1. A method, performed by a computer system, for managing information associated with an enterprise, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining original data from a plurality of different electronic data sources including at least two electronic data sources including a backup tape data source and a networked data source, wherein the original data includes a plurality of files having content portions and metadata portions; determining email files within the original data; extracting information from the email files using an email extraction engine; forwarding the information extracted from the email files to a de-duplication engine; separating the information extracted from the email files and other original data in content portions and metadata portions; analyzing the content portions and the metadata portions by hashing the content portions of the information extracted and the other original data to form hashed values using a de-duplication engine and comparing the hashed values using the de-duplication engine; placing, into a collective database, at least a single copy of unique content portions; and placing, into a collective database, at least one copy of the metadata portions including information on where the files were obtained; from a user of the computer system, receiving at least one rule, including: a retention policy for the data; and a query for the data, wherein the query is other than a search for duplicate portions of the data; using the rule, which includes a logical operation to segregate the targeted data and the compliant data from other data, identifying: compliant data that comply with the retention policy; and targeted data that correspond to the query; and using the rule, preserving the compliant data and the targeted data within the collective database, while deleting at least a portion of other data that are neither compliant data nor targeted data within the collective database.
1. A method, performed by a computer system, for managing information associated with an enterprise, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining original data from a plurality of different electronic data sources including at least two electronic data sources including a backup tape data source and a networked data source, wherein the original data includes a plurality of files having content portions and metadata portions; determining email files within the original data; extracting information from the email files using an email extraction engine; forwarding the information extracted from the email files to a de-duplication engine; separating the information extracted from the email files and other original data in content portions and metadata portions; analyzing the content portions and the metadata portions by hashing the content portions of the information extracted and the other original data to form hashed values using a de-duplication engine and comparing the hashed values using the de-duplication engine; placing, into a collective database, at least a single copy of unique content portions; and placing, into a collective database, at least one copy of the metadata portions including information on where the files were obtained; from a user of the computer system, receiving at least one rule, including: a retention policy for the data; and a query for the data, wherein the query is other than a search for duplicate portions of the data; using the rule, which includes a logical operation to segregate the targeted data and the compliant data from other data, identifying: compliant data that comply with the retention policy; and targeted data that correspond to the query; and using the rule, preserving the compliant data and the targeted data within the collective database, while deleting at least a portion of other data that are neither compliant data nor targeted data within the collective database. 4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data source comprises a network, and further comprising deleting the other data from the network.