So why archive data at all? Wouldn’t it just be simpler to delete every e-mail message and file after a specified period of time? Wouldn’t that save a lot of time and money?  Or would it make more sense to just make a backup of all things?  There would be significantly less storage expense with this method, but it has never been successful. Practically speaking, there is no guarantee that an e-mail message has been deleted; another copy of every message exists on the receiving end, and messages can easily be copied, forwarded, or saved in a variety of locations. As long as deletion cannot be guaranteed, a policy of universal deletion could open the company to prosecution for ineffective enforcement. Read more