Water Companies: Protecting Long-Term Records
Eliminating retention risks for long-term digital records in Microsoft 365. In 2024 alone, global regulatory fines for data retention and compliance failures soared to $19.3 billion (1). Water authorities are among the most data-intensive and highly regulated of industries - here we answer your questions regarding data archiving. compliance and long term file management. Are you fully prepared?
Are your records at risk?
Consider these Frequently Asked Questions regarding your important project & compliance records, to reduce risk from loss or corruption.
1. What is intelligent archiving and why is it relevant for waterboards?
Intelligent archiving is a modern approach to managing documentary information that goes beyond simple storage. It uses metadata, automation, and governance rules to ensure records are properly classified, searchable, secure, and compliant with legal requirements. For Dutch waterboards, this means being able to manage vast amounts of operational, environmental, and administrative data in a way that supports transparency, accountability, and long-term preservation. Intelligent archiving helps reduce manual effort, improves access to critical information, and ensures compliance with laws like the Archiefwet and GDPR. It’s especially valuable for organisations with complex responsibilities and public oversight.
2. How does intelligent archiving improve compliance with Dutch and EU regulations?
Intelligent archiving systems are designed to align with key regulations such as the Dutch Archiefwet, GDPR, and sector-specific retention policies. They automate the application of retention schedules, ensure secure access controls, and provide audit trails for every action taken on a document. This means waterboards can demonstrate compliance during audits, respond quickly to information requests, and ensure that sensitive data is protected and disposed of correctly. The system also supports irreversible deletion and traceable destruction, which are essential for meeting legal obligations around data minimisation and the right to be forgotten.
3. What are the risks of continuing to rely solely on SharePoint or legacy systems?
While SharePoint is widely used, it was not designed as a long-term archiving solution. Relying solely on it or other legacy systems can lead to fragmented information, inconsistent metadata, and limited control over retention and deletion. These gaps pose risks in terms of compliance, data loss, and operational inefficiency. For waterboards, this could mean difficulty proving accountability, responding to audits, or preserving critical environmental and administrative records. Intelligent archiving bridges these gaps by providing structured, rule-based management of records with full traceability and legal defensibility.
4. How does intelligent archiving support operational efficiency?
By automating tasks like metadata tagging, retention scheduling, and access control, intelligent archiving reduces the manual workload for staff. It also improves searchability, making it easier to find the right documents quickly - whether for internal use, public inquiries, or legal reviews. Bulk editing tools allow teams to update classifications or permissions across thousands of records in minutes. For waterboards, this means faster decision-making, better collaboration across departments, and more time spent on core responsibilities rather than administrative overhead.
5. Can intelligent archiving help with digital preservation and long-term access?
Yes. Intelligent archiving systems are built to support long-term preservation by maintaining metadata, relationships, and file integrity over time. They can convert documents to stable formats like PDF/A, manage version histories, and integrate with e-depots for permanent archiving. This ensures that records remain accessible and understandable decades into the future, even as technologies change. For waterboards, this is crucial for preserving environmental data, infrastructure records, and governance documentation that may be needed for future reference or legal purposes.
Why is ongoing readability & integrity so important?
Pipeline inspection footage, environmental and water use permits, infrastructure schematics, procurement contracts, water quality and safety compliance reports - all need to be safely stored and accessible.
Regulatory compliance
Information retained to comply with externally applied industry rules and legal mandates
Legal protection
Information needed for evidential purposes in the future and reputational risk management
Repurposing for value
Information having inherent value that can be leveraged to support daily operations or in the future
Common business reasons for archiving long-term & permanent information include...
- Project closures
- Compliance mandates
- ‘Decluttering’ SharePoint
- Retaining content of historical & cultural value
- File storage decommissioning
- Legacy system migrations
(1) Corlytics
Read more about Preservica
Dutch Government
Learn how government institutions in the Netherlands are preserving public records
Preserving North Brabant's Legacy: BHIC's Digital Archival Evolution with Preservica
In 2025, the New Archive Act will shorten BHIC's archive transfer time to 10 years, which poses challenges and opportunities due to increased digitization. BHIC has implemented Preservica's digital repository to ensure success by addressing financial, organizational, and personnel requirements.
