4.12 Store data according to the needs of your users
Hosting, Infrastructure, and Systems
Regularly manage and reduce stored data (including content, logs, media, and downloads) using retention, compression, and lifecycle policies, while maintaining efficient access to long-term assets.
Success Criteria
- Remove unused data:
Regularly remove unused or obsolete data (“dark data”) to reduce storage and energy costs, and manage whether and how long data is stored. - Lifecycle management:
Use classification and tagging policies to define and manage data lifecycle rules, including retention, expiration, and archiving. Align storage choices to how frequently data is accessed, shifting less frequently used data to energy-efficient storage. - Efficient storage:
Store data only where it provides lasting operational, analytical, or legal value and cannot be easily regenerated or replaced. Remove or archive it when it becomes obsolete. Avoid unnecessary duplication and use efficient storage practices such as compression, caching, and storage optimization techniques. - Optimized logging:
Manage logs with regular rotation, retention, compression, and backup practices to reduce storage and processing overhead. Schedule resource-intensive operations during low-activity periods, use resilient backups, including off-site storage where needed, and remove sensitive information where possible to minimize security and privacy risks. Use logs, monitoring, and alerts at a regular frequency and scope to provide value while avoiding unnecessary processing, storage, and network use. Use collected data to identify and reduce avoidable resource consumption, such as unnecessary automated requests. - Asset downloads:
Make large, long-term assets easily downloadable so users do not need repeated server requests.