Anti-Spam Technologies Prove Their ValueAnti-Spam Technologies Prove Their Value

While the amount of spam attempting to penetrate E-mail in-boxes is on the rise, companies investing in technologies to block it are seeing a solid return on their investments, according to a study by research firm IDC.

The study, based on a survey of 1,030 IT executives, found that spam comprised an estimated 32% of E-mail messages sent last year, double the amount in 2001. But for a typical company with 5,000 E-mail users, anti-spam systems appear to be a good investment, allowing it to realize cost savings of about $783,000 and reduce by half the time employees spend on E-mail.

Seventy percent of companies in the survey have some type of anti-spam technology in place, says Mark Levitt, IDC's research VP for collaborative computing. About 7% have no plans to implement spam blocking.

The study also indicates that IT executives are pessimistic about the government's ability to deal with spam. Three-quarters of those surveyed believe spam will get worse over the next two years.

If financial and productivity figures aren't compelling, businesses should consider the legal risk of doing nothing. Bart Lazar, a partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, says laws already require companies to make an adequate effort to secure customer data. Companies could be held liable if spam causes a security breach.