What to Do with PST Files

In last week’s blog, we learned that Netmail PST Radar allows you to scan all the workstations in your network to locate PST files. The great thing about Netmail PST Radar is that you can scan the workstations from a central location (for instance, the System Administrator’s workstation), and the scan can even be performed while Outlook is running. Netmail PST Radar’s Scan and Detect job lets you know how many PST files exist on your network and where they are located. This is the first step in combating the problem of PST files (the problem: they are not centralized).

You might be wondering, “After locating my PST files, what should I do with them?” There are a few key actions that can be performed on PST files to improve the efficiency of your network and to ensure that your email system is compliant with regulations and internal audits.

1 – Centralize your PST files.

We already determined that the major problem with PST files is that they are not centralized. After locating your PST files, it would be a great idea to centralize them. For instance, you could move the files to a lower-cost server, meanwhile maintaining the path for the Outlook user (to avoid end-user confusion / upset).

(Note: Netmail PST Radar allows you to do this through the Move and Update job.)

2 - Archive your PST files.

By archiving your PST files, you know that the important information contained in them is saved and accessible to you if you need it. You might need this information because someone outside the organization has requested it (for instance, due to an Open Records request or a lawsuit eDiscovery request), or an internal need for the information might arise (for instance, HR might demand the information or it might be needed to defend against a lawsuit).

The other advantage of archiving your PST files is that after the files are archived, you can move them off your desktops and live email server, thereby freeing up storage space and saving you money.

3 – Monitor your PST files.

If you choose to archive your PST files, you can subsequently delete the existing PST files and disallow users from creating new PST files. This stops future PST problems before they start. However, your organization might want to continue allowing end users to create PST files, in which case, you will want to monitor the PST files. The most important thing to monitor is the size of the PST files --- we don’t want the size of the PST files to become a mystery again!

4 – Backup / Restore your PST files.

If you choose to allow PST files to be created on your network, you should institute safeguards for ensuring that your PST data does not get lost. For instance, if an end user’s laptop gets stolen, you want to be sure that the PST files have already been backed up to a central location so that they can be restored to the end user’s workstation.

Using a PST management solution that allows “incremental backup” will save you a lot of time. Incremental backup means that the entire body of PST files is backed up once, but in subsequent backups, you can choose to have only new / modified PSTs backed up. This feature essentially saves you from doing work twice.

5 – Compress your PST files.

To improve storage efficiency, it can be useful to compress your PST files. This procedure will save storage space and therefore save money.

Netmail PST Radar allows you to easily perform all of these actions (and more!) on your PST files. Click here to learn more about Netmail PST Radar.

Thanks for tuning into our blog series on the PST Problem. As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.

– Jane Bolton Lacombe
Jane is the Product Marketing Coordinator at Messaging Architects.