Posted On: October 15, 2004, 10:25 am CDT

Posted By: Jim Gildea

As someone in the email management solutions field, I have some strong opinions on this case. Here they are:

**This is an excellent example of why companies need an email archiving solution that is based on well defined policies

**With a solution in place, senior management will know when these types of violations are taking place very early and can move to protect the company, shareholders, etc.

**If a solution(s) was in place at Marsh & McLennan, then managers were either not paying attention to the warning signs or in a worse case scenario, chose to ignore the data

**Having a solution in place also allows the companies who are earnestly trying to remain compliant and above board to respond to Spitzer-like inquiries and in the end will be treated better if penalties are levied

Email is here to stay, and in many cases it's considered a legally bound document. It's important to manage this right from the beginning in order to protect your organization and your customers and shareholders.