News in the Channel - issue #40

DATA DESTRUCTION

shadow AI usage, impact data control. “Sometimes it’s as simple as asking the right question: ‘Do you know where your data goes when employees use tools like ChatGPT?’ If the business cannot confidently and correctly answer that question, the reseller support team needs to prioritise opening discussions around broader data governance.” Mark advises to start the conversation about business risk. “I consider data destruction as part of cyber hygiene and not an afterthought or optional extra,” he says. “SMBs tend to focus on day to day operations, and cloud risks often stem from misconfigurations, oversharing, shadow IT, and lack of oversight — not deliberate negligence.” Guillaume says many SMBs still assume that moving to the cloud transfers control and responsibility to the provider. “In reality, responsibility becomes shared and data lifecycle governance often falls back to the customer,” he says. “This creates an opportunity for MSPs to shift the conversation from backup and security to full lifecycle management. Instead of focusing only on protecting data, they can help customers define retention policies, understand vendor deletion commitments and implement automated lifecycle controls. “Resellers can also add value by translating complex compliance language into practical risk decisions. Data destruction policies are often buried in provider documentation, making it difficult for SMBs to assess their exposure. MSPs that surface these details and align them with customer requirements become strategic advisors rather than just technology providers. “As data volumes continue to grow, strong lifecycle governance, including defensible destruction, will become a key differentiator. MSPs that help customers reduce data liability, not just store more data, will be best positioned to lead that conversation.” n

Contributors

Justin Sharrocks

trustedtechteam.co.uk

done, he warns. “It often limits the ability to use fully managed SaaS applications,” he says. “As a result, organisations must balance operational convenience with the level of control required to meet their data destruction and governance obligations.” Reseller approach Resellers have an important role in ensuring that customers take data destruction seriously and ensure it is properly destroyed. Justin says many organisations still view data destruction as a cost rather than a benefit. “This is where resellers need to shift the conversation,” he adds. “Instead of leading with fear around fines or breaches, it’s more effective to position it as data estate optimisation, cleaning up unused data to reduce costs, improving performance and strengthening security. “There’s also a clear awareness gap between ‘deleting’ and ‘destroying’ data. Within organisations, many people assume that deleting a file means it’s gone, without realising that data can persist in backups, archives or snapshots for extended periods. Good resellers should step into a trusted advisor role and help customers understand where their data actually resides, what happens to it over time, and how emerging risks, like

Mark Russell

exclusive-networks.com

Guillaume Boisvert

sherweb.com