Ten take-home messages for audit-proof archiving

Observing the following take-home messages will stand you in good stead for ensuring audit-proof archiving

• Every document must be archived in non-modifiable form.
• No document may be lost on its way to the archive or within the archive itself.
• Every document must be retrievable using suitable retrieval techniques.
• The exact document that is being searched for must be retrieved.
• It must not be possible for any document to be destroyed during its planned lifetime.
• It must be possible for every document to be displayed and printed in the exact same form it was produced in.
• It must be possible to find any of the documents within a short timeframe.
• All actions in the archive that result in changes to the organization or structure must be logged to ensure that the original condition can be recovered.
• Electronic archives must be designed to enable migration to new platforms, media, software versions, and components without any loss of information.
• The system must provide the user with the ability to ensure compliance with the legal and operational provisions to which the user is subject with regard to data security and data protection, throughout the lifespan of the archive.