First decide "what", then "how"...

Agree with comments on getting a policy right first - but make certain that you specify sufficient granularity that there is NO UNCERTAINTY about "what" you have to keep (and for how long).

Interesting hacks, which are often overlooked delves into the treatment of "drafts" and other "not final" work. Get yourself some Legal advice - you may find that your specific retention obligation may only be for the FINAL database, report, etc. and trashing the interim work product, in addition to reducing your storage requirements, actually reduces your "legal risk". (YMMV).

Oh, periodically its worth going back and making certain that folks are being space constrained and only keeping EXACTLY what is required. There is a natural tendency for folks to cover their asses and "packrat" everything. Incentivise folks to manage their storage allocations by making public the storage amounts and make a fuss of those who improve the most...

Deja Vu

Under the previous regime, (yes, the one responsible for Apartheid) porn was banned all the way up until around 1992, when in a massive explosion of deregulation the primary girlie-mag of the time, the venerable "Scope" magazine was permitted to publish pictures of women with "scratch off stars" covering their breasts.

Of course the moral rot only truly set in with the publication of LosLyf (afrikaans txln: Loose body) - I mean, this was porn with subtitles in Afrikaans ! (which somehow was worse ?)

So rapid the interest loss in tame fare, that Playboy South Africa (centre) folded by 1995 and only the hard-core mags remained, serving their small (in number) but loyal constituents.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" - George Santayana

Aaah, the good times.