The Data Life Cycle

A data lifecycle consists of a series of phases over the course its useful life. Each phase is governed by a set of policies that maximizes the data’s value during each stage of the lifecycle. data lifecycle management becomes increasingly important as the volume of data that is incorporated into business workstreams grows.

Phase 1: Data creation

A new data lifecycle starts with data collection, but the sources of data are abundant. They can vary from web and mobile applications, internet of things (IoT) devices, forms, surveys, and more. While data can be generated in a variety of ways, the collection of all available data isn’t necessary for the success of your business. The incorporation of new data should be always be evaluated based on its quality and relevancy to your business.

Phase 2: Data storage

Data can also differ in the way its structured, which has implications on the type of data storage that a company uses. Structured data tends to leverage relational databases while unstructured data typically makes use of NoSQL or non-relational databases. Once the type of storage is identified for the dataset, the infrastructure can be evaluated for any security vulnerabilities and the data can undergo different types of data processing, such as data encryption and data transformation, to safeguard the business from malicious actors. This type of data munging also ensures sensitive data meets the privacy and governmental requirements for governmental policies, like GDPR, allowing businesses to avoid any costly fines from these types of regulations.

Another aspect of data protection is a focus on data redundancy. A copy of any stored data can act as a backup in situations, such as data deletion or data corruption, protecting against accidental alterations in data and more deliberate ones, like malware attacks.

Phase 3: Data sharing and usage

During this phase, data becomes available to business users. Data lifecycle management enables organizations to define who can use the data and the purpose for which it can be used. Once the data is made available it can be leveraged for a range of analyses—from basic exploratory data analysis and data visualizations to more advanced data mining and machine learning techniques. All of these methods play a role in business decision-making and communication to various stakeholders.

Additionally, data usage isn’t necessarily restricted to internal use only. For example, external service providers could use the data for purposes such as marketing analytics and advertising. Internal uses include day-to-day business processes and workflows, such as dashboards and presentations.

Phase 4: Data archival

After a certain amount of time, data is no longer useful for everyday operations. However, it is important to maintain copies of the organization’s data that is not frequently accessed for potential litigation and investigation needs. Then, if required, archived data can be restored to an active production environment.

An organization’s data lifecycle management strategy should clearly define when, where, and for how long data should be archived. In this stage, data undergoes an archival process that ensures redundancy.

Phase 5: Data Deletion

In this final stage of the lifecycle, data is purged from the records and destroyed securely. Businesses will delete data that they no longer need to create more storage space for active data. During this phase, data is removed from archives when it exceeds the required retention period or no longer serves a meaningful purpose to the organization.

Benefits of Data Lifecycle Management

Process improvement: Data plays a crucial role in driving the strategic initiatives of an organization. DLM helps maintain data quality throughout its lifecycle, which in turn enables process improvement and increases efficiency. A good DLM strategy ensures that the data available to users is accurate and reliable, enabling businesses to maximize the value of their data.

Controlling costs: A DLM process places value on data at each stage of its lifecycle. Once data is no longer useful for production environments, organizations can leverage a range of solutions to reduce costs such as data backup, replication and archiving. For example, it can be moved to less-costly storage located on-premises, in the cloud, or in network attached storage.

Data usability: With a DLM strategy, IT teams can develop policies and procedures that ensure all metadata is tagged consistently so it can improve accessibility when needed. Establishing enforceable governance policies ensures the value of data for as long as it needs to be retained. The availability of clean and useful data increases the agility and efficiency of company processes.

Compliance and governance: Each industry sector has its own rules and regulations for data retention, and a sound DLM strategy helps businesses remain compliant. DLM lets organizations handle data with increased efficiency and security, while maintaining compliance with data privacy laws regarding personal data and organizational records.