The exponentially growing data volume and the missing end-to-end view on the information lifecycle constituted the demand for a holistic ILM solution instead of incoherent archiving tools. SAP ILM is the key to ensure GDPR compliance and provides capabilities to govern automatically the end-of-data. Get insights in the differences between standard archiving tools and SAP ILM, in the usage of ILM functionalities in your company and in the unique characteristics of SAP ILM
Standard Archiving Tools vs. SAP ILM
Previous approaches around archiving tools intended to securely move inactivated data from the database to a separate archive server in order to manage data volume and clean up obsolete data in productive systems. As the management of all retention policies across the enterprise turned more and more complex, the need for defined and automated deletion processes arose. To set legal holds (e.g. in case of a lawsuit), to execute complex retention rules, or even to decommission legacy systems while still having reporting capabilities in place, an innovative archiving solution was required.
SAP ILM can manage the information lifecycle by defining a rule-set to control retention period and storage location of archived data. Local or Business Warehouse based reporting is enabled by the transfer of data from legacy systems to the Retention Warehouse. SAP ILM combines the following capabilities in one holistic solution
- Archiving helps to keep software systems at optimum operational size by moving obsolete data into archive files with an automated and governed process.
- Retention management helps to manage the lifecycle of the data from its creation to its destruction within a live application system. This includes capabilities for blocking and deletion based on the end-of-purpose check. This capability allows e-discovery to locate information needed to answer legal and similar inquiries together with legal hold. You can prevent data, information and even documents that are relevant for legal cases from being deleted or destroyed, whether they are in the database or archived. Furthermore, Retention Management stabilizes the data volume with automation of deletion rules.
- Retention warehouse enables the extraction and consolidation of data from multiple systems (SAP and third party) into a single store and provides necessary reporting capabilities. This helps to achieve landscape harmonization and simplification as well as significant TCO savings by decommissioning legacy systems and reducing compliance effort as well as risk.
ILM functionalities applied in your company
Information lifecycle management (ILM) is a tremendous task covering all relevant aspects such as managing information efficiently and keeping storage costs down. But on the other side, data has to be kept during its entire life cycle to meet all internal and external requirements. This also includes data from decommissioned systems, because it often needs to be kept longer than the system in which it was created. This data continues to be a valuable asset, and it must still be available for tax audits or reporting purposes. ILM is a continuous balancing between risk, TCO, and legal compliance which could become quite expensive without a proper application. At best, you run the risk of not capitalizing on the full value of your information; at worst, it could cost you millions of dollars in fines.
By conducting an IT architecture assessment, critical aspects regarding an SAP ILM implementation will be observed. The management and retention of information has become so important that an effective ILM strategy is now an essential part of an enterprise’s overall strategy for dealing with the challenges of cost, compliance, and risk. It is very important to develop an appropriate approach to management of data lifecycle, especially for personal data. In this context retention of data is very important. Retention periods should not be longer than necessary (for the purposes for which the data was obtained). When the purpose expired / terminated, data should be removed. The SAP ILM (Information Lifecycle Management) solution could be very helpful in data lifecycle management. Information Lifecycle Management comprises policies, processes, practices, and tools developed and used to align the business value of information with the most appropriate and
cost-effective IT infrastructure – from creation to destruction of information. Consequential needs for your Information Lifecycle Management regarding processes, governance, data and IT are covered in Camelot’s integrated ILM End-of-Data Approach. Gathering and evaluating requirements, analyzing and optimizing the system landscape and enabling a central repository for archiving and reporting capabilities, paves the way to a successful ILM solution.
SAP ILM – CIO’s long-awaited rescue
Using the functionality of SAP ILM in your organization has four key benefits:
SAP ILM is a holistic solution to manage archiving of data for SAP and Non-SAP Systems in one central hub. It proactively controls data retention and disposal in accordance with retention policies. Internal and external compliance requirements can be met by automation of archiving and deletion with customized rules. SAP ILM has even strategies in place, to improve data quality and security as well as storage optimization. It is designed to address the current challenges in complex grown IT landscapes.
When it comes to the capabilities regarding Retention Management and Retention Warehousing, SAP ILM can prove its singularity. Capabilities like for example flexible ILM rules, ILM-conform storage of archive files and legal hold management enable organizations to control retention time and storage location of archived data in the most comfortable way.
There is a need for a harmonized way to manage data retention from productive and legacy systems in IT Landscapes. With SAP ILM a consolidation of multiple large legacy systems into one small modern instance is possible. This instance is called Retention Warehouse.
- Retain on demand
- Respond to tax audits and create financial reports
- TCO reduction without losing auditing and reporting capability
Camelot offers you support to make use of this option of rule-based archiving according to data compliance. We highly recommend going beyond data archiving and pursue the goal of decommissioning old SAP systems in compliance with the law.
Improve your Information Lifecycle Management! Manage all archiving, retention and deletion policies across the enterprise, automate deletion of data based on policies and set legal holds. It’s time to address the critical requirements around lawful processing and to comply with the individual rights for personal data. If you want to use the functionality of SAP ILM in your company, please reach out to us.
We would like to thank Michael Müller and Biagio Clemente for their contribution to this article.
