[rrosen326]

There is a semi-valid reason similar, but I think different, from his first point.

Holding on to data provides an option to potential downstream gains. (ie: holding data has an "option value").

Will it be valuable? Who knows? Maybe there is some nugget which will unlock your business or service and bring you victory.

If you get rid of it, you'll never know, until perhaps too late.

If you couple the option-value of holding data to a perhaps unrealistically low expectation of the cost of holding data (ie: a breach), you get an expected value calculation that says, 'hold everything!'

It may be totally rational, even if incorrect.

[Retra]

The rationality of hoarding makes more sense if you have 'warehousing' capabilities. Not so much if you're just piling things up haphazardly. (And those capabilities have costs associated with them.)

[darkpuma]

> "The rationality of hoarding makes more sense if you have 'warehousing' capabilities"

Or if you believe you could/will organize the data in the future, perhaps with an unrealistic expectation that doing so will become cheaper in the future.