How does Email Archiving differ from Email Backup?

Email backup creates a point-in-time copy of emails and is primarily designed for data recovery in the event of accidental deletion, corruption, or infrastructure failure. These backups are usually temporary, often overwritten by newer versions, and focus on restoring lost data to an operational state rather than retaining it for long-term reference.

In contrast, email archiving is a systematic, long-term storage solution that automatically captures and preserves a complete, tamper-proof record of all sent and received emails. Archives are stored in a secure, centralized repository, enabling easy, granular search, retrieval, and review for historical, legal, or compliance purposes. With indexing, deduplication, and metadata tagging, archives are optimized for efficient e-discovery and regulatory audits, helping organizations meet legal obligations, ensure data accessibility, and support ongoing information governance.

While email backups protect against immediate data loss, email archiving provides a structured, enduring solution for preserving corporate memory, supporting compliance, and enabling rapid data retrieval across years of communication. Both are complementary, but archives offer a broader, more strategic approach to data management.