Data Deletion
Delete across all systems – and prove it
Data Deletion orchestrates deletions across many applications. Your systems do the deleting themselves; Data Deletion determines the sequence, takes dependencies, objections and deletion holds into account, obtains approvals and records every response. In production since 2024.
How a deletion run works
- 1
Report
Your applications report which records have reached the end of their retention period.
- 2
Check
Before every deletion, deletion holds and objections from other applications are checked; where required, a person approves.
- 3
Delete
The applications themselves carry out what is intended, in the defined sequence: delete, anonymise or archive.
- 4
Prove
Each application reports back what it has deleted. This produces the log for each deletion run.
What Data Deletion ensures
The right sequence
Dependent data is deleted in the right order – no reference to already deleted data is left behind anywhere.
Objections and holds
Applications can object to a deletion, and deletion holds stop deletions for individual cases.
Approvals
Where necessary, an authorised person approves the deletion before anything is deleted.
Nothing left unchecked
If a response is missing, an alert is raised. Only what has been confirmed counts as deleted.
In operation
Monitoring
Alerts as soon as a deletion run stalls or an application does not respond.
Interventions
Cancel a deletion run, exclude an application, request a step again, add comments.
Pause
Hold new deletion runs for a maintenance window and resume them afterwards.
Reports
Summary, details, cancelled processes and records not deleted, plus statistics.
Connecting your applications
REST
The application fetches its next task and reports the result back.
Azure Service Bus
The task arrives as a message – for environments that already work with messaging.
Step by step
Applications can be connected one after another; existing deletion functions are reused.
Reference
In production at Pax
Pax uses Data Deletion to delete personal data automatically across SAP and non-SAP systems – since 2024.
Frequently asked questions about Data Deletion
Does Data Deletion interfere with our databases?
No. Deletion takes place in the applications themselves, via an open interface. Data Deletion orchestrates, checks and records the responses.
What happens if an application does not respond?
An alert appears, and operations can intervene. Only what the application has confirmed counts as deleted.
Can we review deletions beforehand?
Yes. A manual approval can be built into any deletion workflow. In addition, a simulation step can have the applications run through the deletion without actually deleting anything.
How is a deletion proven?
Each application reports back what has happened. The log shows what was deleted in each deletion run, and the audit trail records every intervention with person, role and time.
Does it work with SAP?
Yes. At Pax, the Swiss pension insurer, deletion runs across SAP and non-SAP systems.
How do we get started?
With a 30-minute demo. Afterwards, we will clarify whether an assessment, a proof of concept or going straight to implementation is the right next step.
See Espresso in 30 minutes
We will show you the cockpit with sample data – and discuss where you should start.
Request a demoor write directly to info@espressodataprivacy.com