Why Email Fails

Overview Email has become the most pervasive form of business communication, impacting every aspect of every organization: communications between management, employees, prospects, customers, vendors, suppliers, partners, investors, and analysts. According to Osterman Research, email traffic between 2008 and 2012 is projected to grow by 68%.

Despite large enterprise investments in replication, mirroring, and tape backup systems, email systems continue to fail. While it is widely known that natural and man-made disasters can lead to email outages, new data shows that email systems are more frequently brought down by technological failures and human error. Dell, a provider of email continuity, archiving and crisis communication services, conducted this research to understand the frequency and causes of email outages in North American corporations using Microsoft® Exchange Server. This research shows that enterprise email systems are prone to a variety of potential breakdowns including configuration errors, loss of network access, database corruption, SAN (Storage Area Network) failures, and viruses. Data from the survey shows that in any given 12-month time period, there is a 72% likelihood of an unplanned email outage and a 24% likelihood of a planned email outage for any given company.
This research report analyzes the leading causes of failure with enterprise email systems and provides preventative guidance to lower the probability of unplanned email outages.