Why Data Management Isn’t Just an IT Task Anymore Over the past few years, I’ve noticed something interesting — data challenges are no longer limited to IT departments. Legal teams are handling eDiscovery, compliance teams are reviewing archived communications, HR teams are preserving records, and business leaders are making decisions based on migrated and converted data. Yet most organizations still treat backup, migration, and forensic analysis as reactive tasks. That’s risky. Email archives grow into terabytes. Legacy systems become obsolete. Regulatory requirements tighten. And when something goes wrong — whether it’s accidental deletion, system failure, or legal investigation — companies suddenly realize they don’t have structured control over their data. What actually works? From what I’ve seen, three things matter most: Structured Backup Strategy – Not just cloud reliance, but verified backups stored securely with encryption. Accurate Conversion & Migration – Maintaining metadata, folder hierarchy, and data integrity during transfers. Forensic Readiness – The ability to collect and examine communication records in a court-admissible format when required. This is exactly the kind of research-backed approach companies like Univik Research Lab focus on — building practical tools for backup, migration, and digital forensics without adding complexity. Their research-driven framework around email backup, file conversion, and forensic analysis is worth exploring if data integrity is critical to your operations. If you’re dealing with growing email archives, PST/OST files, cloud migrations, or compliance-heavy environments, it’s worth reviewing solutions designed specifically for those scenarios: https://www.univik.com Data isn’t just storage anymore. It’s evidence. It’s compliance. It’s business continuity. And managing it properly should be a proactive decision — not a last-minute emergency response.