kgs unveils the Top Trends shaping Data and Document Archiving in 2025

Neu-Isenburg, November 28, 2024 – The migration to SAP S/4HANA is set to become even more pressing in the coming year, directly affecting archiving processes. This shift compels companies to reassess their data and document management strategies, including archiving, and to adapt existing solutions to meet the demands for flexibility, performance, and compliance.

This will result in the following archiving trends in 2025:

1.     Cloud-Native architectures and Containerization

An increasing number of companies are embracing cloud-native approaches, integrating their archiving applications directly into the cloud – or initially opting for hybrid environments. The native integration of archives into cloud services like Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, or AWS is expected to grow further in 2025. Similarly, the use of containers for SAP applications and archives will expand, as container technologies like Docker make archiving solutions more adaptable and scalable.

2.    Green light for AI – with necessary caution

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a hot topic, but what role does it play in data and document archiving? AI can significantly enhance the analysis of both structured and unstructured data, potentially becoming a game-changer for organizations seeking to extract insights from all available data. Many of these valuable data assets are stored in company archives. With the right software, these archives can transform into "data gold" for analytics.

However, the challenge lies in balancing progress with compliance. While AI can unlock "barrier-free" access to archived data, it’s crucial to protect sensitive information and avoid compliance violations. In 2025, archiving specialists who can combine deep SAP expertise, a strong user base, and an advanced knowledge edge will stand out by offering their clients early AI use cases – delivering the "low-hanging fruit" of AI-powered archiving.

3.    Compliance remains non-negotiable

New international and national data protection laws, along with stricter compliance guidelines, will push companies to adopt archiving solutions that ensure long-term data retention under the highest security standards. SAP archives must be designed to meet these requirements.

Additionally, in the face of rising cyber threats, the Zero Trust model will increasingly influence archiving. Zero Trust means that every data access event, regardless of the source’s trustworthiness or location, is thoroughly verified.

4.    The marriage of SAP and SharePoint

The need for a “Single Point of Truth” (SPoT) for accessing archived documents is growing. This is particularly relevant for major systems used within companies, such as SAP and SharePoint, which must be seamlessly integrated for data and document archiving.

This integration streamlines management, reduces archiving costs, and supports critical compliance concepts. Platforms that consolidate archival data from multiple sources and enable centralized management will be in even higher demand in 2025.