Author: Priyasha Purkayastha, Global Content Manager, TJC Group
In the current digital and business landscape, of the 10 principles in the paper, you will find one that deals with the usage of artificial intelligence. Specifically, if seen in the data management world, the implementation of AI is becoming more universal as organisations manoeuvre for the future. But is the future of data archiving only limited to AI and automation? Absolutely not! There are far more interesting and meticulous trends powered by automation that will make way for a more streamlined archiving process. In this blog, we talk about what the future of SAP data archiving looks like – from machine learning (ML) to native cloud storage and more. Read on!
Table of contents
Introduction
The advent of the digital world is not just a mere technology upgrade; rather, it is a paradigm shift that helps organisations achieve extraordinary efficiencies and capabilities. However, as we continue to grow, data also experiences growth, leading to overburdened data centres and digital carbon footprints. So, can data generation be stopped? No. Can data growth be controlled? Maybe. But can growing data be managed? Absolutely yes!
One of the key solutions to managing massive amounts of data effectively is data archiving. The principle of archiving is simple – it helps move inactive data from the central (or live) system to a secondary repository, thereby managing data and ensuring effective system performance. Not just this, with archiving, organisations can also tackle unprecedented challenges like compliance with regulatory requirements, storage costs, and so on. However, with digitisation taking over the world, traditional archiving methods in SAP or non-SAP systems are no longer viable options; majorly due to their reliance on manual classification, static retention policies, and cached storage tiers, which often struggle under dual pressure.
As a matter of fact, archiving techniques designed for the bygone era’s data volumes and use cases cannot support today’s modern agility, business intelligence, and sustainable targets. Therefore, organisations are turning their attention to solutions driven by AI and automation that fundamentally help in reshaping the archiving approach. This paradigm shift also contributes to enhancing compliance, reducing overall costs, and unlocking strategic insights from the archived data.
The transition to S/4HANA: Still a debate?
In fairness, the debate of on-premises versus the cloud will always remain a never-ending topic, but the bright side is that the migration to the cloud and SAP S/4HANA will take progressive shape in 2025. In fact, this progression will directly impact organisations’ SAP data archiving process, enabling businesses to reassess their data management strategies. Having said that, the ongoing migration to architectures that are more closely related to the cloud will accelerate in 2025. Therefore, this will compel organisations to modernise their archiving process, leveraging hybrid models for better and more enhanced management of data.
Adding to this, AI and automation are expected to transform archiving – whether data, document, or fiscal, by integrating and enabling advanced analytics. However, the challenge here is that organisations have to ensure the protection of sensitive data while maintaining compliance with privacy laws. As a matter of fact, as data protection and security regulations become more stringent, organisations must implement robust data archiving solutions for better security, compliance, and more.
The future of SAP data archiving: What are the key solutions?
To evolve in this digitally growing world is quintessential. With the future in the lap of the cloud, automation, and so on, non-SAP and SAP data archiving is also set to grow. As a matter of fact, SAPinsider has listed down some of the trends that are imminent for a strategic and efficient future:
Cloud-native architecture
Data will continue to grow, but with this comes the modernisation of IT strategies by businesses. As that happens, you can see an exponential rise in the adoption and implementation of cloud-native solutions. In fact, organisations are increasingly implementing their systems for archiving with cloud platforms. Additionally, a surge in the number of hybrid models also comes out as a transitional step. The use of cloud-native architecture and hybrid models is expected to accelerate even more in 2025. According to SAPinsider, significant integration is expected across renowned cloud providers like Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and AWS.
Implementation of AI and automation
From corporate to government across the world, AI is transforming every entity and surely marking its presence in the world of data archiving. Artificial intelligence has the potential to remarkably revolutionise the way organisations gain valuable insights from their archives, which is achieved through advanced analysis of both unstructured and structured data. The fact of the matter is that archives often have untapped data assets that can turn into valuable resources for analytics – of course, when they are paired with the right tools.
Despite its potential, the integration of AI into archiving presents notable compliance challenges. While AI and automation facilitate more efficient access to archived data, it remains crucial to protect sensitive information and adhere to regulatory obligations. Looking ahead to 2025, it is anticipated that organisations with expertise in SAP systems and advanced technological know-how will gain a competitive advantage. Such companies will be well-placed to implement early AI-driven archiving solutions, achieving swift successes and showcasing the measurable benefits of AI-enabled data management.
Zero Trust security model
Come what may, the importance of data privacy and data security remains non-negotiable. The entire data protection landscape is undergoing a shift owing to several new international regulations along with national laws, which mandate the imposition of stricter compliance requirements. This brings us to an important aspect: organisations must adopt SAP data archiving solutions that ensure robust security and long-term data retention. Additionally, the archiving solutions must be able to integrate the heightened security standards; archived data, in particular, requires more stringency to be designed with these compliance demands in mind.
