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Nah, the value of having access to 3-month-old e-mails is that they're indexed in gmail, so if someone asks how much we paid for that widget 18 months ago you can get the original quotes in an instant.

Whereas if the data is in a bank vault, you ask the same question and the reply is "IDK, I think it was about $50-100?"

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Surely there's a middle ground for these things.

The value in old data isn't just in pulling up a single piece of information like a magician pulls a rabbit out of their hat, it's tremendously useful for looking back and seeing how an organization and its methodology has changed and how that information can be applied to future project.

I see it as less about pulling up a single piece of information

and more that a tool that every employee uses a dozen times a day

produces much more value than the same tool if it's used only by the big boss, and only once or twice a year as it's so inconvenient to use

Exactly.

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