Data Retention: The One Big Thing

What is Data Retention?

Modern organizations have embraced the idea that data has value. Business leaders focus time and resources on capturing that value, while technological advancements have significantly reduced the cost of storing and processing information. This creates new opportunities to collect more detailed data and better predict the behavior of systems, machines, and people.

However, with increased value and lower costs come greater risks. Data risk depends on both the type and volume of data an organization holds. Reducing risk involves either limiting data collection or eliminating data that is no longer needed.

Download our recent whitepaper on operationalizing data retention programs here

Data Retention Laws

Data cannot simply be deleted at will. Thousands of laws, regulations, and contractual obligations require organizations to retain data for specific periods or until certain conditions are met. These are often record-retention and deletion laws that define how long specific types of records—such as invoices or personal data—must be kept.

In many cases, these rules can conflict with one another, and industry-specific conventions help determine which rules take precedence. Historically, organizations followed a “keep everything just in case” mindset, often retaining data indefinitely. However, this approach is no longer viable due to the increasing risks associated with over-retention.

Data Risks and Data Retention

Data risk was once seen primarily as a technical issue, but the rise of data breaches, privacy regulations, and related litigation has shifted the focus. Managing legal and compliance risks tied to data is now critical.

Modern privacy laws require organizations to delete data when it is no longer necessary. For example, CPRA mandates informing users of retention policies before data collection, and many lawsuits under CCPA have been based on negligence due to excessive data retention. These developments significantly increase the risks of keeping data too long.

Data Retention Policies and Increasing Data Risks

Most organizations have data retention policies, but they are often not effectively implemented. Overcoming this gap is a key part of building a successful data retention program.

Regulations require organizations to remove unnecessary data, making operational data retention essential for compliance. It also reduces legal exposure, as defensibly deleted data does not need to be produced in litigation. Additionally, it lowers cybersecurity risk—data that no longer exists cannot be compromised.

Together, improved compliance, reduced risk, and lower costs make a strong case for implementing a structured data retention program.

Data Retention Program Urgency

Implementing a data retention program is complex. It involves mapping record types to actual data, interpreting overlapping regulations, and building a retention schedule. Organizations must then establish processes to execute data actions such as deletion or archiving.

Maintaining accurate data inventories is essential, and IT teams typically manage accessible systems. However, managing data outside centralized systems—such as paper records or endpoint devices—remains a challenge. Clear policy management and attestation processes help coordinate these efforts effectively.

Data Retention Benefits Everyone

Organizations that successfully implement data retention programs often see significant improvements in system performance, cost reduction, risk exposure, and regulatory compliance.

Achieving this requires automation, as the scale and complexity of modern data environments make manual management impractical.

Learn more about data retention and data risk management:
https://www.exterro.com/privacy-software/data-retention

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