Nothing New

Archiving and the need to store data has been around as long as computers.  The first punch cards were a form of storage.  As the technology progressed onto disk drives the propagation of data really took off.  The size of storage media has increased while the cost steadily decreased.  Originally archiving was mainly for files and reports, but since the explosion of the use of email that remit has widened considerably.

Fortunately storage media and systems have somewhat kept pace with the evolution of the industry as a whole.  As email became the primary method of communication there was a need to be able to store this data effectively and securely.  This is where email archiving came in.  To be fair, when it was first introduced it was clunky and not very dynamic.  It was also expensive and mainly only provided by specialist vendors. 

As with most innovations, the different incarnations diverged in different ways, and in the modern market the choice is as varied as its execution.  There are many different solutions in the current market place that do things in as many different ways, but all seem to give a very similar result.  The industry has moved with the demand, and as email became recognized as 'the' communication medium the industry moved with it.

Then along came compliance.  A dirty word in many circles, but where there are communications, there are conflicts.  In modern society, generally where there is conflict there is litigation.  A disappointing but unavoidable fact of life, and of business.

Companies needed solutions that protected them and allowed them to maintain their communications data.  This is where email archiving truly came into its own.  A solution that could simultaneously store, index and retrieve emails quickly, efficiently and securely.