Brands: Why you need a deletion strategy in 2013

Some businesses may think the standard IRS rule of keeping receipts and forms for three years is enough to protect them. Defensible deletion is a growing trend in the online space, one that offers a strategy for keeping - and then deleting - some of the kept information so that, if litigation or regulatory action is ever taken, the business is protected.

According to a new survey from eDJ Group most IG pros believe defensible deletion is 'absolutely necessary' to manage the amount of information accumulated digitally. However, only about half (58%) actually have a defensible deletion plan - for certain systems - in place and nearly one-quarter (23.7%) say they do not have a plan in place. Fewer than 10% of those surveyed reported they have a current defensible deletion plan in place.

"Organizations appear to be taking defensible deletion seriously in 2013. It is critical to remember, though, that deleting is not as simple as setting a 30 or 60 day retention policy on email and then expiring it," said Barry Murphy, Co-Founder and Principal Analyst, eDJ Group. "Rather, an effective Legal Hold process is the foundation for defensible deletion and gives in-house Legal and outside counsel confidence that potentially relevant ESI has been preserved. The standard is 'reasonable effort' rather than 'perfection'."

Other interesting findings include:
• 76% of respondents report their retention polices include physical and digital information
• 16% don't know if policies include physical and digital data
• 64% report they have a system in place to enforce retention schedules

More from eDJ Group tomorrow, including their top four tips to create a defensible deletion strategy.

Tags: business tips, data deletion, defensible deletion, eDJ Group, online data collection