Email Archiving has become a key issue for many corporate decision makers. A driving factor for this is that many industries are impacted by federal regulations which require that email communications are archived and preserved for a statutory period of time. E-mail archiving regulations primarily pertain to publicly traded companies, financial institutions, healthcare facilities, and government agencies.

Although compliance with federal regulations is usually a key motive behind e-mail retention, many companies choose to retain and archive emails solely for legal purposes. Due to the litigious environment in which many companies exist, old e-mail may be useful in lawsuits and can be subpoenaed in conjunction with criminal or civil charges. E-mail archives can work as a defense, but they can also become liabilities and increase a company's risk profile if they expose unnecessary information or contain evidence of illegalities.

While company management may not feel that the legal benefits from e-mail archiving can justify the associated costs, archiving has other, more immediate
practical benefits.