As part of the suite of changes due to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) we will be making changes to both the way we store emails and how we use the common drive, more commonly known as the Z drive.
Storing Emails
Email is not a secure location to be storing important business information.
Currently, (unless we delete or file our emails) Lotus Notes stores them indefinitely. This can result in retaining many emails we do not need and using up storage space.
Initially we will be adopting a 5 year retention period for emails within the Lotus Notes archive, which will reduce to 3 years at some point in 2020. We’ll provide an update on specific timing with an appropriate amount of advance notice.
If you need to store the content within emails for longer than the retention period, you will need to save your emails into an appropriate storage location. For work instructions explaining how to do this please see How to Save Emails to PDF
From 1st August 2019 Lotus Notes will automatically delete emails older than the retention period.
Action Points
- Any emails you wish to keep and/or their attachments need to be saved into an appropriate storage location by 31st July 2019.
- From 31st July 2019 any emails dated prior to 31st July 2014 will be deleted (including emails in the folder structures within Lotus Notes.)
- 31st July 2019 is your last chance to save any emails you would like to keep that fall into the retention period. After this date they will be lost.
Z drive
The Z Drive is a common shared network drive that is intended for short term sharing only. Over the years the drive has accumulated a lot of data, some of which is no longer required. Due to GDPR, we are required to take action and change how the drive works.
Along with the departmental network drives that have been deployed, the new Z Drive, to be known as the Common Drive, will have a retention period applied. This will be stricter than the departmental areas with a generic 2 years being applied to all data stored within it.
The Common Drive will also follow the rules of protecting level 1 & 2 folders within the structure. This means you will be required to raise an IT service request to add, delete or amend any level 1 & 2 folders.
Each area of the business will be provided with a folder in which to share files and folders as required. These will replicate the names of your departmental drives that have been put in place.
When sharing documents across the new Common Drive, you should save them into your own business area and then provide the link to colleagues you will be sharing the documents with. The recipients should then draw them down from the Common Drive and continue work as required.
You will be provided with generic access into each folder. Any sensitive data should be protected accordingly, stored within the departmental network drives or shared via another method.
The new Common Drive will be made available for you to move data over to in the next few weeks so look out for instructions on how to map it correctly.
Action Points: What Do I need to do?
- Take action and delete out data that is no longer required within the Z Drive
- Plan how to move the files and folders you require over to the new location as the old Z drive will be deleted on 31st July 2019
Who can I contact for support?
If you have any queries about the new lotus notes email retention period or the Z drive please contact Matthew Hurricks at: Matthew.hurricks@carnivalukgroup.com.