- As we discussed earlier,
the digital revolution has enabled us
to store an amazing amount of data.
The upside is that we have so much more input
that we can use to derive projections
and find unexpected insights.
The downside is that we need to manage
so much more information.
And even more importantly, keep it safe.
There's a fine line between enough and too much data
and we need some strategies
to help prevent us from total overload.
Having well thought out data retention policies
will be a big help in this.
The first step in developing your retention approach
is understanding the data you hold.
What is it?
Is it sales records?
Employee history?
Customer contracts?
Hopefully, you've already done your homework
and created a data classification system.
If you haven't, now is the time,
before you move forward on transformation.
Believe me, if you don't do this,
you will regret it.
Now once you've got your data classified,
it's time to start examining how long you'll need it for.
Some of this will be predicated by law.
There are regulations
around preservation of banking information,
employee records and so on.
But some of it will be up to you
and it will be different for every company.
There are also differences
in legal requirements based on location.
The European Union has much more stringent regulations
than the US around data retention.
If you're doing business globally,
you'll need to familiarize yourself
with the laws for all the jurisdictions you operate in.
The other side of the retention coin
is that the more information you have,
the more at risk you are to exposure.
Of course you've got security in place,
but at the end of the day,
if a breach should occur,
hackers can't steal what's not there,
a good argument for keeping only what you'll need.
The problem with that is that by eliminating data
you don't know is necessary,
you might be eliminating data that could wind up
revealing serendipitous insights.
Now like I say,
it's a fine line and you'll need to make the call.
My personal inclination is to keep more,
but make sure that your security program is strong.
Now if you want more information about data classification,
check the course library for
The Essential Elements of Predictive Analytics
and Data Mining.