Patent ID: 8131683

Claim:
A method for global data management, comprising: storing, in a memory device, at least one arrangement of data items classified according to a hierarchical classification structure providing a normalization scheme for classifying the data items, the data items comprising global data of an organization and a retention schedule corresponding to the global data, wherein the hierarchical classification structure corresponds to a taxonomy database schema that includes: a function layer defining a business of the organization and a parent function node of the organization, the function layer being associated with a first level in the hierarchical classification structure; an activity layer defining business processes of the function layer and an activity node corresponding to the parent function node, the activity layer being associated with a second level that is lower than the first level in the hierarchical classification structure; and a record series layer defining the global data produced by the business processes and including a record series node that is a child of the activity node, the record series node identifying a type of record generated based on execution of an activity corresponding to the activity node, the record series layer being associated with a third level, wherein the third level is lower than the second level in the hierarchical classification structure and the retention schedule is assigned to the global data in the record series layer; and retaining the data items according to the retention schedule, wherein the retention schedule comprises a plurality of retention rules including a global retention rule defining a first duration for retaining the data items consistent with a set of predetermined requirements, and at least one exception rule for retaining at least one data item for a second duration, wherein the data items are retained in the memory device until at least the expiration of the first duration and wherein specific data items are retained until expiration of the second duration if the at least one exception rule applies to the specific data items.