Data Retention & Lifecycle Management¶

Overview¶

Data Retention and Lifecycle Management ensures that enterprise data is stored, archived, and disposed of according to regulatory, operational, and business requirements.
Proper retention policies reduce legal risk, optimize storage, and maintain data quality throughout its lifecycle.

Data Retention & Lifecycle Management defines the policies and processes for managing the creation, storage, archival, and deletion of data across Nissan North America (NNA).
Proper lifecycle management ensures compliance with regulations, cost efficiency, risk mitigation, and governance of critical data.

This section aligns with classification, MDM, and data quality practices to maintain end-to-end data governance.

Purpose¶

Define how long different types of data should be retained.
Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory obligations (e.g., SOX, GDPR, CCPA).
Standardize data archiving, purging, and disposal procedures.
Support efficient use of storage and system resources.
Provide guidance for retention exceptions and escalation procedures.
Ensure data is retained according to legal, regulatory, and business requirements.
Minimize risk of non-compliance, data breaches, or unnecessary storage costs.
Support efficient archival, retrieval, and secure disposal.
Integrate lifecycle policies with classification, MDM, and data quality governance.

Retention Principles¶

Regulatory Compliance: Follow applicable laws for data retention and deletion.
Business Value: Retain data as long as it supports operations, analytics, or decision-making.
Data Minimization: Only retain data necessary for business and compliance purposes.
Access Control: Ensure archived data maintains proper security and access restrictions.
Lifecycle Automation: Where possible, implement automated retention and disposal workflows.

Retention Policy Guidelines¶

Regulatory Compliance: Retain data according to legal and industry-specific regulations (e.g., financial, PII, warranty, or safety data).
Business Value: Retain data based on ongoing business needs for analytics, audits, or historical reporting.
Classification Alignment: Sensitive/Restricted data may require shorter retention with stricter controls; Public/Internal data may have flexible policies.
Data Minimization: Delete or anonymize data that is no longer required to reduce risk and storage costs.

Implementation Process¶

Inventory & Classification: Identify data assets and align with classification levels.
Define Retention Rules: Specify retention periods, archival requirements, and deletion methods.
Automate Lifecycle Management: Implement workflows to enforce retention, archival, and deletion.
Audit & Monitor: Track adherence to retention rules, validate deletions, and report exceptions.
Review & Update: Adjust retention policies based on business, regulatory, or technological changes.

Data Lifecycle Stages¶

Stage	Description	Retention Guidelines
Creation / Capture	Data is generated or acquired	Classify data immediately, capture metadata for lineage and governance
Active / Operational	Data is actively used in business processes	Retain according to operational requirements; ensure access control
Archival / Inactive	Data is infrequently accessed but still required	Move to secure archival storage; retain per regulatory and business rules
Disposition / Deletion	Data reaches end-of-life	Securely delete or anonymize; maintain audit trail of deletion activities

Stage	Description	Guidelines
Creation / Acquisition	Data is created or ingested from source systems	Apply classification and quality validation at entry
Active / Operational	Data is actively used in operations, analytics, or reporting	Ensure access controls, quality monitoring, and MDM consistency
Retention / Archival	Data is moved to long-term storage based on retention policies	Apply encryption, access restrictions, and indexing for retrieval
Disposition / Deletion	Data is securely deleted or anonymized after retention period expires	Ensure compliance with retention rules, audit, and disposal verification

Retention Periods (Examples)¶

Data Type	Retention Period	Notes
Customer PII	7 years after last transaction	Align with privacy regulations and internal policies
Financial Records	10 years	SOX / local accounting compliance
HR Records	7 years post-employment	Employment law requirements
MDM / Master Data	Life of asset + 3 years	Ensure data quality and historical reference
Audit Logs	2 years	Maintain for operational and compliance review
Public Marketing Data	3 years	No legal restrictions, maintain for analytics

Note: Retention periods must be reviewed periodically and approved by Data Owners and Governance Council.

Roles & Responsibilities¶

Role	Responsibility
Data Owners	Define retention periods, approve exceptions, and ensure compliance
Data Stewards	Monitor adherence to retention policies, implement deletion or archival procedures
IT / System Administrators	Support automated lifecycle management, enforce access controls, manage archives
Compliance / Legal Teams	Ensure retention policies meet regulatory requirements and audit readiness

Role	Responsibilities
Data Owner	Approves retention policies for their domain, ensures compliance
Data Steward	Implements lifecycle management practices, monitors adherence
IT / Data Engineering	Automates retention, archival, and deletion processes; supports audits
Governance Council	Reviews retention policies, monitors compliance, and addresses exceptions
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Retention Exceptions¶

Business Exceptions: Short-term deviation approved by Data Owner for operational needs.
Legal Holds: Data required for litigation or investigation is retained regardless of standard retention.
Regulatory Overrides: If local or regional law mandates longer retention than standard policy.

Tools & Technologies¶

Data lifecycle management platforms (integrated with MDM or data catalog tools)
Archival storage solutions with indexing and retrieval capabilities
Automated deletion scripts and workflows
Audit and compliance reporting tools

Visual Representation¶

flowchart TD
    A[Data Creation / Ingestion] --> B[Active / Operational Use]
    B --> C[Archival / Inactive Storage]
    C --> D[Disposition / Deletion]
    B --> E[Retention Exceptions & Legal Holds]
    D --> F[Audit & Compliance Reporting]