It is easy to come up with many different methods to store e-mail for future use ranging from filed printouts to actual e-mail archiving systems. Some of these methods have less usefulness and reliability than others. Therefore it is important to plan ahead carefully when considering how to archive e-mail. After all, the store material needs to be usable after years, even decades.

Planning should begin with a needs analysis to find out what the real needs for storing e-mail for longer term are that must be solved by an archiving solution. Teamware Mail archiving needs analysis is a service that has been specifically designed for this purpose by experts in system design and behavioural sciences.

Mail archiving needs analysis studies thoroughly the long-term mail storing needs at the organizational, workgroup and administrative levels. The observed needs are used to produce a requirements specification for an archiving solution and recommendations for best practices.

Performing the Needs Analysis

The data on which the needs analysis is based is gathered in two parts. A Teamware expert leads a workshop to gather data about mail archiving needs from representatives of the different organisational or professional end user groups of the customer. The workshop follows a method specifically designed for this service.

The second part includes an interview of representatives from the IT department. The interview focuses on administration and technical requirements.

Observations from both the end user workshop and administration interview are stored in notes and used as basis for a report that the Teamware expert produces. In addition to a written report results can be presented verbally to the customer in a face-to-face meeting or a teleconference.

Exhaustive Report

The needs analysis produces a written report which contains the following parts:

• Current state description
• Risk analysis of the current practices
• Description of the observed mail archiving needs
• Priorities of importance and urgency of the needs
• Recommendations for next steps.

The recommendations include proposals for new practices to minise risks and improve efficiency.

The report also includes a requirements specification for a mail archiving solution that the customer can use as a basis for decision making, for example when acquiring a mail archiving system.

Customer Benefits

As a result of the needs analysis and assisted by an expert the customer forms a comprehensive understanding of the current practices, their limitations and risks and the needs that should be addressed by new practices or tools in order to guarantee a more efficient and less risk prone operation.

Needs are analysed systematically from different perspectives. Different user groups and their specific needs are identified; reasons and the different conditions for storing messages are described.

The customer receives a thorough report that they can use to develop the use of existing systems, to define internal guidelines for handling and archiving e-mail messages, to acquire new systems (e.g. as basis for invitation to tender) or even to perform organisational development programs.

The needs data are gathered directly from representative of the employees; no filtering can bias the results. In addition, employees have an opportunity to participate in planning the practices and tools they will use in their work.

For management the needs analysis report is an important aid when they make decisions about future performance targets, risk minimization and systems acquisition.

In addition to the here detailed needs analysis Teamware Group offers the following mail archiving services:

• Systems planning
• Implementation and installation
• Archiving old messages from mail servers to the archive system
• Training, support and maintenance