The modern world runs on data, and organizations increasingly rely on this information to get things done. But as the amount of collected data grows, so do the risks to organizations from failing to manage it properly.
This guide to lifecycle management in Microsoft 365 will discuss its benefits to organizations and how it can assist you in keeping up with your needs in data security and management needs in today’s world.
What Is Data Lifecycle Management?
Data lifecycle management is an approach to managing data throughout its lifecycle. It embraces cloud computing, big data technologies, and analytics as crucial elements of an overall strategy for creating value from information assets.
It can manage your data across multi-tenant enterprises and be accessible when it needs to be while also protecting sensitive or confidential information through encryption techniques like tokenization and masking.
What is a Microsoft 365 Lifecycle?
Microsoft 365 Lifecycle is a set of processes that help you manage your devices and software. It includes phases your devices go through as they age and become less secure. The lifecycle process ensures that you have consistent policies that are up to date and secure.
Phases of Data Lifecycle of Microsoft 365
The six phases of the data lifecycle help you to maintain the data systematically.
Data Collection
Data collection is obtaining information from different sources, which can be done manually or through automated tools.
Data Processing
Data processing converts raw data into more useful forms, such as reports and analytics.
- Data acquisition is getting data from the source to the computer to analyze it.
- Data cleansing removes errors or inconsistencies from your raw data so you can use it effectively.
- Data transformation is converting different types of information into uniform formats that make them easier for machines and humans to interpret and understand.
Data Storage
Data storage is where your data is stored permanently, whether on the cloud, a server, a local drive, or even your mobile device or external drive.
Data Analysis
Data analysis is applying statistical methods to data to infer the properties of the population from which the data were drawn.
Data Visualization
Data Visualization is the creation of visual representations of data to communicate insights to make information more understandable, useful, and compelling for analysts and business users.
Data Final State: Archiving, Retention, and Deletion
- Data archiving is storing data in a format that is not accessible for further processing.
- Data retention is storing data for a certain period.
- Data deletion is deleting data from the system.
Organizational Benefits of Data Lifecycle Management
With Simeon Cloud‘s automated configuration in Microsoft 365 lifecycle management, businesses can enjoy the many benefits data lifecycle management brings to their organization.
Data Integrity
Data integrity is ensuring data is accurate and consistent. It’s important because it helps ensure that your information is reliable, trustworthy, accurate, and consistent.
Improved performance
Data lifecycle management enhances business performance by helping to ensure that data is accurate, relevant, accessible, and complete. It can result in better decision-making and enhanced efficiency across the organization.
Reduced risk
Identifying gaps in information can help avoid costly mistakes or oversights when implementing policies or procedures at any stage of a process.
Improved Ability to Comply with IT Regulations
Data is an asset, liability and risk. It is a competitive advantage, compliance requirement, and key performance indicator. Data Lifecycle Management can help you manage all these aspects of data more effectively so that you comply with regulations and derive greater business value from your data assets.
Improved operational performance
Data helps an organization identify when customers use a service or product, allowing companies to respond quickly with new products or services that meet their needs. Data can also be used for supply chain management by providing real-time visibility into inventory levels.
Takeaway
Microsoft 365 Lifecycle Management is essential for any organization to help you manage your devices, applications, and data. With the appropriate system in place, you can reduce costs, increase productivity, improve security, and make better decisions to improve your bottom line.
Author’s Name – Jeff Nevins, CTO of Simeon Cloud, a provider of a multi-tenant Microsoft 365 configuration management platform for MSPs. Nevins gives his take on cloud management and the MSP tool sets that are currently available.
Site info: Simeon Cloud is the leading cloud configuration solution for implementing governance and automation for Modern Digital Workplaces using Microsoft 365. With its friendly user interface, Simeon Cloud enables teams to easily manage configuration as code, establish baseline configurations for multiple tenants, deploy non-production environments, monitor and document drift, and back up and recover configurations.
