Understanding Record Compliance Requirements

Chances are that you don’t think much about data. But you should. How much data do you have? On your organization’s file server? On the computers, laptops, and tablets in the office you’re your own phone, laptop, tablet, and storage devices? The answer is most likely a lot. Plus, according to the research firm IDC, our digital data amount as a planet is “doubling in size about every 2 years.

And most of it is unprotected and not secure. In fact, around 85 percent of that data is created by businesses, with less than half of the data that require protection having adequate levels of protection, IDC reports. So the real concern is not about how fast our data is growing, but by how we store and protect our data – especially if that data needs to be confidential or protected. It is also predicted that less than half of business data has the protection it actually needs. So, is your company adequately protecting data? Probably not.

What is the best way to protect data?

The key word to consider when developing a data protection strategy is sustainability. Regardless of affordability of electronic storage, simply storing documents electronically does not mean that the data stored is protected. Sustainability is comprised of many aspects, but basically, it’s affordability, reliability, and compliance.

The affordability of storing everything electronically is, on the surface, a fairly low-cost issue. This is especially true for many cloud storage options, although, the cost could change for this type of storage in the future.

Second is reliability. The reliability of data storage includes not how much you can store; rather, how reliable that storage is, over time.

Reliability also addresses how well security holds up for the data stored. With worldwide business data climbing at astronomical amounts, it is almost certain that your company will have data storage and retrieval issues at some point, which makes having a strategy for reliable data storage important.

Third is compliance. Knowing what needs to be stored and how it needs to be stored, such as documents that keep your business within the confines of law or regulations, is a logical place to begin when trying to develop a strategy for storing your company’s data appropriately and efficiently. But not all data is created equally. Different data has different regulatory requirements and standards. In some cases, there are standards that expressly state what and how data should and should not be stored. The bad news is, adhering to the various laws and regulatory requirements for the storage of data is just as complicated as you might expect. Add industry standards, best practices, and integrating historical records into the mix, and the complexity continues.

To get started, take a look at the laws and standards your company faces. Then consider the type of data you need to store, and how you store it, and how that complies with those in place regulations. Then, take time to understand and consider that not all data needs to be saved. Having a system in place that gets rid of unnecessary data can free up storage capacity and keep managing the sustainability of your data storage system as efficient as possible.

The bottom line: If growing your organization, while maintaining compliance and controlling costs, is on your mind, it’s time to talk with Stratix Systems.

 

Want to know more?

Our experienced systems experts would be happy to answer your questions, help you explore your options and develop a customized plan for you. Learn more at stratixsystems.com or call us toll-free 1-800-444-2943.



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