MessageLabs launches e-mail archival service

MessageLabs has launched its first e-mail archival product that company officials say will allow for fast access to messages that must be stored for regulatory and legal reasons.

MessageLabs Archiving Service encrypts the e-mail it stores, retrieves, and sends over a network, said David Hahn, senior product manager. E-mail can be searched using a Web-based interface or Microsoft's Outlook program, he said.

Messages can be searched in several ways, including by content, attachments, and date ranges. The archiving service is compatible with Microsoft's Active Directory service, which allows for managing identities and customizing different levels of access for users across a network, Hahn said.

The need for the service comes as companies want more central control over their e-mail, Hahn said. "We clearly see this as part of a much broader business messaging strategy given the amount of intellectual property stored in archival e-mail systems," he said.

Increasingly, governments are setting tighter rules regarding the access and storage of electronic data, including e-mail. Hahn said companies can implement their own policies for e-mail storage using the Archiving Service.

For example, an organization may choose to store all corporate correspondence for three years while only keeping product management e-mail messages for one year, Hahn said.

The move to offer an archived e-mail service was a natural progression for MessageLabs, which specializes in antivirus and antispam services, said Brian Czarny, vice president for product management. In November 2005, MessageLabs bought Omnipod, a company specializing in hosted secure IM (instant message) services, bolstering its suite of managed e-mail and Web services.

A handful of organizations in the United States and the U.K. have been using a beta version of the product, Czarny said. The service will cost between £6 to £12 ($11 to $22) per user per month, Hahn said. An e-mail storage quota is set depending on the pricing plan, Hahn said.