Introduction
Enterprises must capture email and collaboration data for compliance, e-discovery, and governance purposes. Two dominant approaches are journaling and API-based capture. Each method offers distinct strengths and trade-offs in terms of coverage, scalability, and flexibility. This blog compares journaling versus API capture to help organizations choose the right approach for their archiving needs.
What is Journaling?
Journaling is a traditional method that records a copy of every email sent or received by an organization.
Key Features:
- Captures all inbound, outbound, and internal email messages.
- Provides a reliable chain of custody for compliance.
- Typically operates at the transport or mail server level (e.g., Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace).
Advantages:
- Comprehensive Coverage: Captures all emails, regardless of client or device.
- Compliance Assurance: Long recognized by regulators as defensible.
- Tamper-Proof: Ensures messages are preserved before they reach user mailboxes.
Limitations:
- Email-Only: Does not extend easily to collaboration platforms (chat, Teams, Slack).
- Storage Overhead: Generates large volumes of journaled messages.
- Limited Metadata: Often lacks contextual metadata from modern SaaS apps.
What is API Capture?
API capture leverages platform-provided APIs (e.g., Microsoft Graph, Google APIs, Slack APIs) to collect emails, chats, and collaboration data.
Key Features:
- Uses official APIs to extract messages, files, and metadata.
- Supports a wide range of collaboration tools beyond email.
- Allows granular and contextual capture (including reactions, edits, attachments).
Advantages:
- Broader Coverage: Captures modern communication platforms alongside email.
- Rich Metadata: Provides context like participants, threads, and timestamps.
- Flexibility: Can be customized for specific workflows or compliance needs.
Limitations:
- API Limits: Dependent on vendor API availability, throttling, and changes.
- Complexity: Requires integration, monitoring, and updates.
- Inconsistent Coverage: Some platforms may restrict or delay API data access.
Key Considerations for Choosing
- Compliance Requirements: For strict email compliance (e.g., SEC 17a-4, FINRA), journaling is often preferred. For collaboration-heavy environments, API capture is essential.
- Data Types: Journaling covers email reliably; API capture extends to chat, files, and SaaS apps.
- Scalability: Journaling scales well for email, while APIs scale across multiple collaboration platforms.
- Metadata Needs: API capture provides richer contextual data.
- Operational Overhead: Journaling is simpler to manage; APIs require ongoing monitoring and integration.
Best Practices
- Hybrid Approach: Use journaling for email and APIs for collaboration tools.
- Validate Coverage: Regularly audit what is being captured to avoid gaps.
- Monitor Vendor APIs: Stay ahead of API changes or deprecations.
- Align with Retention Policies: Ensure captured data integrates with retention and disposition workflows.
- Test eDiscovery Outputs: Validate that captured data supports search, legal holds, and export needs.
Conclusion
Both journaling and API capture play essential roles in enterprise archiving. Journaling provides time-tested reliability for email compliance, while API capture offers flexibility and broader coverage for modern collaboration platforms. Most organizations benefit from a hybrid strategy that combines both methods to ensure compliance, resilience, and comprehensive governance.