There are many drivers for cost tied to storing large amounts of data. Paying for the space to store hard drives holding data is one of the main causes, but it is by no means the only one. Costs associated with noncompliance also have a big impact, as does locking in the value of equipment that could be resold or returned, and the increased risk of breaches from hoarding assets containing data that could lead to substantial financial damage .
For example fines of up to $1.5 million can be issued for HIPAA violations of keeping data past its retention date. Our research showed that 54% of companies have been cited at least one or two times in the past 24 months by a regulatory or governing body for failure to comply with regulatory laws such as GDPR. Return Material Authorisation (RMA) hard drives should be returned, under warranty, to the manufacturer for a replacement or refund. However, organisations are keeping hold of them, along with the sensitive data stored on them. As such, they are incurring additional costs from penalty fees for “keep my disk” clauses.
These fines, borne out of compliance failure and a lack of best practice process, can potentially be crippling for organisations, yet they are easily avoidable. It’s key that organisations start investing in tools and software and create policies to meet with new standards.