What are the benefits of data archiving solutions?

Data like emails, web pages, social media channels, instant messaging apps and phone recordings all need to be archived. 

Due to these factors, data archiving solutions typically follow ‘cold storage’ practices. It’s associated with slower retrieval times, and uses fewer resources compared to information that needs to be accessed more regularly, making it cheaper.

What are the consequences of poor data archiving?

Poor data archiving can be the result of risky practices and downright mistakes, and the consequences are not pretty either.

In 2004, the UK’s Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS) received a file of data on a 1981 floppy disk, with a note to say that the data had last been modified in 1988. Unfortunately, the disk operating system was now disused and obsolete, making it difficult to retrieve the data. Because staff also couldn’t remember the system details, they also failed to modify existing systems in order to read the data.

Poor data archive storage also had an impact on the outcomes, as AHDS concluded that either the disk or file system deteriorated during storage, or had been damaged in transit. This has rendered the disk unusable, and means that the information that was on the disk will likely be missing forever. The operational delays caused by this missing data

Fortunately, AHDS are not regulated to hold onto archived data, so did not suffer from the penalties associated with non-compliance. However, many companies in the healthcare, financial and legal sectors are.

For these businesses, missing data is the least of the concerns of poor data archiving:

• Informational errors: manual data archiving can lead to errors, which can become costly when data is analysed, audited or used
• Duplicate entries: wastes storage resources, especially for larger organizations
• Investigative delays: poor archiving can make data inaccessible, which can delay investigations after adverse events
• Regulatory non-compliance: penalties, fines and reputational damage are all associated with errors in data archiving, especially in data protection violations      

Benefits of data archiving solutions

The most obvious benefit to data archiving solutions is helping businesses to meet their regulatory compliance requirements, but effective data archiving solutions can do so much more.

By providing a centralized e-discovery platform, these solutions can secure your historical, legacy and website data to prevent reputational damage, improve operational efficiency and speed up disaster recovery, provide strategic analysis and inform your teams for future business decision-making.

Regulatory compliance

Data archiving platforms are, by nature, built to aid with regulatory compliance efforts. They’re constructed to fit the exact security, data type and access restriction requirements of certain regulations in order to provide an automatic fit for the companies that must comply.  

For example, the Sarbanes Oxley Act (otherwise known as SOX Law) requires public companies to retain their accounting and finance records for 7 years before securely disposing of it.

Without a compliant data archiving solution, organizations are ultimately at risk of regulatory non-compliance. This can lead to huge fines (for both employers and individuals) and civil penalties. But even bigger impacts may be felt due to the reputational impacts of getting caught non-compliant, as this breaks the trust between companies and customers, especially when personal data is at stake.

Health operator fined when private data was made public

GDPR requires any entity interacting with European customers online to detail which customer information is collected, for what purposes, and for contributors to access the data in order to fulfill edit or deletion requests.

In 2017, London-based health company HCA International was fined £200,000 by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) after conversations between fertility patients and their doctors were found online. The failings came after these audio recordings were transferred to a transcription agency based in India using an unsecure server, where access was unrestricted.

Secure record-keeping

Data archiving solutions involve secure record-keeping by using heavyweight encryption systems, with the top platforms comparable to military grade encryption. This ensures that your sensitive and confidential data is not accessed by anyone without permission, whether accidentally or through a targeted attack.

At Global Relay, we go one step further, adding our Constant Integrity Check into the dual security system. This scans on an ongoing basis to verify that all data is present, viable and accessible, throughout your retention term. Combining this with hardware security modules (HSM) ensures that no one can access your encryption keys, even our systems administrators.

One less considered security feature is the ability to monitor employee behavior. Without this oversight, companies risk access management issues, especially regarding new joiners, movers and leavers. We recommend choosing a data archiving solution that integrates with your corporate directories to manage this risk.  

Efficiency improvements

Data archiving solutions probably aren’t your first thought when it comes to operational transformations, but the benefits here can be huge.

By relying on cold storage methods in their data archives, organizations do not have to replicate or back up their records in the traditional ways. This reduces the volume of data included in those daily cloud backup tasks, reducing costs and conserving resources.

Many companies are still relying on old school sorting systems for data management that can be likened to the Dewey decimal system, but there is a better way. Searchability for digitally native staff relies on automation, compounding the efficiency savings as businesses get larger.

With automation built into everything from data transfer to access approvals, a good data archiving solution will leave the inefficiency to the 80s.

Speedy disaster recovery

In case the worst happens – and by ‘worst’, we mean a cyberattack, accidental leak or another type of​​ data breach – data archiving solutions can help your teams get back up and running faster.

While internal systems may be down, authorized employees can still access archived communications like emails, social posts and phone call recordings, improving operational resilience.

Thankfully, data storage platforms like Global Relay hold completely separate data archival locations to your own network, meaning that the information is unaffected by breaches and remains secure.

Poor data archiving prolongs recovery after cyberattack

In 2021, the Irish Healthcare system (HSE) was hit by a cyberattack which affected data at 5 hospitals, caused appointments to be cancelled and delayed payments to staff. Recovery and restoration took over three months, with 85,000 computers shut down. And while data backups had been made, these were revealed to be highly insufficient for business continuity.

Finding the right data archiving solutions for you

The right data archiving solution can help turn your data into an asset, instead of letting it become a liability. And designed to meet the strictest record-keeping requirements, Global Relay’s Archive can aid your efforts to comply with the SEC, FINRA, CTFC, the FCA, MiFID II, privacy and other regulations. 

Organize your unstructured data into searchable, accessible communications and help your employees work smarter and faster. Book a demo.

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