Policy management is becoming more important

Unified Communications This newsletter is sponsored by DataDirect Networks Enterprise Grade "No-Compromise" Backup/Recovery, DataDirect Networks VTLS Solution DataDirect Networks (DDN) offers the VTLS solution to meet the challenges of ever-stringent requirements for services levels and response times. VTLS leverages the proven DDN S2A storage controller architecture to deliver high performance and availability while emulating leading tape solutions. DataDirect's VTLS is a simple-to-deploy and ease-to-use disk-based backup and restore solution. Network World's Unified Communications Newsletter, 07/24/07 Policy management is becoming more important By Michael Osterman We have just published a new report on messaging policy management. The study found that while policy considerations are a serious issue for many decision makers, they are less important than issues like storage management given that storage growth, on average, is growing at about 35% per year. The study also found that while there is virtually no difference between smaller and larger organizations in the context of the seriousness of managing messaging storage, there are significant differences in other areas. For example, larger organizations find that making sure that employees comply with corporate, legal and other policies is a much tougher problem to solve than do smaller organizations (58% report this as a tough or very tough problem to solve vs. 46%). Larger organizations also find that maintaining high availability for their mobile messaging infrastructure is a tougher problem for them to solve (42% vs. 25%). Interestingly, smaller organizations find it more difficult to make sure that corporate data is not lost because employees lose laptops and other mobile devices (46% vs. 57%). While policy management is not as serious a concern to organizations as other problems today, I believe that it will become a critical issue over the next couple of years, particularly as unified communication systems become more widely deployed and as e-discovery requirements gain a higher profile within most organizations. Because messaging systems represent an enormous threat vector for organizations on a number of levels, establishing corporate policies around security, encryption, appropriate use of messaging, e-discovery issues and other areas will simply become a necessity. Optimize Your WAN: Network World Shows You How In this Executive Guide learn how optimization can supercharge your WAN. Click Here Our study found that only 32% of organizations today have a detailed and thorough e-mail policy, while only 12% of organizations have a detailed and thorough IM policy. Clearly, there is a long way to go.   What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

TODAY'S MOST-READ STORIES: 1. Cisco: its gear caused Duke's iPhone flooding 2. 11 corporate anthems to die for 3. HP to acquire Opsware in $1.6B deal 4. 12 IT skills that employers can't say no to 5. Hogwarts IT director quits 6. Microsoft 'silently' restores root certificates 7. Cisco facing up to challenges 8. Duke CIO releases statement on disruptions 9. Security team claims successful iPhone hack 10. Readers speculate on Duke's iPhone problem MOST E-MAILED STORY: Hogwarts IT director quits

Contact the author: For webinars or research on messaging, or to join the Osterman Research market research survey panel, go here. Osterman Research helps organizations understand the markets for messaging and directory related offerings. To e-mail Michael, click here. This newsletter is sponsored by DataDirect Networks Enterprise Grade "No-Compromise" Backup/Recovery, DataDirect Networks VTLS Solution DataDirect Networks (DDN) offers the VTLS solution to meet the challenges of ever-stringent requirements for services levels and response times. VTLS leverages the proven DDN S2A storage controller architecture to deliver high performance and availability while emulating leading tape solutions. DataDirect's VTLS is a simple-to-deploy and ease-to-use disk-based backup and restore solution. ARCHIVE Archive of the Unified Communications Newsletter. BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007