Will SSL protect the data in this situation? Or will I need to implement a database for data storage and retrieval to get SSL protection for the data?
I depends on how you implement it. If you do SSL with formmail, SSL will protect the data until it gets to the server. After that formmail will send it to you in clear text.
I'd say, save it on the server somewhere and just retrieve it later using ssh or scp. Of course, while it's on the server, it will be sitting there in clear text just waiting for a hacker, but that's the worst case.
Anybody at westhost want to weight in?