Too much data can be a problem with database storage. When there is too much data, the data becomes an impediment that stands in the way of seeing and understanding the data that is important to the business. Thus, it is vital to keep data pared down to what is really usable and helpful. With too much data, information systems can become bogged down and system turnaround time can slow, there is a greater chance of the wrong data being used, and it is difficult and time-consuming-if not impossible-to sort through the data when needed to find a particular piece of data that is necessary for a task. Moreover, since companies must back up their data nightly and invest in data storage, situations similar to Southern Co.'s, where the company was "diligently backing up nightly...outdated or extraneous data, such as casual e-mail messages" can represent a substantial cost to the business without producing any business advantage (Jackson-Higgins, 2003, p. 1). As Calpine Corp. found out, it is important to "organize and analyze the data," not just capture it all; Calpine "nearly drowned in its own firewall event logs" (Jackson-Higgins, 2005, p. 1).
On the other hand, too little data is also a problem. If there is too little data, the picture is skewed and decisions can be made without the information needed to ensure that they are right decisions. People will use whatever data is available to make decisions, which may not be the right or best information.
It is unreasonable, however, to try to have "just the right amount of data" as a long-term goal, except in a general sense. It is appropriate to keep data pared down to what is necessary without paring it down too far, but it is too labor-intensive to try to account for every piece of data and make a separate decision on each one as to whether it belongs in the system or not. Instead, general rules and guidelines need to be followed that will ensure that th...