In 2021, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered financial powerhouse JPMorgan to pay $75 million for ...
In 2021, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered financial powerhouse JPMorgan to pay $75 million for widespread recordkeeping failures, and the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a fine for another $125 million. These events emphasize how vital data retention policies are for modern businesses — even industry leaders. How can your organization design and follow good information governance practices?
In simple terms, a data retention policy is your organization’s set of procedures for;
data. These guidelines should cover;
A good data retention policy has several objectives:
Data retention is related to information governance and cybersecurity.
The amount of data enterprise businesses capture and produce can be staggering:
An effective records retention policy must cover all of these records and many others. Enterprise archives can easily involve hundreds of terabytes of data or more.
Your organization’s information governance standards must be fluid, adapting to company needs and scaling with them. You should have a separate retention policy for each type of data your organization handles.
You should also consider your data backups - how long should you store backups? Some organizations maintain:
A solid data retention plan with secure backups can save your business if a ransomware attack blocks your access to key records.
Given increasing government regulations, industry trends and consumer expectations, information governance best practices require every enterprise to create data retention policies. Some industries have a stronger need to follow information governance procedures than others:
If your organization has room to improve, you’re not alone. According to industry research, fewer than 20%of large-scale businesses have implemented data retention or information governance procedures. Still, taking action is urgent in the modern world.
An enterprise data retention policy template should include the following sections.
Specify which type of business records, customer data or communications the data retention policy covers. For example, one policy may deal with customer data (account numbers, billing information, etc.) while another with employee onboarding documents.
Briefly outline the purpose of the data retention policy, e.g. “The purpose of this document is to explain how and where to store customer account information, and for how long.”
Mention the specific type of data the policy refers to. For customer accounts, documents could include:
Don’t forget to include client communications such as emails and texts.
Always list the manager, executive or team responsible for creating, modifying and updating data retention policies. That way, you establish who to contact for gray-area questions, and unauthorized individuals can’t unilaterally change policies.
Mention additional relevant details. For example, if you have one data policy for consumers and another for business customers, specify which group the document applies to.
State how long your organization retains the covered data. Here are a few industry standards:
Please note that we are not law experts, so, ensure you check the requirements for your business, in your geography.
In this section, you can also mention your organization's process for customers to request account closure or deletion of data.
Outline what you do with data after the retention period ends. Some documents may be deleted from servers and others may need to be archived for legal or financial reasons.
Explain how and where protected data is kept. Be as specific as possible, including details about:
This document serves as a guideline for your business and also allows regulators and customers to see how you manage data.
A common misconception is that data retention is a frustrating and unrewarding obligation. In reality, implementing information governance provides significant benefits for enterprises.
The European Union represents a lucrative market for global companies — one worth over €14 trillion a year. To do business with the EU’s 440 million consumers or trade with powerhouses such as Germany, France and Italy, your enterprise must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation.
Creating and following clear data retention policies is a huge part of GDPR compliance. This includes telling customers exactly how you use their data, how long you keep it and what you do with it afterward.
Many security breaches happened because organizations were careless with data. All it takes are sensitive documents left unprotected or expired security credentials left activated to give hackers access. This is an especially challenging problem for enterprises with dozens of locations and thousands of employees.
On the other hand, when your organization provides clear guidelines for storage, handling and disposal of sensitive records, the risks of an intrusion are much lower. In turn, customers have more confidence in your security and you avoid the expensive consequences of ransomware attacks.
One of the most common causes of wasted time on the job involves employees trying to find documents. It costs even more time and money to remake lost or accidentally deleted records.
When you store your enterprise’s records in one secure, central location — such as the cloud — the right departments can locate necessary data quickly. The result is increased productivity, accuracy, efficiency and profitability.
Don’t make data retention the responsibility of end users or knowledge workers. That’s a recipe for disaster. Instead, manage information governance from the top down, preferably with automated processes.
At Cloudficient, we offer state-of-the-art, streamlined solutions for enterprise data migration. Cloud-based storage tools simplify data retention policies for emails, security backups, archived files and other company data. Contact us to learn more about the benefits.
With unmatched next generation migration technology, Cloudficient is revolutionizing the way businesses retire legacy systems and transform their organization into the cloud. Our business constantly remains focused on client needs and creating product offerings that match them. We provide affordable services that are scalable, fast and seamless.
If you would like to learn more about how to bring Cloudficiency to your migration project, visit our website, or contact us.
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