Archiving is a critically important technology helping organizations to mitigate risk during legal actions, regulatory audits and other instances in which a record of business communications via e-mail or instant messaging is required. However, an archiving system generally cannot demonstrate that the recipient of an e-mail sent outside the company actually received the message.

RPost has developed technology that basically functions like registered postal mail, but with additional capabilities. Using RPost, a sender can verify that an e-mail was sent, provide proof of the content that was sent and prove when a document was received. These capabilities are far better than conventional tools that request a receipt from the recipient, since a recipient can opt not to provide this receipt when requested to do so. Further, because RPost’s system can provide proof of the actual content that was delivered and its time of delivery, senders are protected against potential changes to received e-mails. This capability was made all the more important by a May 2007 ruling in the case of Lorraine vs. Markel that, among other things, underscored the importance of authenticating information presented to the court.

RPost’s customers include a variety of law firms, professional services organizations, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the World Intellectual Property Organization and others. Use of the technology among people who are enabled to use it varies widely, with heavy users employing it between 50 and 80 times per month. Sending an e-mail using RPost’s technology varies from 79 cents per e-mail for small users down to 39 cents per e-mail for enterprise-level customers.