How commonly is email used for long-lived records?  I'm talking about email messages, not the attachments.

Answering this question is important because we cannot expect email native file formats to remain viable for as long as some records need to be retained.  Long-lived records in email native formats will need special attention.

But how big a problem is this?  The nature of the special attention may vary depending on the volume/frequency of emails containing persistent records.  How common is it for people to use email messages to transmit record-level information needing lengthy retention?

At MER, I heard Mark Diamond present his survey of Countoural clients.  They reported that fewer than half a percent of their emails required "Permanent" retention.  The next-longest category was ten-year retention, covering 4 percent of emails.

Are there other similar studies available?  Perhaps something more randomized or from a more general population?  Who has done the research?

If the practice is common, we need a systematic way to deal with it.  If long-term retention of email messages is extremely rare, we may be able to address the need individually.

What do you know? What do you do? What can you share?

Thanks in advance for your thoughtful response!

Gordy
Gordon E.J. Hoke, CRM
Waukegan, IL USA
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Gordon E.J. Hoke, CRM

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