What Is a Data Inventory?
A data inventory lists what data you collect, where it lives, and why it is used.
It gives your business a clearer view of the personal data, customer data, employee data, vendor data, and operational data it handles.
A practical data inventory may include:
Data Type What kind of data is collected?
Purpose Why is the data collected or used?
System Where is the data stored or processed?
Owner Who is responsible for the data?
Retention How long should the data be kept?
Sharing Who receives or accesses the data, including vendors or third parties?
Data inventories can support privacy compliance, data governance, vendor reviews, retention planning, GDPR readiness, CCPA readiness, and better internal accountability.
You cannot govern data you have not inventoried.
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