PUBLICATION: NETWORK TIMES ONLINE

DATE: 15 NOVEMBER 2007

Local e-mail archiving solution turns heads overseas

November 2007

Preserv8, a hosted Web 2.0 electronic mail archiving and backup solution developed by Integr8 IS, an associate of the Integr8 IT Group, has captured the interest of commercial enterprises in global markets.

The solution is a managed software as a service (SaaS) offering and is designed to address challenges faced by companies in having to comply with legislation governing electronic mail management. These laws include the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECT Act), the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communications-Related Information Act (Interception Act) as well as the King II Report.

Developers of the solution say it has gone a long way to strengthen South Africa's profile as far as the manufacture and supply of next generation business software is concerned.

"We have been approached by companies in Europe and in the United States that are eager for us to formally present the Preserv8 solution," confirms Deon Robertson, CEO at Integr8 IS, the specialised information solutions and development business entity, associated with the Integr8 Group. Robertson acknowledges that these global markets have an advantage over local counterparts in that they have reached a higher level of maturity in terms of records compliance.

"This is really what makes the recognition even sweeter. The release of this solution has occurred at a time when global players are beginning to import locally developed technology and infrastructure," he adds. "It has also entered the domestic market during a key phase of local compliance development and focus for businesses. Another advantage of the product is that it is geared for the current market trend towards outsourcing to a managed services provider to alleviate pressure in terms of lead-time and skills, on- and cost of management resources."

As its name implies Preserv8 preserves and stores all e-mails for the client in a tamper-proof encrypted format in a secure data vault. Each item contains a full-trace dataset of forensic information including proof of delivery to facilitate non-repudiation.

"One of the main benefits to the Preserv8 solution is the fact that it is a full managed service and therefore requires no capital outlay on the part of the customer," adds Robertson. "It is a complete time-lined archive of all e-mail communication. The user friendly web interface provides full business continuity, anywhere access for instant archive searching, mail retrieval and enterprise-wide communications management."

"Clients maintain complete operational control of their e-mail archive and no longer require enormous investments in hardware, storage, software, maintenance and internal skills. The solution provides clients with a trusted service that abstracts the complexity linked to traditional e-mail archiving systems," he continues.