Corporate Intranet

Customers ask me this question every day. I wish there was a "one size fits all answer. Unfortunately, data retention policy is not so simple. They are directly dependent on the data and applications. Add the complications of the regulatory requirements and the retention of data about a problem, one individual solution needs.

The companies have the following questions: What data will be kept and for how long? What are the best ways to evaluate, what data is important? keep How to identify and categorize data, critical applications, the critical and operationally important?

Answers will, of course, depending on the business. One thing is certain: human intervention a privacy policy form, not computer software and hardware. Data protection is a team project. IT executives, accounting and operational staff must work together to develop the right approach. The integrity to the overall retention process there.

Most companies brieflythe retention of data and procedures. A recent survey by Cohasset Associates Inc. reported that 76 percent of respondents believed that improvements to its data-retention management program are necessary.

According to the survey is that many companies intend to create enough for a quality of data protection.

To provide a solid basis and to keep pace with the growing trend of data retention policies, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of each company's answer to thisimportant issues mentioned:

What data should be retained and for how long?

The best approach is to develop a classification process to determine whether the data are necessary in order to save.

This classification process can include input from the creators of data and / or an IT executive committee or a he that decision.

IT executives need to determine which records relevant business functions before the data must be stored, can be identified.These records can also documents, journals and e-mails.

Recent research shows that Web users to exchange 36.2 billion emails per day. Companies often use e-mails on their intranet to share critical business information. Instant messaging is also rapidly into a primary means of communicating with many companies, and the messages can include information worthwhile.

Only data that the information was critical to the functions of the company along-term retention period. In general, important business documents and contracts should be kept seven years or permanently billing data between three and seven years and employee records three years.

Here, too, varies depending on how the retention of data refers to a transaction "function.

What are the best ways to evaluate, what data is important to adhere to?

First, companies must institute a global hierarchical data archiving and retention management system. ThisSystem controls the technology and the actors involved. When creating policies, companies must have corporate mandates to fulfill all requirements to become.

The management of this system was to import the data retention requirements by the nature of the concept of data.

Ask a manageable number of classifications to align the entire organization. An enterprise approach to data classification should be cut into small pieces. For example, the classification could start with certain types of data,such as backups or e-mail and then go to broader categories of business data.

When this process is overwhelming, consultants and professional services to the process. These agencies can not determine the true value of the data of the company, but they can promote meaningful questions to get this process going in the right direction to ask.

Ironically, in this computer age, the evaluation of the data is that you exercise almost exclusively a human decision processes. SoftwareHardware products are available to explore data within the organization. You determine the location set, measures that the data to measure and ensure compliance with this policy. However, none of the intelligence is needed to determine the value of the data of a company.

In terms of hardware devices to storage subsystems, an indirect benefit in the retention of data. For example, a tiered storage system can support indirect data classification. By influencing the cost of storage, lessvaluable data can be found on less expensive disk.

Many companies including data classification as a means to mitigate the legal risks and compliance requirements of government meeting. Other companies experience a fundamental need for which data is available and know where it is in its storage architecture.

Here too, each company determines which data is vital to its needs and thus cause the most effective policy to retain that data.

How do you categorize thedifferent types of data that are important to your company?

Breaking down further our analysis of the data, we can explore data is that critical, critical and operationally important.

Business-critical data: This information is recorded or stored data, which is the existence of the company or organization as a whole is crucial. In other words, the data can be stored or break the deal.

These mission records come in many forms,of high-profile financial reports to the simplest Microsoft Excel and Word documents.

For example, use Excel for reporting and business analysis of company data. A shopping is to compile and organize hundreds of contracts with different renewal dates. More than one person controls a central table. To live for compliance reasons, companies must retain and archive them, dynamic documents.

Security of this critical data is of paramount importance.Organizations must develop a security plan for external storage of their critical data, such as an online data storage service. You can offer the highest levels of encryption, and remove human error from the process.

Data loss through accident or malicious damage is so widespread, the Off-site backup is a compulsory subject in most sectors.

Mission critical data: by definition, refers to all business-critical process that is the crucialsuccessful completion of a project. The storage of such data is crucial to the success of a project.

Therefore, the critical data related to important data, such as the impact on the completion of a project or activity.

Data storage industry leaders suggest that the most common mission-critical data storage is a problem for the company to separate useful data from important information, which requires less.

A case can be found in many companies is to store each piecedata without rhyme or reason. Sometimes the staff is in the habit of archiving has it all. Some analysts argue that e-mails should not be mission-critical data, while others declare that e-mails are attached to important documents is certainly mission critical.

Customer and inventory data are an example of mission-critical data. These data should be to meet real-time access to customers' needs. Each time will break down the credibility and effectiveness ofBusiness.

The end result is that companies need to run a disciplined approach to data storage. That the decision of what information is important and, therefore, means of allocating storage expenses. Although it is more work, it helps to prevent an organization's operational efficiency, reduce risks and costs.

Operationally important data: Any data that influence day to day operations of a company is important in his work. Loss of this data can be extremelyinconvenient not to compromise, but the viability of the company.

Retention of data must be timely and to ensure that useful, the quality of data at the fingertips of the user. So important, for example, inventory to sales. When a customer 30 items of goods, it is important to know the availability immediately.

In total, these processes have to be reviewed to cope with both the regulatory requirements and the risk of the data. It evaluates the wholeTechnology infrastructure, from the smallest to the largest applet server.

Companies need to continuously improve these processes for a reliable test preparation. This platform must be scalable to enable technologies, processes and business needs to keep pace with the new regulations and changing market conditions.

To be a solid plan for an efficient, reliable and secure data retention must be a priority. Any company that sees it is different, putting in danger.