700 TB of Data Scanned, Categorized, and Quarantined, Protecting a Big Four Accounting
Firm From Sanctions and Reputational Damage.
In a high-stakes legal battle, one of the Big Four accounting firms found themselves under fire for mishandling audit data, facing the threat of significant penalties and reputational damage. The challenge was daunting: managing a colossal 700 TB of data scattered across their systems, identifying sensitive information, and securing it to comply with regulations and avoid sanctions. Recognizing the urgency, the companies turned to Data Dynamics, who, in collaboration with a leading IT infrastructure services provider, implemented a transformative data management software to navigate the complexities and protect their invaluable assets.
Business Need
Streamlining Data Management for Compliance and Governance
- Data Identification and Categorization: With vast amounts of data spread across their operations, the task was to identify client-specific data and organize it efficiently.
- Sensitivity Analysis: Pinpointing sensitive information within customer files was paramount to protect both customer interests and business reputation.
- Governance and Compliance: A comprehensive process was required to protect sensitive data, adhere to regulatory requirements, and enhance governance.
- Strategic Data Management: Migrating data to Azure was essential to achieve strategic data management objectives, enabling scalability and enhancing operational capabilities.
Challenges Faced
Navigating Legal Battles and Taming Sprawling Data
- Litigation Risk: Sued for more than 1 billion pounds, the pressure was on to resolve the client’s data exposure issue swiftly.
- Sprawling Data: Managing a staggering 700 TB of data residing across various storage clusters added complexity to the data management process.
- Unidentified Risks: The inability to determine the nature and risk associated with unstructured data heightened concerns.
- Reputational Risks: Beyond the monetary penalties, preserving their reputation in the industry was crucial.
Solution Offered
A Comprehensive Data Management Software for Risk Management and Cloud Adoption
Data Classification
Over 700 TB of data was meticulously scanned, categorized, tagged, and indexed, enabling efficient organization and management.
Sensitive Data Identification
Content analytics scrutinized more than 175 TB of data to identify and safeguard sensitive customer information.
Quarantine and Role-Based Access
Personal and sensitive data were isolated into secure storage with restricted access, minimizing the risk of unauthorized usage.
Migration to Azure
With the objective of moving away from UK data centers, the software facilitated a seamless transition to Azure, ensuring compliance, reducing risks, and capitalizing on cost savings and operational agility.
Business Impact
Preserving Reputations and Driving Transformation
Optimized Data Management: By discovering, classifying, and indexing data based on ownership, access, metadata, and content, the companies gained better control over unstructured data, streamlining their management processes.
Enhanced Data Protection: Sensitive data identification and quarantine measures bolstered the security of the accounting firm’s client data, mitigating potential breaches and protecting the firms’ reputations.
Governance and Compliance: The software empowered the companies to produce comprehensive data compliance reports, facilitating internal and external compliance reporting.
Future-Proofing Against Penalties: A robust data management lifecycle model was established, providing a strong foundation to fend off future penalties and reputational damage.
Cloud Adoption for the Future: Migrating to Azure transformed the companies into Data Custodians of the future, embracing a data-driven approach and maximizing value through cloud adoption.
Conclusion
The collaboration between Data Dynamics and its IT infrastructure services partner exemplified the power of transformative data management solutions. By efficiently scanning, categorizing, and safeguarding 700 TB of data, the Big Four accounting firm and the Fortune 100 company not only protected themselves from sanctions and reputational loss but also laid the groundwork for an agile, data-driven future in the cloud. With their newfound ability to identify, classify, and secure sensitive data, the companies emerged stronger, ready to tackle any challenge that lay ahead.