Retentionkeeping

Retentionkeeping refers to the systematic management of information and physical assets throughout their lifecycle to balance preservation needs with disposal authorities. It combines retention scheduling, archival practices, and secure disposal to ensure that data and records are retained for legitimate business, legal, or historical purposes while reducing unnecessary retention.

Key concepts include retention schedules (authorized time frames for keeping specific categories of information), classification taxonomy, legal holds, and archival strategies. Retentionkeeping aligns with information governance, records management, and data lifecycle management.

Processes typically involve inventorying information assets, determining retention periods, applying appropriate access controls, coordinating with legal teams for holds, and implementing end-of-life disposal methods.

Technology and practices include the use of records management systems, content management systems, email archiving, data loss prevention, encryption for retention periods, and audits. Compliance with standards like ISO 15489, data privacy laws such as GDPR and CCPA, and sector-specific regulations is commonly emphasized.

Benefits and challenges: retentionkeeping can improve compliance and audits, reduce storage costs, and support data privacy, but it faces challenges such as data sprawl, inconsistent policies, cross-border transfer, and the need to keep retention schedules up to date.