Good post, but I think the "don't collect it", "don't store it", "don't keep it" warnings may fall on deaf ears.
The reality is that businesses:
(1) aren't sure of the value of their data. Perhaps there is a company willing to buy their data and they might need that money someday. Maybe if they had more historic data, reporting would show a clearer trend in some way that would help drive them in the right direction- if they had the resources to analyze all of it.
(2) may not fully understand the laws and regulations they may be bound to that relate to how long they need to keep data.
I think it's not a bad thing to spend the time to understand your legal obligations, clean up your data, and remove what you'd never need or never realistically be able to sell. But many companies don't have that time.
The reality is that businesses:
(1) aren't sure of the value of their data. Perhaps there is a company willing to buy their data and they might need that money someday. Maybe if they had more historic data, reporting would show a clearer trend in some way that would help drive them in the right direction- if they had the resources to analyze all of it.
(2) may not fully understand the laws and regulations they may be bound to that relate to how long they need to keep data.
I think it's not a bad thing to spend the time to understand your legal obligations, clean up your data, and remove what you'd never need or never realistically be able to sell. But many companies don't have that time.