Overview & Purpose

As with all other types of information it is important that any emails worthy of long term or even permanent retention are identified and managed in such a way as to enable continued access to them in the years to come. Conversely it is equally important once the decision has been taken to delete an email that all instances of it have been completely and unequivocally removed. This last phase of the lifecycle focuses on these two possible final outcomes.

The contents of this section build on and augment the information provided in the Information Lifecycle - Final outcome strand and should be considered in this light. What this section attempts to do is build on the general good practice guidance on information management covered previously and look specifically at the additional requirements for managing emails.

As such it will be of use to those tasked with managing and maintaining email services within the institution and those with an interest in the management of information and records.

The topics covered within this section include: