Electronic Communications Policy Review Improves Compliance and Reduces Risk

By |2022-08-11T05:51:51-04:00August 10th, 2022|Data Compliance, Email Policy|

Advances in communication drive collaboration and efficiency. Teams work together easily over distance, moving seamlessly among email, virtual meetings, and messaging. However, the unstructured data generated in that communication can prove a significant liability without effective data governance. A comprehensive electronic communications policy helps reduce risk. For instance, regulations like HIPAA, CCPA and numerous financial privacy laws strictly govern the handling of sensitive data. An organization that allows improper sharing of personal data can incur stiff penalties. Likewise, during the process of litigation, companies may be required to compile relevant electronic data as evidence. Organizations need to determine what data

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Streamline Email Governance with a Midsummer Fitness Check

By |2022-08-11T06:03:35-04:00July 13th, 2022|Email Management Tips, Email Policy|

Many organizations have a love/hate relationship with email. On the one hand, email remains the cornerstone of business communication. On the other, without diligent oversight, it can quickly become not only a time sink, but also a security and compliance liability. Spending some quality time on email governance can make the difference. Automate Email Policies A midsummer IT fitness checkup provides the perfect opportunity to review and update email policies. A well-crafted email policy both improves regulatory compliance and streamlines the archive to ease the eDiscovery process down the road. But policies require periodic adjustments to keep up with regulatory

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The Future of Email as a Business Communication Tool

By |2022-07-27T11:15:37-04:00July 6th, 2022|Email Policy|

Today’s business community uses a wide variety of communication platforms, from chat to Microsoft Teams and social media. However, email use continues to climb. Email delivers convenience, provides an information trail, and gives users control over their messages. The future of email appears bright. But as email evolves, businesses need to adapt. Email Challenges When email arrived on the scene in the 1970s, developers could only begin to imagine how the tool would change over time. 25 MB size limitations seemed impossibly large when the average computer drive held less than 200 MB. Now, users who need to send a

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Business Leaders Invest in the Future with SMB Cybersecurity Best Practices

By |2022-03-28T02:34:59-04:00March 16th, 2022|Cyber-Security, Email Policy|

Hackers looking for easy access to valuable data know that small to midsize businesses (SMBs) often skimp on security measures. Consequently, bad actors can cripple unprepared organizations, frequently gaining entry by compromising email. But savvy business owners protect business assets with SMB cybersecurity best practices. SMB Cybersecurity Best Practices Start with Investment Business owners lose sleep over cybersecurity, and for good reason. Nearly half of reported data breaches affected SMBs, and most SMBs lack the resources to respond effectively. But by planning ahead and addressing vulnerabilities before they get exploited, organizations ensure the best possible outcomes. Begin with a security

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7 Common Email Mistakes That Kill Your Professionalism… And How to Avoid Them

By |2022-03-14T10:03:58-04:00March 2nd, 2022|Cyber-Security, Email Management Tips, Email Policy|

The average worker spends hours checking and responding to email each day. Unfortunately, that critical business tool can also prove dangerous. Consider the damage of a scathing email sent to the wrong person or sensitive information leaking outside the company. Save your reputation, and maybe even your career, by avoiding these all-too-common email mistakes. Using Email When Another Method Works Better Email works great for non-urgent communication, for communicating with groups of people and for maintaining a documentation trail. For instance, email may be just the ticket for communicating follow-up details to team members after a meeting. On the other

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Practical Email Security Tips to Protect Valuable Business Data

By |2021-08-17T02:09:04-04:00August 4th, 2021|Cyber-Security, Email Policy|

A 2020 study reported that 306 billion emails were sent/received worldwide per day. An increasing number of those represent threats to valuable business data. Consider these practical email security tips as part of a multi-layered email security approach with the potential to save both you and your company a lot of time, embarrassment, and money. With over half the world population using email, security professionals work diligently to thwart attacks while cyber-criminals increase in sophistication. However, email remains one of the primary attack vectors of cyber-criminals and a key area of vulnerability, hence the tips. 1. Separate Business and Personal

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Understanding Microsoft 365 Mailboxes Improves Efficiency and Saves Money

By |2021-04-19T06:16:34-04:00April 8th, 2021|Email Management Tips, Email Policy, Office 365 and Migration|

Microsoft 365 offers several different types of mailboxes and collaboration tools. For instance, certain specialty mailboxes facilitate scheduling or allow shared access. Understanding the different types of Microsoft 365 mailboxes and related tools will help businesses communicate more efficiently and can even save license costs. The six main types of mailboxes include: Mailbox (requires paid license) Distribution Group (Free) Resource (Free) Contacts (Free) Shared (Free) Microsoft 365 Groups (Free) Mailbox (requires paid license) When organizations purchase any Microsoft 365 subscription that includes Exchange Online, each licensed user receives a mailbox. This is the mailbox that users add to their various

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Finding the Email Retention Goldilocks Zone

By |2020-10-06T06:34:01-04:00August 1st, 2020|Email Management Tips, Email Policy|

By Greg Smith The Email Retention Dilemma Creating an Email Retention Policy that works is tricky. Keeping too little information encourages email pack rats and puts legal teams at a disadvantage. Too much information drives up ediscovery costs while increasing potential liability. Hence, organizations seek the email retention Goldilocks zone where retention is just right. There is no doubt that much of email consists of transient records that have no value and could be deleted. The issue comes down to ensuring that users make acceptable email deletion decisions. The concern arises when the organization provides users with the ability to

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Email Destruction Policies Discourage Pack Rats

By |2020-08-07T08:08:20-04:00July 29th, 2020|Email Policy|

Email Pack Rats? An effective method of communication, email also provides a concise audit trail of events, decisions, and performance. This reality makes email difficult to destroy for individuals wanting to maintain a history. However, some email “pack rats” go too far in their email retention behavior. Effective email destruction policies mitigate the problem. According to email experts, 20% of email users account for 80% of the data retained. This small minority, usually in key organizational roles, somehow feel the need to retain as much data as possible. They do it for business purposes, or simply for CYA. Hence, extra storage and

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Improve Security and Compliance by Migrating PST Files

By |2020-06-12T16:20:34-04:00February 26th, 2020|Email Migration, Email Policy|

Once upon a time, all major email systems used “personal storage tables,” commonly known as PST files. In fact, many organizations still use them to back up or archive email data. However, that practice no longer makes sense in today’s compliance-conscious and security-focused environment. Instead, consider migrating PST files to Office 365 or other centrally managed archival solution. Why Organizations Should Eliminate PST Files PST files once performed a vital function. Twenty years ago, network connections proved unreliable and slow, and online storage cost a great deal. With PST files, users could store email locally. Thus, even if the network

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Messaging Architects has been providing professional consulting services around unstructured data and information governance for over 12 years.  Our topnotch experienced project management and engineering team assists organizations to address information risk management strategies, eDiscovery processes, data security and information management policies.    Information is an organizations biggest asset but it can also be that organizations biggest risk.

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