Many organizations need their data to be protected, stored, and retrieved on-demand. But are these organizations retaining their data the best way?  In most cases, no.

In the worst-case scenario? The organization doesn’t even have a retention policy.

Why a data retention policy is important

A data retention (or records retention) policy helps you organize and manage your data, ensuring that…

• You have the data your business needs
• The data is secure
• And that you have sufficient backups

This policy is also used to properly manage an organization’s data in compliance with industry guidelines and regulations.

Without a data retention policy, organizations are more vulnerable to financial, operational, and legal penalties stemming from poor data management. In a way, your data retention policy is an investment. It will scale with your data estate, enabling you to be more efficient and secure as you grow.

Data retention best practices

There are several best practices to help determine if your organization is retaining data properly. In this guide, you’ll learn about three key areas:

• Classification: identifying and classifying the data your organization holds
• Compliance: knowing which legal requirements apply to you
• Deletion: knowing when to delete data once it is no longer required

You’ll also learn about different types of data, how to create handling guidelines, common data regulation frameworks, options for archiving data, and much more.

Below is an overview of best practices for data retention, which you can download and review with your organization and keep for your reference.

Reminder: A data retention policy should be developed and reviewed with your organization’s legal counsel. This is meant to serve as a guide to help you get started.

Learn more

If you’re dealing with legacy systems and data, data modernization can help your organization get the most out of your data and resources. Learn how you can go about building a modern data environment here.

References

• Data retention policies can come in many forms. Here are some template styles on Smartsheet, with a guide on what you can include.
• This article on Netwrix Blog digs into the classification element of your data retention policy.
• For more best practices, check out these articles from SearchDataBackup and KirkPatrickPrice.

This post was originally published 8/21/2020 and has since been updated.