Banks 'clueless' on email costs

Over three quarters of IT managers at global financial institutions admit to having no idea how much their email systems are costing.

A newly published Mori survey of 112 financial institutions in Europe and the US found that most firms expect to spend more protecting their email communications over the next three years, even though they are currently unaware of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of existing systems.

The biggest single driver forcing upgrades, indicated by 65 per cent of respondents, is compliance with new legislation.

"Limited understanding of TCO in current messaging environments suggests that organisations should look more closely at their current, complex, messaging set-ups," said David Axford, senior research executive at Mori.

The poll found that the British are particularly careful when it comes to email storage. Over three quarters of those questioned saw archiving as a major issue, but this rose to nine out of 10 for UK respondents.

"Electronic messaging channels are now considered viable media for taking orders, sending approvals and contracts, and discussing sensitive financial issues," said Chris Hughes, marketing director at BT Consulting & Systems Integration, which sponsored the survey.

"It's amazing that most firms cannot tell you how much their messaging infrastructure costs, yet continue to throw money at the problem with no difficulty at all."

Despite the lack of cost control, 60 per cent of financial institutions want to increase the amount of email interaction with clients. But nearly three quarters fear that it is too insecure.