Archive One Snapped Up by Government Agencies

1st November 2004

US State and Local Freedom of Information Laws Require E-mail Archiving.

As citizens take advantage of Freedom of Information-Privacy Act (FOIA) laws, many state and local governments are purchasing C2C’s Archive One, C2C’s email archiving solution for Microsoft Exchange. Pensacola County in Florida recently purchased 5,000 seats to stay in compliance.

There is a patchwork of regulations from the federal government version to state and local versions such as New York’s FOIL (Freedom of Information Laws) to Florida’s Sunshine Laws. Citizens can request information about an organization, business, investigation, historical event or incident; information about a third party; information about a deceased person; and information about themselves — and the government has to comply.

“Any citizen has the capability of petitioning government on any subject, and the government is required to produce the information, even emails,” says Dave Hunt, CEO of C2C. “It can get expensive and time consuming to search back up tapes from three years ago for data, so many nonfederal government-buying agencies, like Pensacola County, are purchasing email archiving products like Archive One.”

According to the Florida Attorney General’s office, Florida began its tradition of openness back in 1909 with the passage of what is now known as the “Public Records Law,” Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes. Over the years, the definition of what constitutes public records has come to include not just traditional written documents such as papers, maps and books, but also tapes, photographs, film, sound recordings and records stored in computers. In section 119.01, the Legislature states that “automation of public records must not erode the right of access to those records. As each agency increases its use of and dependence on electronic record keeping, each agency must ensure reasonable access to records electronically maintained.“

“Tools like Archive One are invaluable in allowing government agencies and other organizations to rapidly access archived information,” says Michael Osterman, president of Osterman Research, a market research firm in Black Diamond, WA. “These tools can dramatically reduce the amount of time spent accessing this information, making IT and non-IT staff alike more efficient and better able to satisfy consumer demands when satisfying statutory obligations.”

Legal & Privacy