Private businesses and public sector organisations are straining under the weight of decades of creation and storage of electronic information.

With files and electronic documents dating back years, unstructured data not only represents a critical asset for the enterprise, but also a substantial burden.

At its simplest, this issue can be dealt with in two ways: either destroy the data that is not required, or organise it in some intelligent and consistent way.

Aside from being easier said than done, the task is compounded by increasingly stringent legal and industry-specific compliance regulations.

Businesses cannot simply ‘de-junk’ their data, they must ensure it can be reported on at short notice for audit, freedom of information requests, and the like.

What’s more, IT expenditure is under increased scrutiny and every penny must be justified.

One way which businesses are seeking to cut the cost of managing data and, in turn, the total cost of ownership of network infrastructure, is by investing in outsourcing data management, back-up and archiving procedures.

However, cash-strapped companies have CIOs and IT directors who may feel savings may best be made by employing outsourcing services. They could be missing the bigger picture.

One recurring themes in the industry over the past 12 months has been data loss.

Whether it be via dossiers left on trains, CD-ROMs lost in the post, or back-up tapes stolen from safes, the risk from losing data and the disastrous public backlash that might ensue has become of consequence to any organisation dealing with confidential or business critical data.

Should businesses be entertaining the notion of outsourcing data management?

Why add to the risk of data loss? In most cases, simple, cost-effective, low-risk steps can cater for the management of information.

By deploying an in-house solution, CIOs and IT directors will keep a much tighter rein on their data and can be confident that corporate policies are enforced at all times.

Resellers may offer advice to struggling businesses on how to manage growing volumes of data, while demonstrating the added value in solutions that minimise risk.

The issues involved are ongoing and, over the next 12 months, we are sure to see even more data loss fiascos hit the headlines, reinforcing the need for mitigating solutions that counter this threat.

The reseller that offers assistance and provides support in tackling these issues will be a valuable and trusted partner.

Juergen Obermann is chief executive officer of GFT inboxx