Configuring the Data Purge Service

The new Data Purge Process introduces a two-step mechanism to manage record deletion securely and efficiently. This feature helps ensure compliance with data retention policies, such as the right to be forgotten, while maintaining flexibility for System Administrators.

This process streamlines compliance with data retention policies by scheduling purges outside business hours, offering manual override and also delay options for flexibility.

Entities covered: Call, Request, Task, Asset, Service Order, Person, Organisation, Location, Contract, Agreement, Knowledge, Bulletin.

This process leverages a new Windows service built using the existing Alemba.Services.Core NuGet package and introduces new features for automation, auditing, and manual management. The service runs two background tasks: Purge Scheduling Service Task: Identifies records for purging and sets a purge date and the Purge Service Task: Deletes records where the purge date has passed.

Two-Step Purge Process

Step 1: Flagging Records Records identified for deletion are flagged with a purge date.

Step 2: Purging Records Records flagged for purging are deleted when the purge date has passed.

This process is configured to run outside of ASM Core working hours, specifically on weekends (Saturday and Sunday).

Additional components:

Purge Search: Enables identification of records with a set purge date.

Purge Delay Process: Allows delaying the purging of a record for additional processing time.

Manual Purge Process: Allows Administrators to manually flag records for deletion, supporting the right to be forgotten.

Note: Once a record is manually purged, it cannot be undone.

Auditing: Logs all purge actions for compliance and traceability. Select the Event source 'Data Purge service' in the Activity log to see all the entities that have been purged or flagged to be purged.

In System Administration, System, System Auditing: New Data Purge Options Data Retention Period (Years): Defaults to 7 years. Delay Period (Days): Defaults to 30 days. Administrators can change the periods according to their Organisation's rules of compliance.

Data Purge options

A new Data Admin role has been made available. Users with this role can view the Purge and Purge Delay buttons on applicable entity detail pages. When enabled, the user can see the purge and purge delay buttons on applicable entity detail pages.

Data Admin General Access Security Role

Automated Purge Process: Records are flagged for purging based on retention and delay periods, as set in the options in the Auditing page in System Administration. The purge process runs automatically on weekends. Records marked with a purge date are deleted if the date is in the past.

Manual Purge: Authorised Users with the Data Admin role can manually flag records for purging and can also manually delay the purge if necessary.

Manually flagging a record for purge

Authorised Users can delay purging via the Purge Delay button to extend the retention period for flagged records.

Delay purging via the Purge Delay button

For both options, the purge occurs during the weekend outside of ASM Core working hours, when the purge service runs.