Businesses go through a lot of data, and as more and more opportunities to attract audiences crop up, they’re only going to increase the amount of data that they’re holding onto. Besides the obvious cost of storing all that data, there’s one other area that businesses should outsource to tech companies when it comes to their data strategy: data archiving.
Data archiving, or the retiring (or storing) of data from an accessible system to a closed system, is a fundamental cost-cutting measure that all businesses undertake. When that particular branch of data is no longer useful to you, the only solution to clear space is to move it to a different location where it is not on hand, but not retired, either, and to keep it in storage either until it is needed or until you can safely remove it. It can speed up your processes, save you money, and make sure you stay in line with all the latest compliance regulations: important factors for any business operating today.
Investing in archival software is one way you can archive your data, and while good software can always make a difference, it’s also crucial that you invest in people who know how to use that software. Outsourcing your archival needs to an IT company can also help smooth the process.
Here’s why you should invest in archiving your data.
Easier way of selecting data for archival
If you’ve been in business for a while, there’s no telling what sort of data you’ve generated and how much of that you actually need to keep on hand. This is where a pre-archive workflow comes in handy. By setting up parameters for which data sets you’re going to keep in archives, how they are moved, and for how long you retain that data, you free up space the way you want it, rather than backing up everything including redundancies.
An IT company can help refine those parameters so that you don’t have redundant entries taking up valuable space in your storage.
Better data-copy processes.
Even archived data is prone to corruption, and you really don’t want to go to the effort of moving all your data only to realise years later that none of it is actually readable. Using data archiving technology, on the other hand, subjects that data to regular processes in order to make sure that none of it is corrupted or lost.
Of course, having someone experienced in using archival software is also a big help: they could definitely limit the risk of corruption by doing regular spot checks on the integrity of the data and supervising the archival process to make sure nothing goes wrong.
Cost-efficient backups.
You might still want to backup your data, but with data archiving technology, those backups can be made less frequently, which means that you can save on the cost of multiple backups and WAN-based replications which can usually drive the price up. Saving money means that you can invest in different areas of your company to help your business move forward.
You might be looking at the investment of outsourcing as a separate bill, however outsourcing your IT needs is definitely cheaper in the long run: you get a specialist on staff that can make sure what you want to do goes off without a hitch.
Compliance with data protection regulations
Technology has one thing over human judgement: it is as close to infallible as you can get, and it isn’t overtaken by emotion. Technology can keep you on track with your regulatory needs without requiring a significant amount of time and effort spent on your part in double-checking that all your data is protected. Most data archiving and compliance technologies come with multiple layers of security, fulfilling your end of the bargain without calling in additional support.
Outsourcing this task to IT specialists also adds a second layer of security to your compliance measures. Most IT specialists are well-versed with all compliance measures, given that a significant amount of their work depends on total adherence to regulation.
Better archive maintenance
Data archiving still requires regular maintenance, just in a different way: data has to be emigrated occasionally to accommodate for changes in the archives, or it could expire and you might need to clear out your archives. When this happens, technology can help smooth out the process of deleting that expired data in a way that makes it impossible to recover, and that still complies with regulations. This will free up space for more data.
Archiving data is a fundamental part of every business, but you don’t need to do it on your own: outsourcing your data requirements to an IT company that specialises in software is a surefire way to clear your reschedule and still get some routine work done. If you have more data than you know what to do with, contact us and we’ll be happy to help you draw up a plan for your data.
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