Data archiving is the process of capturing, storing, and preserving data for future use. Although archiving data can take time, it’s a crucial step for ensuring your company will be able to access business-critical information in the future.

But what kind of data should you be archiving?

When it comes to archiving, not all data is created equal — some is more important than others, and some are just plain unnecessary.

With that in mind, we’ve put together this quick guide to different types of data, and which solutions you should use to secure and archive them.

On-Premise vs. Cloud Archiving Solutions

Businesses are often faced with the dilemma of whether to choose between on-premise and cloud archiving solutions — it’s the age-old question of “To cloud archive or not to cloud archive?” 

On-premise archiving involves the installation of an archive system directly onto a user’s computer or server. Cloud archiving software, in contrast, stores data offsite using virtual storage and is hosted by a third party.

Both options come with their own unique benefits, making it a difficult decision to make. For example, on-premise archiving allows you ultimate control of your data as everything is stored on your own hardware, while cloud archiving can give you a level of flexibility by taking care of both storage and access concerns seamlessly.

The truth is that there’s no one size fits all answer and only you can decide the right option for you. The two systems have different levels of cost, security, and convenience when it comes to managing and accessing data.

Before committing though, take some time to do your research so you can ensure your data is truly safe and secure — after all, that’s what good business practice is all about.

What Type of Data Should You Archive

Financial Records 

Financial records are obviously important — they provide insight into your business’s financial health and performance over time.

Financial records can help you identify trends in revenue, spending, profits, losses, etc., which can then be used to inform decisions about future investments or strategies.

That being said, archiving financial records correctly is extremely important as well; make sure these documents are stored securely with appropriate encryption and access controls in place to protect them from malicious actors.

Legal Documents

Legal documents are an absolute must-have when it comes to business archiving. These documents include contracts, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), registration forms, and other legal documents that contain important information about your business operations and obligations.

By keeping these documents archived, you can ensure that employees have access to the information they need in order to carry out their tasks effectively while preventing these documents from getting lost or destroyed by accident. 

Client Information 

Archiving client information is also very important for businesses that rely on customer relationships for success.

This includes things like contact information (name, address, email address, phone number), purchase histories, billing information (including invoices), account details (including passwords or logins), and so on.

Clients expect that their personal information will be treated with the utmost respect and confidentiality; archiving this data securely can go a long way toward earning their trust.  

Internal Communications 

Aside from customer information, internal communications are another important source of valuable data that should be archived regularly.

This includes emails between staff members related to projects or tasks they were working on together; these emails may contain details that could prove invaluable down the line if they need to remember how something was done previously or replicate it in the future.

Storing this kind of communication in an archive can give your team quick access to everything they need without having to search through hundreds of old emails looking for the one they need.

Sales Records

Sales records are also critical when it comes to archiving data for businesses. This includes customer orders, invoices, product descriptions, shipping information, payment details, customer contact information, and any other sales-related documents that may be relevant to your business operations.

Keeping these records organized will help ensure that customers receive their products or services on time and without issue. 

Marketing Materials

Archiving marketing materials is also an important part of running a successful business. This includes promotional materials such as flyers, brochures, videos, photographs, advertisements, and social media posts — basically, anything related to marketing your product or service should be properly archived so that it can be easily accessed at any time for review or reference purposes.

Conclusion

There are many different types of data that businesses need to archive in order to stay organized and compliant with various laws and regulations.

From legal documents to sales records to marketing materials—all these pieces of data should be stored securely in an easily accessible format for quick access when needed.

With proper archival practices in place, businesses can ensure they remain compliant while continuing to run efficiently and effectively into the future.