Digital detox: Practical ways to clean up ROT

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Surges in data volume are front and center for today’s information managers. Redundant, obsolete, and trivial (ROT) data increases your risk exposure and devalues your digital assets. Experts from our recent 2024 Education Series session share practical advice for your next data cleanup project.

Sue Trombley

April 14, 20266 min read

Engineer examining AI technology with reflection on eyeglasses

There was a palpable buzz around data management and digital detox at ARMA International InfoCon 2024. During the three-day event, I had the opportunity to sit down with two information leaders to discuss this important topic for our 2024 Education Series.

Joining me on Digital detox: Practical ways to clean up ROT were panelists Chantel Johnson, VP, Chief Data Office at Bank of China, and Steve Matthews, Client Principal, Professional Services at Iron Mountain. We tackled everything from the risks and challenges associated with modern data management to tested strategies for effectively cleaning up and managing redundant, obsolete, and trivial (ROT) data. Our experts shared valuable insights on how to handle this high-stakes task, including:

Understanding what ROT data is and its risks
The process of cleaning up ROT data, including the tools and resources needed
The importance of ongoing management and oversight of data

Related: Watch the full webinar

What is ROT data, and why is it risky?

Organizations are grappling with exponential data growth, creating more volume challenges, storage costs, and risk exposure than they did with paper records. A significant portion of that data—whether structured or unstructured—is often redundant, obsolete, and trivial. ROT data can be identified by its lack of business value and covers a broad range of digital excess, from personal vacation photos to data that has met retention requirements.

ROT can comprise 50% or more of an organization’s data.

Steve MatthewsClient Principal, Professional Services, Iron Mountain

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ROT is a significant problem: Many organizations have large amounts of unnecessary data that can pose risks to their operations. ROT data hinders efficient information management and leads to increased costs, security vulnerabilities, and impaired decision-making.

The risks of ROT

Unstructured data

Not surprisingly, unstructured data is a huge culprit when it comes to ROT. Unstructured data—data that doesn’t have a predefined format like you would find in the rows and columns of a database—becomes an issue for organizations because of its ambiguity. Information managers simply “don’t know what they don’t know.”

Unstructured data can include digital files such as text documents, images, audio files, video files, social media posts, emails, and more. Many of these files are often copies, and sometimes even copies of copies. Our panelists estimate a whopping 50–60% of an organization’s data is unstructured.

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There’s so much risk and exposure just by holding onto data you have no idea about.

Chantel JohnsonVP, Chief Data Office, Bank of China

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Why your organization needs a digital detox

Cleaning up ROT data alleviates the workload required to manage massive datasets during litigation, audits, mergers and acquisitions, and other business activities. The more data you have, the more data you will be required to identify and produce during these situations. By regularly managing your data and eliminating ROT, you’re also:

Reducing security risks and better protecting your sensitive information
Optimizing digital storage and reducing your environmental impact
Boosting productivity across your organization

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User productivity increases because you can find the right information at the right time.

Steve MatthewsClient Principal, Professional Services, Iron Mountain

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Another huge benefit of digital detox is your organization’s preparedness for future trends like AI. The remaining data after a ROT cleanup project is more likely to be accurate and useful for advanced technology, so you can confidently provide model inputs. Clean data produces valuable business and customer insights.

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The benefits of ROT cleanup

The right approach for data cleanup

While technology can help manage ROT data, it’s crucial to have people and processes in place to tackle the issue effectively. This often involves a change management effort with support from the top down. The average employee can be in the habit of making copies of copies of copies and storing data in a variety of folder types, without giving thought to the impact. Even records managers can be resistant to updating their data storage habits.

Cleaning up millions of digital files

During our discussion, panelist Chantel Johnson, VP, Chief Data Office at Bank of China, shared some key strategies used during her approach to ROT cleanup.

Top-down support:

Chantel secured executive backing for the data cleanup initiative, recognizing how critical it was to eliminate as much ROT data as possible.

Targeted data assessment:

The organization focused on unstructured data, which was deemed to pose the highest risk due to its lack of organization and potential for sensitive information exposure. Legal holds and personally identifiable information (PII) were important considerations during the cleanup process. Both of these factors directly affected what ROT data could be disposed of.

Technology implementation:

The organization leveraged technology and content classification tools to visualize its unstructured data, identify ROT files, and assess compliance status.

Stakeholder and SME buy-in:

Records coordinators, department heads, and legal experts were engaged to provide domain knowledge and ensure accurate data classification and disposition.

Gradual cleanup:

The organization adopted a phased approach to the cleanup process, starting with low-risk data and gradually progressing to more complex datasets.

Ongoing maintenance:

The organization established processes and policies to prevent the accumulation of new ROT data and ensure ongoing data hygiene.

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A ROT cleanup program is not a one-and-done. It’s an ongoing process.

Steve MatthewsClient Principal, Professional Services, Iron Mountain

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ROT data cleanup is not a one-time task but an ongoing process that requires regular reviews and updates. Experts recommend more frequency than once a year, encouraging records managers to consider an ongoing strategy. Having a human in the loop is critical. Without the right people in the ROT cleanup process, decision-making can come to a halt. Technology can make suggestions, but it can’t make all of the critical business and legal decisions.

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Creating an effective records coordinator working group for ROT cleanup

Reducing ROT and establishing a strategy for ongoing cleanup is essential for today’s information managers. New data is constantly being created, and the problem of data overload will continue to accumulate in the wake of AI’s rapid expansion.

You can’t afford to stand still.

Watch the full webinar

Interested in learning more about this topic and hearing the live Q&A with our panelists? Visit Iron Mountain’s 2024 Education Series to watch the on-demand recording of Digital detox: Practical ways to cleanup ROT and to register for upcoming webinars.

Digital detox: Practical ways to clean up ROT

There was a palpable buzz around data management and digital detox at ARMA International InfoCon 2024. During the three-day event, I had the opportunity to sit down with two information leaders to discuss this important topic for our 2024 Education Series.

What is ROT data, and why is it risky?

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Unstructured data

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Why your organization needs a digital detox

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The right approach for data cleanup

Cleaning up millions of digital files

Top-down support:

Targeted data assessment:

Technology implementation:

Stakeholder and SME buy-in:

Gradual cleanup:

Ongoing maintenance:

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Watch the full webinar

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Unstructured data

Why your organization needs a digital detox

The right approach for data cleanup

Cleaning up millions of digital files

Top-down support:

Targeted data assessment:

Technology implementation:

Stakeholder and SME buy-in:

Gradual cleanup:

Ongoing maintenance:

Watch the full webinar

Elevate the power of your work