Data archiving is an essential information management task for many organisations. Growing volumes of data alongside increasingly complex regulatory environments have resulted in numerous challenges for IT teams who are responsible for managing archiving on tight budgets.
Fordway’s new offering, Managed Archiving Service provides businesses with a long-term data storage solution essential for legal compliance, risk management, customer protection, dispute resolution and informed decision making.
The new solution will help organisations to significantly streamline management of archiving tasks as well as reducing costs attached to archiving storage and ensuring businesses stay compliant.
By working with Fordway, organisations can now be prepared for regulatory requirements, legal obligations and business challenges, as well as protecting the interests of individuals and maintaining their trust.
At its core, Fordway’s data archiving service involves transferring inactive data to Microsoft Azure for long-term retention that is both efficient and secure, whilst also providing the ability for the customer to retrieve data as and when needed, with Fordway managing both the archive and the data recovery and retention.
Data migration projects for Fusion & BFK
Construction joint ventures, BFK (Bam, Ferrovial, Kier) who previously worked with Fordway on the Crossrail/Elizabeth Line and Fusion (a joint venture of Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, BAM Nuttall and Ferrovial), got in touch with Fordway for help managing their data past the contract expiry date.
The length of time that data is to be held for was governed by the respective awarding authority. Fordway migrated the data for each client to a Fordway managed multi-tiered Microsoft Blob Storage platform, allowing the client to be able to access information when needed simply by logging a request through our dedicated service portal, where we provide a quick, secure link to view the information.
In both Fusion and BFK instances, the project was delivered through a joint venture vehicle. This meant that the partners of the joint venture looked to an independent third party (Fordway in this case) to provide project specific IT delivery services rather than any one partner providing the IT services at the outset.
Once the project was complete the partners again looked to a third party to provide the ongoing long term archiving service as a managed service solution.
That meant that the Fordway team designed, delivered, and supported all three partners as one service rather than each partner having to create their own long term archive service solution and have the burden of managing it for the full duration. This resulted in a reduction of costs, standardisation of service across all the partners and reduction in risk.
Why investing in data archiving solutions can help you stay compliant
Many industries are subject to certain regulations which only allow you to hold data for a specific amount of time. If you fail to comply with this, it may result in legal penalties and reputational damage – a data archiving solution will take away that stress and only hold the data you need and only for as long as necessary.
Data can be vital in legal matters such as lawsuits, investigations and audits. With a data archiving system, businesses can access historical data which then allows organisations to demonstrate their compliance with laws and regulations and provide evidence when needed.
Long-term data storage also supports risk management. By keeping historical data safely, organisations can analyse past trends, which will allow them to identify patterns and make informed future decisions which can optimise their business performance.
Storing data can also be important for protecting customers’ rights and solving disputes. Organisations can maintain accurate records of transactions, communications and customer interaction. This can help issues be solved fairly and efficiently and protect both the organisation and the customer.
What to look out for when choosing a data archiving solution
Large amounts of data – When choosing a data archiving solution, organisations need to choose a provider that is able to manage storage volumes that grow over time without a lengthy administrative process.
Legal compliance – Data archiving solutions must provide a simple and effective way to comply with a wide range of strict regulations.
Security – Any data held in an archive must be safeguarded from loss, corruption and theft.
Access – Archived data might require access by various users. This process can be simplified with role-based permissions that enable users to easily search and receive the required information without the need to go through various IT teams.
Cost – Data archiving solutions can be an effective method to reduce the cost of storage by archiving only essential data and eliminating data that is no longer needed, as well as removing any duplicated information.
Management Complexity – It is important that data archiving technologies minimise any administrative burden on IT teams and take the strain away with a powerful, efficient data archiving hub that is both time and cost-saving for organisations.
Looking for a way to manage your data effectively?
Fordway can help to solve your challenges of data archiving with Microsoft Azure. Get in touch with our team today for a free consultation.
