Commerce OIG seeks compliance tool for email

WHAT: The Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Commerce is looking for a records management function for email.

WHY: Federal agencies are facing deadlines for managing email that qualifies as federal records in electronic format. By the end of 2016, the government will require email records to be stored electronically. Mindful of this requirement, the OIG at the Department of Commerce is looking for a compliance solution. Commerce OIG currently runs Outlook on an Exchange platform with a Blackberry mobile version, but it is planning a move to a FedRAMP approved cloud email by the end of September. The OIG wants a records management product that works with its cloud product, and is either cloud-hosted or stored locally at OIG. The office is looking for information on a system that can automate some aspects of records management, including capturing records on a schedule, grouping related email chains, retaining attachments, and holding content that is potentially needed in litigation.

The Commerce OIG email needs aren't particularly large -- just 350 seats. But its recent request for information is interesting because it speaks to a need that agencies across government are going to be at pains to meet in the next few years. Inspectors general are perhaps under a special obligation to comply because they are often on the front lines of looking into records management problems at agencies, and their work is dependent on access to agency records, including employee emails.

Click here to read the RFI.