There has been a tendency for some companies to dismiss regulatory compliance as something that they don’t really need to worry about, and it’s only other businesses that need to worry. Consider then what would happen if a legal disclosure order sought access to all email sent between Mr A and Ms B over a six month. Or if as part of an investigation all emails sent by finance and HR over the past two years had to be retrieved. Unless the organisation in question has efficient email back up, search and retrieval, this is likely to be a lengthy and costly process, and failure to provide the information could have serious repercussions.

It is easy to concentrate on the seemingly negative implications of ensuring compliance – it is expensive, complicated and time consuming. However, not enough attention is given to the benefits of being compliant. Investors pay a premium for shares in companies that can demonstrate they are well governed; in the UK and US this is estimated to be around 15-20% extra on capital value. In addition, businesses that can prove they are well managed tend to attract high calibre employees and customers. So quite apart from avoiding the long arm of the law and damage to brand and reputation, exercising good governance practice has some other major advantages.

Comprehensive email management and security solutions have a vital role to play in meeting regulatory requirements. As a basic rule, companies are advised to make sure that they seek proper protection from viruses and other malicious content. They must also ensure that they have taken reasonable measures to defend personal information relating to customers and employees.


One of the most effective ways of achieving this is to use a proactive Internet level service to foster a safer working environment, offering protection against previously unknown security attacks and breaches of confidentiality. A managed service can also help companies to adhere to regulatory requirements relating to archiving, storage, back up and retrieval.

Any organisation facing regulatory compliance, a growing number, must do a cost/risk equation. There is no doubt that it is expensive to comply – both in terms of hard cash and man hours. This is another reason why many companies are turning to a managed email security service, as it offers a predictable monthly expenditure which can be easily planned for.

Ultimately much of the successful management of IT compliance lies in the effectiveness of the business processes and monitoring systems put in place. But just as prevention is better than cure, ensuring that proper email security measures are activated and maintained can go a long way to easing the burden of complying with regulations now and in the future.