Archive and Retrieval in the AI Era: Why Legacy Solutions Fall Short

By Scott Draeger, SVP of Product and Vertical Solutions at Smart Communications 

The artificial intelligence revolution is fundamentally changing how organizations interact with their archived communications—and your legacy archive and retrieval systems simply weren't built for the challenges of today. 

The Legacy Problem: Built for a Different Era 

Traditional archive and retrieval technologies were built generations ago, with a spike for Sarbanes Oxley-driven retention requirements. Back then, storage was expensive, and retrieval requests during a seven-year retention period were rare.  

These systems met the legal needs of archiving single-channel communications for long periods of time. However, they were optimized around a simple assumption: Organizations would store vast amounts of data but rarely access it. These vendors’ pricing models and technical architectures assumed a low retrieval-to-storage ratio. The AI era is set to radically challenge those assumptions. SmartHUB™ is prepared to meet tomorrow’s challenges.   

The AI-Driven Shift: From Storage to Active Intelligence 

Today's AI-powered applications are transforming archived communications from static repositories into dynamic, intelligent resources that streamline operations and improve customer experiences. Three key use cases are driving unprecedented demand for retrieval capabilities: 

Customer Self-Service: AI-guided applications now help clients navigate their communication history independently, and SmartHUB surfaces the most relevant documents and interactions with easy integrations. What once required extensive cross-system integrations is now easily available via scalable cloud applications that support your intelligent search and recommendation systems. 

Context-Rich Employee Interactions: Customer-facing applications create AI-generated summaries of months of multichannel communications in real-time, enabling more informed, personalized interactions that access PDF, HTML, email, SMS, and other communication channels. SmartHUB's scalable retrieval quickly delivers relevant communications to reduce interaction times and increase customer satisfaction. 

AI Training and Optimization: Organizations are mining their communication archives to train AI systems, using historical customer experiences to improve future interactions and identify patterns that enhance service delivery. SmartHUB's scalable retrieval can quickly supply millions of documents for analysis.  

The Cost Reality Check

As the AI era unfolds, it's time to evaluate your legacy solutions against the new metrics that matter today and tomorrow: 

SmartHUB: Archive and Retrieval – Ready for AI 

SmartHUB addresses these challenges head-on with three core capabilities: 

Efficient Storage: Modern compression and indexing technologies that reduce storage costs while maintaining full searchability and compliance. 

Scalable Retrieval: High-performance architecture designed for the frequent, complex queries that AI applications demand—without the cost penalties of legacy systems. 

Rapid Migrations: A cloud-native architecture built with migration in mind lets you leave behind your legacy archiving technology, preserving decades of valuable communication data without the burdens of your legacy technologies. 

The Time to Act is Now 

The AI era isn't coming—it's here. Organizations that adapt their archive and retrieval strategies now will gain competitive advantages through better customer experiences, more efficient operations, and AI-powered insights drawn from their communication history. 

Those that wait risk being trapped by legacy systems that can't scale to meet AI's demands, facing spiraling costs and missed opportunities as their competitors leverage decades of communication data to deliver superior customer experiences. 

SmartHUB provides the foundation for archive and retrieval in the AI era. Are you ready to future proof your communication archives? 

About the Author 
Scott Draeger is the SVP of Product Marketing and Vertical Solutions at Smart Communications. He has a passion for collaboration, and over 25 years of innovating customer communications technology, around the globe. He focuses on improving communications for the recipient while improving performance for the business. He started as a document designer using a collection of hardware and software technologies, before moving to the software side of the industry. He finds connections across disciplines with certifications in graphic design, customer experience, electronic documents, and an MBA in international business.