Data archiving is an effective method that helps companies manage data growth and optimise their system performance. This process allows organisations to ensure the efficient use of their database resources in the IT ecosystem. Furthermore, it also enables long-term data storage and retention, allowing users to access information for audit and compliance purposes. If you are curious about what technologies go into this process, then the answer is that there are several technologies available for archiving. However, in the context of SAP, the technology used is the Archive Development Kit with Archive Administration (transaction SARA). Another key element to consider while initiating this process is that you will require help from an efficient partner who will provide SAP data archiving solutions and valuable guidance for effective process implementation.

Understanding the key strategies behind an effective archiving project

To make your archiving project successful, you must consider the following strategies:

Analyse and sort the data that needs to be archived

Before starting your data archiving process, one of the most critical factors is to analyse and sort the data you have to archive. Organisations generate vast amounts of data on a daily basis, which gets accumulated over time. Analysing which data to archive and which data to keep in the primary system is important. For this process, you must identify the residence of the data, which means evaluating how old the data is, how much space it occupies, and its relevance to the business operations. By doing so, you can easily calculate which data is relevant and which data is historical. You can create a list and put the historical data for archiving in that list.

Identify the archiving objects

One key SAP data archiving strategy to follow in this process is to identify the archiving objects. Archiving objects are considered the building blocks of data archiving. They help you realise the structure of data as well as the relevant business objects that can be archived. In fact, archiving objects describe which database objects must be handled together as a single business object.

There are three types of archiving objects:

  • Archiving object that can only archive data
  • ILM object that helps archive and/or destroy data
  • HR ILM object that can run data destruction 

Companies must identify the required objects that will help ensure that the archived data maintains the context of its business. Moreover, clearly identifying objects also helps businesses access and analyse the archived data whenever required.

Defining data retention periods and policies

Another critical strategy is defining retention periods, which allows organisations to specify the time length for which data must be stored securely, before it can be archived or deleted using SAP data archiving solutions. It is important for businesses to set retention periods based on legal, regulatory, and business requirements. Furthermore, data retention policies allow you to maintain and monitor data accessibility and storage costs.

Remember that it is critical to set up rules for blocking and deletion after the defined retention periods. These data retention periods are determined by the purpose of retaining the required data, which often varies from order management to invoice management, and so on.

Finalising the right archiving process

Before starting your archiving project, it is important to select the right method for archiving. These archiving methods come in three distinct types: comprehensive archiving, selective archiving, and catch-up archiving. Let's take a closer look at them one by one.

Comprehensive archiving: This is the standard data archiving process. Using this process, you can systematically store data in a separate storage repository with long-term retention periods.

Selective archiving: This method is useful in a selective data archiving strategy, where only specific subsets of data are archived. With this method, you can complete your archiving process with pre-defined criteria, instead of archiving the full set of data.

Catch-up archiving: In this process, missed data or data that were not archived during a specific period of time are considered. This method helps in addressing the gaps in archival coverage. Moreover, it allows you to evaluate whether the historical records comply with business and regulatory requirements.

Considering the archiving type

People often confuse data and document archiving, considering that they are the same thing. However, in reality, they are both distinct from one another. Therefore, determining the type of archiving plays a significant role in developing a strong data archiving strategy. This is because data archiving is a preferred choice for structured data, where data is moved from the main system to a separate location. On the other hand, document archiving is ideal for unstructured data, such as PDFs, invoices, Word files, and so on. Interestingly, the document archiving process occurs in real-time and can be stored on any content server. Another type of archiving is fiscal archiving. In this type of archiving, you regularly freeze your data for a specific time.

Conclusion 

In this article, you have explored how data archiving is an excellent approach to control and manage data volume growth and how archiving strategies contribute to this process. However, remember that this process can be tedious, challenging, and may create discrepancies and inefficiencies. That's why the best action forward is to join hands with an expert who can bring you the ideal results. An efficient partner will provide the right tools and SAP data archiving solutions, allowing you to assess the organisation's data volume to archive and manage it. So, what are you waiting for? Connect with an expert today for all your data archiving requirements.