Proper records retention and disposition are key to an effective records management program. It ensures that records are present when needed for litigation, audits, day-to-day business purposes, or historical research, but that unneeded records do not take up costly storage space. This is done with the help of controlled and scheduled handling of archiving, holds and destruction using configurable rules and automated processing; configuration of different retention and archive policies based on type and file plan; and use of export for long term archival.