Efficient Records Management – The Difference between Data Access and Data Excess

The function of maintaining records and keeping them ready for access has assumed an integral position of importance in any organization’s day-to-day procedures. Meticulous cataloguing, updating and sorting of tremendous amounts of information each day demands exclusive attention. Intelligent handling of data in a manner that optimizes organization functionality forms the foundation of preparing a record retention schedule.

Owing to the oceanic measures of company data to be assimilated each day, it is imperative to focus attention on the exercises of keeping and disposing relevant and irrelevant information respectively. Information based businesses rely heavily on quick access to required data. It will serve well to understand the difference between data access and data excess. The latter cripples a company’s efficiency in irrecoverable ways. A tactfully crafted data retention and disposition schedule assists in removal of inactive/redundant information within the ambit of pertaining laws and regulations. It can be counted as the first basic step towards sorting – removal of irrelevant information.

The situation of data excess bears down heavily on the productivity of an organization. The manpower that could have contributed to the organization’s profitable ventures spends time babysitting a useless heap of records that have been piling up since the Jurassic era. Conversely, thoughtless disposal also proves to be detrimental to company interests in the long run, as it may lead to deletion/destruction of important files. Records retention guidelines specifically target impeccable analysis to sort important records from irrelevant ones, and assign a lifecycle to each data packet. This enables retention of useful information while everything else is taken care of as per policy protocol.

Performing cost analyses to check feasibility of keeping every information stored safely have resulted in cost inefficient models even though data storage costs have plummeted downwards. This is due to the fact that an additional personnel input is required to operate and service the generated capacity storage of each year. Many statistical analyses available on the web mark data increments to the tune of exabytes annually. Of such capacity, only half is useful. Document retention guidelines streamline the process of storage and deletion. This more or less keeps storage and manpower requirements in a cycle functioning optimally.

Both data excess and haphazard sorting are injurious to an organization’s interests. The risk factor of ignoring company data is far too great than possessing too much information. Significance of proper sorting can be marked in the aspect of extraction of lawsuit data as an example, which typically continues through lengthy years. A document retention policy that is well thought upon allows quick access to sensitive data. Through this tool, inadvertent destruction of relevant information is avoided. Risks of compromising company interests are relieved to some extent through establishing a mechanism for smooth and unobstructed data flowage.

In a nutshell, data excess, slipshod sorting and ignorance are the three major contributors that clog the clockworks of an organization. Taking direct hits on the frontline are the organization’s objectives and targeted goals. Necessity of the day calls for implementing proper data management techniques.

To know more about business record retention requirements, visit Irch.com

About The Author

Sarah Jones is an expert on business data management and records maintenance who also likes to write many interesting articles and blogs, helping enterprises in coming up with the best business record retention schedule and document preservation guidelines. She recommends Irch.com as the best source of information on the subject.

IRCH provides market-leading products and services enabling customers to reduce costs and risks through implementing legally-defensible records retention and destruction practices.