1000's monitoring email alerts.

Hi guys,

I need to gather few opintions on how to handle a large load of email monitoring alerts.  Currently we have up to 1,000 auto-generated messages a day. It is a lot to try to scan for the important ones, and the volume will likely more than double with new client(s).  We have about 10 small clients now and small shop (like 2.5 IT guys)  We need a detailed procedure for how to handle this responsibility, and hopefully can come up with a better and more timely way to identify the critical messages.

So I am thinking:

a.      Should we direct the monitoring emails to a different email so they are not cluttering the client support inbox?
b.      How can we more accurately and reliably identify critical issues?  Can the critical messages be automatically identified and routed so we don’t have to scan through thousands of messages just to find the important ones?
c.      What procedures can we put in place for monitoring the messages, identifying those that require some kind of response and prioritizing those requirements?  Is there a role that receptioninst (non-technical person) can play to identify critical issues?

Thanks for the ideas..