27 Sep Email management – A checklist to help select the right email management partner for you
You’ve recognised your email data needs greater controls to improve operational efficiency, reduce risk and improve your client’s experience and maybe up to 70% of critical business data is stored in emails. One of the first questions is, which email management solution should I choose? The answer to this question will depend on your own your business requirements and current IT systems. Here are some of the key considerations and questions you should ask of any potential email management supplier when selecting the email management solution that is right for you and your business.
How much intelligent automation will I get? – Without intelligent automation there will be a dependence on the filing discipline of the users using the system, which significantly increases the risk that not all business emails will be captured. The greater the level of automation the greater confidence a business can have that all business emails will be captured, up to 80% automation is a reasonable level of automation.
What happens to the other 20% that are not automatically filed? The users will be prompted with suggestions where to file. This will make it easier for the user and increase business confidence that all emails are being captured.
How easy is it to integrate with other systems? – Integration should be easy with your main business line systems, reducing the upheaval (and therefore reducing the risk) in switching/adding a new IT system. As a minimum, integration will be required between your document store and your email management system.
Is mandatory filing available? – Mandatory filing is a way to guarantee all business emails will be captured. Mandatory can come in the form of soft or hard mandatory filing. Soft mandatory filing is where the user can still delete non-business emails without filing, whereas hard mandatory filing will ensure all emails are captured, although non-business emails could be captured in a private, or garbage area. Mandatory filing allows the business to balance the required controls with the needs of the user to remove the burden of email filing.
How intuitive / easy to use is it for the user? – This includes how the system can be accessed from their current email window, browser, mobile, etc. Ideally access is from any location the user works from at any time. Does the system extend the current user capability or does it disrupt it? How quick and easy is it to learn the new system?
Does it support your existing operational processes – Ideally the new system will automate existing operational processes and not change them. As an example, can the new system recognise adding new clients, projects, suppliers etc automatically or does it increase the administration burden on the organisation?
How good is the filtering and search capability? – It should be quick and easy to find the information the user is looking for.
Can it be used on mobile? – Does the system provide the same capability on iOS or Android mobiles?
Can it be used with a 365 browser?
Auto-deletion? – Is there a way of keeping user inboxes tidy automatically?
Migration tools? – This is important for ‘day one’ usage of the system. Can historic emails be migrated from all sources (Email, Document Management systems, File Servers, etc.) quickly and easily while removing any duplicate copies of emails.
I hope the questions above will give you a good start although there will be many other questions you will want to ask, both about the functionality, integration with your specific business line systems and your non-functional requirements which will be specific to your organisation.
There are many challenges in providing a full email management solution to a company or business. There are the competing needs of the different stakeholders from Legal, IT and the business; It is generally critical to any business to maintain a complete record of email communications while balancing the increased costs and risks associated with keeping all information and then there is the challenge of making it as easy as possible for business users to file, search and find information. As part of an organisations information governance and content management efforts, accounting for email is key. Selecting the right email management system, automation and exit strategy can achieve this.
Here at Knowledgemill, we have the expertise, experience and software capability to answer your queries and give you the confidence to take the next step. For an informal chat and see how we can help with email management for your organisation. Visit www.knowledgemill.com or contact us at [email protected]
We would be happy to demonstrate our system Knowledgemill Mail Manager which automates the complex process of filing and simplifies searching for emails, attachments and documents across your entire organisation by securely storing all data into one central database. Relax in the knowledge that you will never lose an email or document again, saving valuable time with instant access to all important and relevant data at the click of a button anywhere and at any time.
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