Choosing the right archiving solution can be a daunting task considering that there are plenty of systems and tools to choose from. First of all, you need to understand that choosing archiving software is not just the same as shopping for your favorite gadget. You need to have a strategy that is best suited for your company or organization as a whole. If you have been trying to find the best archiving solution for your organization and couldn’t seem to find one, then you have come to the right place.
In this article, we are going to tackle the points to consider when deciding what archiving remedy to use for your company.
- Granularity
This is one of the most important factors to keep in mind, especially when examining huge amounts of data and relevant information. The archiving software you choose should be able to perform searches based on the type of data like MS docs, PDFs, and emails, to name a few. It should also perform swift yet accurate tasks like pulling out data within the files such as the bank account numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers, and so on.
- Optimization of storage
Why storage optimization is essential? Well, with top-notch storage optimization you will be able to reduce the volume of data in production. Most importantly, you will be able to the much-needed data seamlessly. With a much efficient operation, every other aspect of business benefits such as a significant reduction in capital and operating expenses, lower risk, improvement in managing information, and easy and swift access to secondary information, which is most of the time needed for reporting and analysis. It is a must for archiving solutions to have an excellent deduplication engine as it makes the entire operation seamless. That way, you won’t need to search for multiple copies of the same file, which is extremely useful when the volume of data goes out of hand.
- Flexibility
One of the things that you should never set aside or take for granted when searching for archiving software is flexibility. Flexibility means having the capability to support a multitude of data platforms. If you are keen enough, you will be able to find software that is designed to suit popular platforms and applications.
Another part of flexibility is the ability to handle different sources of data, targets, and writing capabilities, which are all the more useful during extraction processes. The best archiving tools will enable you to write archives to different mediums such as tape, disk, and cloud, to name a few. It should also support different media so as to make the data extraction process seamless and effortless.
How about other data storage methods?
- Automated disposition
What you do need to keep in mind is that the contents transferred to an application archive don’t stay there forever. There are retention policies that have to be employed and it includes disposition rules. Each archiving solution has a set of disposition rules and using such they will be able to gauge if the data is still needed to be stored or are bound to be disposed of. Most of the time, they employ an automated disposition wherein the system automatically gets rid of records as defined in the archiving software.
- Tiered Storage
As your business grows so as your archive. Hence, it is automatic to assume that you would need an increase in storage. The best archiving solution can provide you with tiered storage at no extra cost. Yes, you read it right! There are multiple licensing options including a completely free license tier. With tiered storage, you have the option to move records to another storage tier that is of lower cost, especially if the records are already old and do not really need to use any time soon. With tiered storage, not only will you be able to save money but also make sure that the archived content is always accessible, especially in times you need it the most.
- Report Generation
The work does not end with archiving data. There should be a way to report it on a regular basis. By reporting, you will be able to know what data are stored as well as the type of retention policies the company has. On top of that, it must also include the data that are for disposition.
As you can see, there is more to archiving that meets the eyes. If you are not going to do due diligence, then there is a high possibility that you will end up choosing the wrong archiving software. For someone running a business or organization, having a robust archiving solution should be an integral part of the system. Why? Well, it affects the entire operation and organization as a whole. That is why it is of utmost importance to invest in high quality archiving solution.
If you are going to search around, you will find a whole bunch of cheap archiving software and while you will be tempted to choose them, there is a high chance that you will encounter problems later on. There will also be a need to upgrade the software because the one you chose is not flexible enough to meet the needs of your growing business. Thus, you will end up spending more than what you have actually planned.
Before any unprecedented events happen, you must take extra caution now. Do all the necessary things to ensure that you will land with the best archiving solution there is today. It would take extra research and it might cost you more upfront, but you will surely get the features you are looking for. There is also a possibility that you will end up saving more money, especially if you look at it in the long run. Should you wish to find out more about the available archiving solution, feel free to visit MLtek and find out its available archiving software. You can find out more about ArchiverFS here.
