This page explains the tools available in Acquia DAM to support data retention and outlines customer responsibilities for asset lifecycle governance.

Why data retention matters in a DAM

Establishing and applying a data retention policy in Acquia DAM helps organizations manage storage costs, maintain brand integrity, and meet regulatory obligations. The following factors illustrate why data retention governance is important:

• Storage limits: Unmanaged asset growth consumes storage allocations and can incur additional costs.
• Brand compliance: Outdated, superseded, or off-brand assets that remain active in the DAM risk being downloaded and used by internal teams or partners.
• Search quality and discoverability: Expired or irrelevant assets clutter search results and reduce the value of the DAM.
• Regulatory obligations: Depending on the industry, organizations may be required to retain or destroy records according to specific schedules. Examples include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) right to erasure, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for healthcare organizations, and other industry-specific requirements.

This page explains the tools available in Acquia DAM to support data retention and outlines customer responsibilities for asset lifecycle governance.

Why data retention matters in a DAM

Establishing and applying a data retention policy in Acquia DAM helps organizations manage storage costs, maintain brand integrity, and meet regulatory obligations. The following factors illustrate why data retention governance is important:

• Storage limits: Unmanaged asset growth consumes storage allocations and can incur additional costs.
• Brand compliance: Outdated, superseded, or off-brand assets that remain active in the DAM risk being downloaded and used by internal teams or partners.
• Search quality and discoverability: Expired or irrelevant assets clutter search results and reduce the value of the DAM.
• Regulatory obligations: Depending on the industry, organizations may be required to retain or destroy records according to specific schedules. Examples include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) right to erasure, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for healthcare organizations, and other industry-specific requirements.

What Acquia DAM provides to support data retention

Acquia DAM provides a set of features that customers can use to implement and manage their own data retention practices. The following table describes each feature and how it supports the data retention lifecycle:

Customer responsibilities

Acquia provides the tools described on this page, but the responsibility for data retention governance rests with the customer. Customers are responsible for the following:

• Defining their organization's data retention policy and aligning it with legal, regulatory, and business requirements.
• Applying the policy consistently in Acquia DAM, including setting expiry dates, archiving assets, and managing the Pending Delete queue through to final deletion.
• Reviewing expired assets regularly and taking action based on their organization's policy.
• Making data compliance decisions relevant to their industry for example, under GDPR, HIPAA, or other applicable regulations.
• Exporting metadata records periodically for internal audit and rollback purposes.

Getting help from Acquia

For large-scale data lifecycle operations such as bulk deletions of thousands of assets, bulk archiving projects, or data migrations — Acquia Professional Services can assist as part of a paid engagement. Professional Services support is not included in the standard platform subscription.

To discuss a Professional Services engagement, contact your Acquia account manager.

If your organization does not yet have a data retention policy

If your organization is starting from scratch, consider the following steps:

• Begin with a simple time-based review: use Insights reports to identify assets that have not been downloaded or accessed in two or more years.
• Consult key stakeholders brand, legal, and marketing operations to understand their data retention requirements before setting policy.
• Explore the Acquia DAM Community Forum to find peer examples, templates, and discussion threads on data governance practices.

Related resources

• Asset audit and cleanup
• Acquia DAM Optimization Guide
• What should I do to maintain Acquia DAM?
• Shared responsibility model for Acquia DAM