Email is changing.  Consumer usage patterns have already shifted  significantly, with rich media emails and large attachments becoming more prevalent and  messaging tools such as IM, SMS, and Social Networks like Facebook an increasingly common form of communication.  Email abuse patterns are also going through a transformation.  Spammers and phishers are no longer relying solely on volume with hopes that some of their illicit email with slip past the filters.  Instead, they’re employing more technically savvy and targeted strategies.

It’s no secret that technology has created an “instant correspondence” business culture, and this culture is in the direct path of the rapidly growing compliance- and e-Discovery-driven movements within business organizations.  This is especially true within the regulation-heavy industries of banking, healthcare, pharma, and government.  Highly regulated business sectors transfer thousands of highly confidential messages and data to their servers every minute, and although real time communication allows for better and faster business decisions--as system integrators and VARs servicing these markets know--there are always compliance concerns and regulations to be considered.