Do You Keep Data that You Don't Need?

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting post "If You Don't Need It Don't Keep It," referring to the fact that many businesses keep data that they don't need, for marketing and research purposes. The decreasing cost of storage has also increased the propensity to save data rather than to routinely clean it out.

Although NGOs are less likely to have that luxury of excess data capacity, we should also consider the types of data we are keeping and whether that requires greater security measures. Donor databases especially, contain personal information that needs to be safeguarded, and thus security should be a main concern when choosing and setting up your systems — and especially when disposing of any data from your constituents.