Data is crucial to the existence and operation of businesses. Big corporations need to handle and process huge volumes of data on a daily basis. Safely handling such data requires investment in large data storage media. However, not all data held within such storage media is actively used on a regular basis.
Research has shown that between 60 and 73 percent of data held by organizations remains unused for a significant duration of time. Managing this data requires the business to invest in proper cold storage data handling practices. The effective management of such cold storage requires an emphasis on four main areas.
Consider inexpensive options
Sometimes, cold data remains unused for over a year. The large volumes of cold data in organizations today imply that investing in hard drives and data tapes can be expensive and risky. To minimize the cost of the cold storage media used, it is important to consider cheap alternatives that ensure the bulk storage of data. The fact that the cold storage will be used for the long-term implies that cheaper alternatives will minimize the business’s operational costs.
Go for cloud cold storage
The cloud happens to be one suitable option, which is not only cheap but also convenient for cold data storage. Cloud storage eliminates the essence of physical premise facilities that may be expensive to rent and maintain. Cloud cold storage is also convenient as it ensures that the data can be retrieved or referenced at any time at the click of a button.
Regular inspections
Data stored in cold storage should be regularly inspected at least once a year. The data evaluation process should focus on determining part of the data that should be kept for further storage and part that should be discarded. The data inspectors should also index it accordingly for ease of future retrieval.
Automating cold storage
To enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of handling data stored in cold storage, it is important to consider automating the entire process. For example, data that has remained unused for a certain predetermined duration of time can be automatically moved to the cold storage. Employing artificial intelligence technologies in defining the rules of cold storage ensures that the business remains operationally efficient in juggling between data held in cold storage and data that is actively used.
