Recent innovations by Box combined with new features offered by Box’s 2016 Elite Partner of the Year mxHero create a novel solution for intelligent and selective email retention without the need for end user training or adoption
One of the exciting things about working at the intersection of technologies is the unexpected solutions that result from the mix. At mxHero, we integrate leading cloud storage technologies with email. The combination has proven amazingly fertile, with new solutions for email security, governance and management materializing at a thrilling pace. Now once again, the intersection of these two technologies and the clever engineering of mxHero’s development team has yielded another potentially game changing solution — and once again we were taken completely by surprise!
In summary, the new solution allows organizations to precisely apply the type of retention policy they need to the email communication that requires it. For example, a financial services firm can ensure that all broker communication with clients are automatically retained in “an easily accessible place” for the requisite 6 years as required by SEC Rule 17a-4, while avoiding retention of messages that don’t necessarily require retention, such as internal communications. Similarly, a health-care provider can ensure that all communications involving personal health information (PHI) are retained for the period required by HIPAA, which will vary, for example, if the patient is a child or an adult.
The dynamic retention of email communication is possible as a result of combining two recent innovations by mxHero and its partner Box. Box recently announced the ability to determine retention policies for content based on metadata. An insurance policy file with metadata “policy_type=auto” can automatically have a retention policy attached. MxHero has the ability to dynamically assign metadata to email content it saves to Box based on key words and sender/recipient. Combining the two capabilities, an insurance company now has the ability to save to Box all email messages and attachments analyzed by mxHero that match auto policies using key words, file names, policy numbers, etc. The entire process is automatic and intelligent, not requiring any action on the part of the broker or client. No need to depend on brokers remembering to use a special communication portal or upload and manually set the appropriate retention policy. The broker need simply use email, from any device, without change.
The automatic and selective application of retention policies to content also avoids the common problem of over-retention. Not all content requires retention, but without the ability to distinguish one-piece communication from another, many organizations are forced to retain everything. This “use a hammer” approach is costly in terms of consuming excessive storage and increases the challenge of information recovery.
As is often the case, the most significant innovations come at the intersections of technologies. Creatively combining solutions can often release unexpected synergies. MxHero continues to find compelling capabilities at the border where email and leading cloud storage meet.