Industry enterprises have to keep their know how for operational efficiency and future competitiveness. Archiving is a preservation for future re-use of design, certifications and processes. Companies face a daunting challenge as more and more data is being created that needs to be retained and managed to meet both competitive business challenges and rigorous regulatory compliance.Yet it must meet the insatiable demand of business users for direct access to corporate information for analysis.

A company's value is based on company related content like patents, process information, legally required documentation etc. Loss of such data means loss of efficiency, loss of vital business information und ultimately a loss of competitiveness. Digital information on storage media may be lost to virus attacks - if not archived on write once media. Management is accountable for such losses and has to face the legal consequences.

design data, certification protocolls and documents, audit records
revision suffix, product descriptions, process descriptions, vendor tool descriptions (food industry, medical, ...)
Service/maintenance reports in most cases beyond product life (airplanes, cars, …)

USA FDA 21 CFR Part 11 - Electronic Signature, Electronic Records:
Any combination of text, graphics, data, audio, pictorial information or any other information representation in digital form, that is created, modified,maintained, archived, retrieved or distributed by a computer system
Archival Requirements: Requires electronic records to be maintained electronically throughout their whole lifecycle, including long-term retention