MessageGate IDs Email Governance Driver

BELLEVUE, Wash. -- MessageGate, Inc., a leader in practical email governance, has pinpointed the leading issues driving enterprise email governance and those primary corporate functions responsible for setting policies and procedures around email.

Preparation for future litigation was named as the leading factor behind email governance adoption, receiving 29 percent of the approximately 250 survey responses. Adhering to regulations (21 percent), risk mitigation (20 percent) and gaining a better understanding of email usage (17 percent) complete the top four responses.

“Businesses are finding it increasingly difficult and expensive to manage emails as legal business documents, especially as email continues to be the top form of electronic evidence requested during litigation,” said Robert Pease, vice president of marketing for MessageGate. “Practical email governance eases message recovery to reduce skyrocketing e-discovery costs.”

Litigation preparedness forces legal counsel and IT departments into cohesive, and sometimes new, relationships. The survey singled out legal departments and general counsel as the leading responsibility holders for setting email governance policies and procedures (28 percent), followed by IT departments at 22 percent. Not surprisingly, 20 percent of responses indicated that more than one corporate department holds responsibility for email governance and 28 percent split the responsibility between three or more departments.

“The updated FRCP mandates and other e-discovery regulations necessitate seamless communication between legal and IT to implement and enforce email governance,” said Terry Walker, director of consulting for ONSITE3, a global provider of litigation support services. “The relationship is complex by nature, which creates confusion for both parties and blurs the lines for bottom-line responsibilities.”

MessageGate Inc.