Archiving Defined - What is data archiving?

Data archiving is part of an overall strategy for storing important corporate and government information using a secure method so that it is easily accessible at any time in the future. Most corporate data is important and is considered a digital asset that is saved on a data storage solution or an electronic archiving device.

After a short period, updates to the data are completed and records are closed as final versions. At that point, the data becomes inactive or fixed and needs to be retained for future reference. While there are several methods of storing these digital assets, a reliable technology that secures valuable data for extended periods must be considered. By implementing a digital archiving solution, cost-effective tiered storage management of corporate data can be realized.

Data Archiving is the process of moving fixed content (static) data to an archive data storage tier enabling efficient long-term retention of data. Although this data remains permanently fixed and stored in a secure location, it can be accessed and brought into use anytime. Creating an archive data storage tier maximizes efficiencies by moving data out of primary production systems onto secondary specialized long-term archival storage systems. Moving this inactive data out of production systems optimizes performance and resources while reducing data backup requirements.

Data archiving systems are specifically designed to permanently store valuable data to a cost-effective archive media that can be copied, removed and quickly and easily retrieved. Additionally archive systems facilitate compliance with legal, regulatory and corporate mandates for records retention, records management, litigation and e-discovery.