Developing a Data Retention Policy: What data do you HAVE to backup?
Online Data Backup
In the previous article we outlined the history of and comparison of tape backup environments to disc backup environments. Finding out how your information is retained will be the first and critical step to designing an information retention policy, although the next steps can be a somewhat more murky and complicated.
Depending on industry when you work, your details retention policy may well be dictated by legal or business retention requirements. To illustrate, legal retention requirements would include:
Each state has unique legal requirements about long medical records is required to be maintained
Every business’ tax records are to be kept for at least 3 years - but there many exceptions for this rule: You need to keep all employment tax records for a minimum of Four years after the date that the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.
In Texas, Sales and Use Tax records should be retained for 4 years.
Businesses governed by OSHA regulations have specific requirements on what long their data should be retained
Food manufacturers should track most of the ingredients along with location of origin from the unfortunate event of poisoning
Machine shops should maintain records on where material origin in case there is product failure
The The Massachusetts Society of CPAs has published a good resource for this subject here.
Aside from what you're legally essential to do, you'll find compelling business arguments for retaining your details for time. Ask yourself how long you have to maintain customer or accounting records. Look into the many scenarios that can impact your business, for instance, will you offer any warranty or credits? Is there any potential for a recall to your manufactured items? Is there a general practice within your industry for maintaining business records? What if you were to trade this business, how long of the history would a potential acquirer want?
Start your information retention policy by inviting key employees to a brainstorming session and ask, let's suppose we need to go back at some point to retrieve for data for:
A tax records audit
A labor law compliance audit
A product liability lawsuit
A work practices claim
An employee tort like a sexual harassment claim
and initiate to generate your policy around these scenarios. Make sure it against both the legal data retention requirements and also your own company retention needs.
Partly 3 of the series on Developing an effective data retention policy, we’ll give a checklist to follow when arranging your business’s data retention policy.
Please visit: http://www.globaldatavault.com/blog/developing-a-data-retention-policy-what-data-do-you-have-to-backup/
In the previous article we outlined the history of and comparison of tape backup environments to disc backup environments. Finding out how your information is retained will be the first and critical step to designing an information retention policy, although the next steps can be a somewhat more murky and complicated.
Depending on industry when you work, your details retention policy may well be dictated by legal or business retention requirements. To illustrate, legal retention requirements would include:
Each state has unique legal requirements about long medical records is required to be maintained
Every business’ tax records are to be kept for at least 3 years - but there many exceptions for this rule: You need to keep all employment tax records for a minimum of Four years after the date that the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.
In Texas, Sales and Use Tax records should be retained for 4 years.
Businesses governed by OSHA regulations have specific requirements on what long their data should be retained
Food manufacturers should track most of the ingredients along with location of origin from the unfortunate event of poisoning
Machine shops should maintain records on where material origin in case there is product failure
The The Massachusetts Society of CPAs has published a good resource for this subject here.
Aside from what you're legally essential to do, you'll find compelling business arguments for retaining your details for time. Ask yourself how long you have to maintain customer or accounting records. Look into the many scenarios that can impact your business, for instance, will you offer any warranty or credits? Is there any potential for a recall to your manufactured items? Is there a general practice within your industry for maintaining business records? What if you were to trade this business, how long of the history would a potential acquirer want?
Start your information retention policy by inviting key employees to a brainstorming session and ask, let's suppose we need to go back at some point to retrieve for data for:
A tax records audit
A labor law compliance audit
A product liability lawsuit
A work practices claim
An employee tort like a sexual harassment claim
and initiate to generate your policy around these scenarios. Make sure it against both the legal data retention requirements and also your own company retention needs.
Partly 3 of the series on Developing an effective data retention policy, we’ll give a checklist to follow when arranging your business’s data retention policy.
Please visit: http://www.globaldatavault.com/blog/developing-a-data-retention-policy-what-data-do-you-have-to-backup/