Stockbroker adds e-mail storage for double gain

Stockbroker J M Finn has upgraded its e-mail system to Archive Manager from Quest Software to help it meet regulations regarding e-mail storage and security.

The system stores messaging data and enables the firm to respond quickly to compliance requests and enables easy access to e-mail records that would otherwise be buried.

"Archive Manager has shortened backup, restore and system down times by 62% - from four hours to 1.5 hours. When we consider that we have 200 employees in the front office who might not be able to settle funds whilst e-mail is down, the time savings can prevent potentially huge revenue loss," said Jon Cosson, head of IT, at J M Finn.

The Financial Services Authority enforces e-mail security legislation which means firms that fall within its jurisdiction, such as J M Finn, must archive e-mails and although the company had e-mail storage technology in place it wasn't able to keep pace with the increase in e-mails.

The company initially dealt with the growth in mailbox size by imposing limits on users, because it did not believe that increasing storage space was a sensible or cost-effective option. However this proved unpopular with users and convinced the firm's IT department that its archiving system was not adequate.