't have to be. An email archiving software like Cryoserver can make it easy to automatically store and index emails – and simple to find them again. We can set it up for you and then you don't have to think about it again."
Educational institutions are governed by the Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA). In fact, a community college in Connecticut was fined $765,000 for destroying emails that might have been relevant in a sexual harassment case. A reliable email archiving appliance program could have prevented the situation.
Even if an industry isn't subject to specific regulations, any business can be sued. And, if a business is sued, it will probably have to turn over any relevant documents – including emails. All businesses, even one-man operations, are subject to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which require the retention of relevant records that the opposing party's attorneys have the right to review – even emails.
"Can you easily produce years' worth of email? " asks Bingeman."If not, you might be in trouble."
Similar to a "black box" airplane data recorder, Cryoserver's email archiving provides a complete, protected, tamper-evident repository all emails and instant messages sent within an organization. Cryoserver can take the form of an appliance or a software program – and its email archiving system fulfills legal requirements for the long-term safekeeping of electronic documents.
"You don't have to build your own email retention system from the ground up," explains Bingeman. "Cryoserver's email archiving software system can be up and running quickly and easily. And you can get back to running your business."
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