Very often, when we analyze a database to design an archiving strategy, we find that among the largest tables there are tables that do not contain business data, but contain technical data of the system activity: application logs (BALDAT), change logs (DBTABLOG), IDOCs, etc...
The treatment of this information should not be similar to the criteria established for business data. Fundamentally, it does not make sense to apply the same residence time to technical data as to business process information.
The first thing to discern is what technical information is potentially required by audits. This already establishes the need for archiving. Always keeping in mind the golden rule: all archived data is accessible.
Technical data that does not meet this potential requirement should be considered subject to cleansing. It is reassuring to find many programs provided by SAP (standard programs) that aim at these purges.
Whether technical data is archived or cleansed, these tasks should be part of housekeeping and automated.
We can help you design a secure technical information treatment strategy. We have real experience in solving these issues.