Thanks to new technologies, companies can easily collect and store data. This trend is advantageous on the one hand, but it also pushes to accumulate data with no limit. While some entrepreneurs simply decide to expand their storage capacity, the savviest ones set up an information governance program that includes a data cleaning strategy. Let’s see why!
To Better Comply with Regulations
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives consumers the possibility to exercise their right to oblivion. In other words, the law allows them to ask you to delete certain information about them. If you don’t take the initiative to sort through your database and realize a data cleaning process. you will have a harder time answering this kind of request. You will be overwhelmed with documents that you no longer use. It can be Word files or emails that contain private data. If you fail to remove them in time, your business risks being sued for infringement.
To Focus on Important Data
Not all the information you collect for your company over the years is not the same. Some are more important than others, yet others are completely useless and just clutter your database. To take advantage of your data, you should keep only those that are important. It is also information that complies with the regulations. You can then proceed to data cleaning and store only useful information for the development of your business.
To Avoid Cyberattacks
Online hackers are on the rise. Typically, they infiltrate a network so they can steal sensitive information and use it with bad intentions. The larger the volume of your data, the more tedious and expensive the protection becomes. The risks of cyberattack increase dramatically if you keep too much data. We can take the example of Sony Pictures which was the victim of hackers in 2014! The wrongdoers managed to hack troublesome files over 13 years old. If the firm had done regular data cleaning, it could have avoided this inconvenience.
To Avoid Data Breach
Nowadays, most companies use a hybrid storage model for their convenience. They store their data both in the Cloud and on-site. This solution is very convenient but can sometimes make data protection more difficult. We are mostly talking about sensitive information. The Cloud in particular does not guarantee the highest level of security for your data. Good information governance and data cleansing greatly reduce risks of data breach.
