Introduction
This document outlines the issues today surrounding data and email in the workplace when allowing users freedom of company resources. This paper highlights possible legal / regulatory problems, as well as storage solutions to solve the overall management and storage of information.
Managing the Data Storage Dilemma
Many corporations today have IT departments staffed by professionals who understand networks, backups, infrastructures, servers and applications. The primary role for an IT department is to keep systems and information available and adopt new technologies to allow the business to become more efficient. An IT department is a business overhead and as such has limited resources at its disposal to continuously allow it to evolve. The IT departments of today are under increasing pressure to meet 7x24 business requirements. These can be servers that need continuous availability, corporate email, web server applications, file servers and application servers. Along with the servers, networks need to be secured to prevent viruses, malicious attacks or intellectual property theft and allow remote user’s access to information at all times.
As explained an IT department is under pressure from all sides to perform and keep information available. An IT department needs to:
- Keep systems operational
- Carry out daily backups in case of server failure, acts of terrorism, viruses, user error or unforeseen acts of nature
- Carry out restores for users that have inadvertently deleted files
- Update OS service packs, anti virus, spy ware and firewall programs
- Roll out new servers, operating systems and networks
- Handle support calls from desktop users
- Carry out continuous upgrades of hardware/software
- Evaluate new products, programs and technologies
- Monitor storage, purchase and install new storage including backup
Legislation
In addition to the above a new more sinister beast is starting to appear, that of Corporate Governance. This simply means that all information generated has to originate from someone and it is this information that needs to be regulated, monitored and controlled with systems in place that track where it is sent, who has access to it and who has modified it.
Failure to comply with the ever growing international and government legislation may result in heavy fines and jail sentences for the owners and executives of businesses/organisations.
With this legislation it is not only the IT departments that need to consider the implications of Data mismanagement it is now the responsibility of the Owners, CEO’s, CIO’s, technical directors, HR directors, Compliance officers and Legal department to ensure systems and processes are in place that have audit ability, traceability, search ability and above all accountability of data.
The systems and solutions that provide these features have enormously powerful tools. They can for example find out which users for example store MP3 files on the server or desktop and which users are bringing in and sending offensive material. Who are the most prolific senders of email and generators of files, who created the document, where it sent, who amended it and what was it! You can, along with telephone records discover who your most valuable staff are and those that are time wasting.
