Data Lifecycle Management: Don’t Make Archiving an Afterthought

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: businesses are generating data at an unprecedented rate. CyberSecurity Ventures predicts there will be over 100 zettabytes (or a trillion gigabytes) stored in the cloud by 2025. While all of this data can be a competitive advantage when leveraged properly, managing it can also be complex. This is where Data Lifecycle Management (DLM) comes in – a systematic approach to handling data from creation to deletion.

However, within DLM, one step often gets overlooked: archiving. Archiving data involves relocating data that is not currently being utilized—but shouldn’t necessarily be deleted—out of production. In the lifecycle of your data, archiving can be overshadowed by aspects like data analysis, automation, etc. Still, archiving is critical in ensuring a healthy and performant org in SaaS platforms like Salesforce. Here’s why you should prioritize archiving:

1. System performance

As data volume explodes, so does the burden on your systems. Imagine a crowded library with mountains of unused books. Archiving moves these rarely consulted books to a well-organized offsite facility. In the case of your data, it frees up valuable storage space in your primary system, allowing it to run smoother and faster. Archiving also saves employees from performing the manual archiving legwork: logging in to the system, executing the queries, and then making sure that no data was lost or deleted in the process.

2. Cost savings

Overage costs can quickly eat into your budget. In Salesforce, for example, each record in your org weighs against your storage allowance/limits. Given that storage is not unlimited, you’re on the hook financially if you exceed your data and file storage threshold. By archiving inactive data, you can reduce the storage you need for frequently accessed data. This allows you to invest those resources in areas that directly impact your business.

3. Compliance

Data privacy regulations like GDPR and CPRA require you to manage and dispose of personal data effectively. Between maximum retention periods, data removal requirements, designated retention periods (and more), checking all of your compliance boxes can be a lengthy, resource-draining process– if you don’t have the right solution. Archiving helps you comply by providing a secure repository for inactive data that needs to be retained for legal or regulatory reasons. This way, you can quickly locate and retrieve this data when required or securely erase it once the retention period ends.

4. Risk mitigation

Archiving can help you minimize risk. By isolating inactive data from your primary systems, you limit the attack surface for potential cyber threats. A good archiving solution will also offer access controls, ensuring only authorized users can access archived data.

Implementing a Salesforce Archiving Strategy that Scales

Now that you understand the importance of archiving, how can you make it a part of your overall DLM plan? Here are a few steps to get started:

Data and Process Audit

‍Assess your current Salesforce data and determine if the data is essential or secondary 

Develop Clear Data Retention Policies

‍Determine when different data types must be retained based on regulatory requirements and internal access needs.

Implement a Data Archiving Strategy

‍Select a tool to help you offload obsolete data, improve Salesforce performance, and lower storage costs.

Create Archiving Policies

‍Create and customize archiving policies based on your organization’s needs.

Prioritize User Training

‍Educate your team on best practices for data hygiene and compliance. A knowledgeable team is a powerful asset.

Continuous Improvement

‍Regularly evaluate your archiving strategy and adapt it to evolving needs.

In our Data Archiving Checklist, we explain each step in more detail and provide tips. Download it here.