Coming to data security, with the growing number of cyberattacks and the emergence of new cyber threats, there is a significant shift towards the Zero-Trust security model in archiving practices. This new cybersecurity model operates on a strategic principle – no user or system, irrespective of its origin or reputation, is trusted automatically. Every access made by the user or system will be verified, thereby ensuring a higher level of security for the archived data. As a matter of fact, the Zero-Trust security model is set to become one of the critical components of data archiving strategies as businesses continue to prioritise both data protection and regulatory compliance.
Integration of centralised platforms
Apart from security, and AI and automation trends, another one that contributes to the future of archiving is the integration of centralised platforms. As a matter of fact, SAP Insider says that the demand for centralised archiving platforms that help consolidate data from multiple sources is expected to rise in 2025. These platforms help achieve a unified oversight of the archived data, hence making it easier and more convenient for organisations to meet regulatory requirements while maintaining operational efficiency. Adding to this, the seamless integration of SAP data archiving with centralised solutions will help optimise data retrieval, strengthen governance, ensure data security, and empower transparency. Apart from this, the emphasis on the use of centralised platforms reflects a broader perception and shift towards a more comprehensive data management strategy.
Data archiving: Other top trends for the future
Smart data classification
Simply put, traditional data classification methods are time-consuming, often leading to intense labour while being prone to errors. The implementation ofAI, in such a case, changes the entire landscape by smartly analysing and classifying archived data. Data archiving solutions with the capabilities of artificial intelligence can categorise data with accuracy by identifying the patterns, data types, and so on. As a matter of fact, this streamlines the archiving process and ensures data classification that eases and improves future retrieval and access.
Automated generation of metadata
Whether it is a non-SAP or SAP data archiving, metadata plays a vital role in understanding and accessing archived data. However, generating metadata can be a cumbersome task. With archiving solutions that come with AI and automation capabilities, organisations can automatically generate descriptive metadata, enriching the accessibility of archived data. In fact, some intelligent solutions are being developed with features such as facial recognition, speech-to-text, object recognition, and semantic search recognition. If these features are indeed applied to AI-backed archiving solutions, it will make navigating and using archived data extremely easy.
Intelligent search and retrieval
Let’s face it – searching through archived data can be tedious – like finding a small pin in a bundle of haystacks. If AI-powered search algorithms are implemented in the archiving solutions, the accuracy and speed of the process will improve. Apart from this, natural language processing (NLP) and ML techniques can be integrated to enable advanced search capabilities. Implementing intelligent search and retrieval solutions to the data archiving process not only makes the archive a repository of data but also a highly interactive and accessible tool.
How can TJC Group help with intelligent SAP data archiving?
AI and automation-backed archiving solutions can help manage the long-term ownership costs of the S/4HANA migration while saving time and mitigating non-compliance risks. Automated archiving solutions help gain financial benefits as they save storage costs, maintenance costs, and software licensing costs. That said, even if financial benefits are kept aside, such intelligent archiving solutions help ensure the stringent security of the archived data. Overall, archiving locks your data against time, keeping it safe and secure from being compromised and accessible by unauthorised applications/users.
Keeping up with the trends of intelligent solutions, TJC Group presents its brainchild – the Archiving Sessions Cockpit (ASC), an automated SAP data archiving software that helps optimise and power the entire process. As a matter of fact, our archiving software helps manage and control archiving runs from a single point. Archiving Sessions Cockpit (ASC) assures that all the periodic processes of archiving data are inculcated and completed to precision. With the automation capabilities of ASC, organisations can easily free up internal resources for more competent tasks, which are aimed at bringing significant returns on investments in the future.
Want to learn more about our Archiving Sessions Cockpit? Click on the banner below:
Key takeaways
As organisations look to prioritise more effective, secured, and compliant access to data, the convergence of solutions like Zero-Trust security model, integration with centralised platforms, AI and automation-backed solutions, and so on will most definitely play a vital role in shaping how archiving practices are followed in the future.
Many times, it may look like the developments are relatively standard or slow-moving on the surface. However, in keeping with the ever-evolving enterprise technology landscape, organisations are indeed incorporating the established principles of the above-mentioned trends.
All in all, SAP data archiving is one of the most effective ways of managing the humungous amounts of data. Organisations generate data by the second; unmanaged data can lead to system performance issues, security challenges, increased costs of operation, etc. Therefore, smartly managing data always remains the need of the hour, and with the trends and technology pertaining to archiving solutions, the future looks extremely promising.
If you want to learn more about overall data management, contact us now!
