DIS offers efficient e-mail storage solution

DIS offers efficient e-mail storage solution

Government agencies face strict requirements for records retention. Not only must records be properly preserved, but agencies must be able to quickly retrieve records for public disclosure requests and legal discovery requirements.

To help state agencies meet these requirements, the Washington State Department of Information Services (DIS) provides a new service called the Washington State Electronic Records Vault (WaSERV). The service is available to state agencies on the State Governmental Network (SGN) and the Enterprise Active Directory.

Currently, the electronic records vault accommodates e-mail records, but it will eventually encompass storage for other electronic records.

The vault is designed to overcome difficulties that can arise when individual employees are responsible for managing their own e-mail archives -- the search for specific e-mails during public disclosure requests can be more complicated, for instance.

E-mail archiving by individual employees was once standard, but new federal rules require governments to manage e-mail in bulk so that specific e-mails can be traced immediately.

The electronic records vault is aligned with the Secretary of State's Digital Archiving Project and enables agencies to respond faster to public information requests, lower the risk of missing documents, and standardize records retention practices.