e-Discovery helps Chester Zoo’s data compliance efforts

Buckinghamshire, UK, 11 May 2007 - Waterford Technologies, the leading provider of intelligent email management solutions, today announced that Chester Zoo, a conservation charity and leisure attraction which is home to 7,000 animals, has implemented its MailMeter to reduce storage costs and back-up time. The implementation has reduced the zoo’s email storage by 30 percent and MailMeter’s eDiscovery functionality has helped with the search and retrieval of emails to comply with data legislation such as the Freedom of Information Act.

As an important research facility in the UK, Chester Zoo carries out over 200 research projects each year. Email is the primary means of exchanging research information with external parties and as a result, Chester Zoo required emails to be stored for up to ten years. This costly process was compounded by a continued increase in email volumes, which made the management of the email server’s overnight back-ups more difficult.

Chester Zoo required an email archiving solution that could not only resolve its storage issues and costs but also help it meet data retention legislation including the Freedom of Information Act. Organisations like Chester Zoo must be able to find, retrieve and produce emails within a set timeframe in the event of a request from regulatory or government bodies. The optimum approach for Chester Zoo to meet both its storage and retrieval requirements was to have eDiscovery (electronic discovery) as part of an intelligent email archiving solution.

Following an extensive vendor assessment, Chester Zoo selected Waterford Technologies’ MailMeter. The intelligent email archiving solution’s ‘stubbing’ process (where emails are stored separately from the email archive) has reduced Chester Zoo’s email storage by over 30 percent. Its eDiscovery functionality means that retrieval of specific data is faster and that the zoo no longer relies on IT intervention and the associated costs.

Philip Morris, IT manager at Chester Zoo, said: “Research is an important element of Chester Zoo’s business and reputation so it is critical that our operations are as efficient as possible. With MailMeter, we’ve got our email storage issues and costs more under control so our researchers can concentrate on undertaking their projects rather than calling the IT department for support. For the IT department, MailMeter has not only eased our email storage management headache but also helped us to be more strategic with our compliance efforts.”

Malcolm Etchells, general manger, Europe, Waterford Technologies said: “The results that Chester Zoo has experienced from MailMeter both for storing and retrieving emails are testament to how flexible and robust the solution is. We’ve seen MailMeter empower Chester Zoo’s researchers to retrieve mission critical emails sent up to ten years ago with the same ease as looking for an email in an inbox. We’re proud that MailMeter has put control of emails back into the hands of the user so that email is no longer a hindrance to Chester Zoo’s researchers but an enabler for their research - as it should be.”

About Waterford Technologies UK
Waterford Technologies is the leading provider of Intelligent Email Archive and Management solutions that allow organisations to visualise email usage, analyse data patterns, and to take appropriate action to improve and enforce policies for immediate results. With over 600 customers globally, Waterford Technologies provides a full range of email management and reporting products for archiving, compliance, legal discovery and storage management. For more information, visit www.mailmeter.com or call Waterford Technologies at 01628 858009.

Waterford Technologies, MailMeter Archive and MailMeter are trademarks of Waterford Technologies, Inc. All other company names and product names are trademarks of their respective organisations.

About Chester Zoo
Chester Zoo covers an area of over 1110 acres. The Zoo was founded in the early 1930s by George Mottershead. The Zoo is internationally known for its innovative enclosure designs, which in the early years were achieved in an austere economic climate, for its many breeding successes and its involvement in co-operative breeding programmes. In 2006 visitor attendance was approximately 1,068000 the Zoo continues to play important roles in developing conservation outreach, research, education and marketing strategies.

The North of England Zoological Society operates Chester Zoo. Registered Charity No. 306077. A
company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No.287902. VAT No.595 7286 79