CommVault Systems is the latest storage software firm to offer an email backup and archiving solution.

With the growing number of laws and regulations requiring that email be archived and accessible, storage software firms see opportunity.

"IT is just getting their arms around this issue," says John Webster, founder of Data Mobility Group. "The federal government wants all public companies to archive any transaction related to financial statements, including email. They have to provide them, often within 48 hours. If you need to comply, you have to look at tools like DataArchiver."

CommVault's DataArchiver software builds on the company's QiNetix data protection solution by providing surveillance, discovery, and long-term access to Microsoft Exchange email. Features include cross-mailbox full content search, advanced sampling technology, and the ability to capture and monitor all inbound and outbound email.

CommVault plans to support other platforms and business applications in future releases.

At about $50 per monitored mailbox, CommVault says DataArchiver is comparably priced to KVS and IXOS, and "significantly cheaper" than Legato's Email Xaminer in a fully deployed configuration as a standalone product. Including backup with DataArchiver costs about half the price of competing standalone products, according to the company.

Steve Kenniston, technology analyst at Enterprise Storage Group, believes CommVault has a number of advantages, including price.

"While they do have an advantage on price, they are also at what I would consider a very unique place in their business," says Kenniston. "They have the right mix of customers, engineers, and support folks to help them build a better mousetrap, so to speak. They have put key policy features into their technology that help move the burden of data protection management from IT into the software.

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"And they do a great job of keeping their code very robust," Kenniston continues. "By that, I mean they do a great job at fixing any issues such as bugs and features deficiencies to make their software better, and it is a commitment from the executive team on down."

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