Many IT professionals feel that the loss of e-mail for a
week is more traumatic than getting a divorce, according to a
survey from research group Dynamic Markets.The survey, which questioned 850 IT managers
worldwide, found that 68% of companies said users get irate within
as little as 30 minutes without e-mail access, and that within just
24 hours of e-mail system failure, almost 20% of IT managers said
that their jobs would be on the line.
For more than a third (34%) of IT managers, a
week without e-mail is more traumatic than life events such as a
minor car accident, moving to a new home, or getting married or
divorced.
The survey, commissioned by storage firm
Veritas, also found there is a high level of awareness about the
legal implications of e-mails but that management processes leave
something to be desired.
Five per cent of those surveyed said e-mail
and attachments already have been used as legal evidence for or
against their company, and 15% knew of government regulations that
stipulated a length of time for storing e-mail.
However, while 39% of respondents thought
e-mail could be used as legal evidence for or against their
company, 46% said it would be difficult to locate and retrieve a
particular e-mail on the system if it was requested.
Analysts said companies should urgently
address the way they manage e-mail to prevent potential legal
problems.
“In many regulated industries, e-mail is the
primary communications tool,” said Peter Gerr, senior research
analyst at the enterprise storage group.
“By failing to have adequate procedures and
systems in place to ensure appropriate retention and security
mandates are met, both IT organisations and business leaders are
unnecessarily exposing themselves to legal ramifications which
could place their business at risk."