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Information lifecycle management refers to strategies for administering storage systems on computing devices.
ILM is the practice of applying certain policies to effective information management. This practice had its basis in the management of information in paper or other physical forms.
ILM includes every phase of a "record" from its beginning to its end. And while it is generally applied to information that rises to the classic definition of a record , it applies to all informational assets. During its existence, information can become a record by being identified as documenting a business transaction or as satisfying a business need. In this sense ILM has been part of the overall approach of enterprise content management.
However, in a more general perspective the term "business" must be taken in a broad sense, and not forcibly tied to direct commercial or enterprise contexts. While most records are thought of as having a relationship to enterprise business, not all do. Much recorded information serves to document an event or a critical point in history. Examples of these are birth, death, medical/health and educational records. e-Science, for example, is an area where ILM has become relevant.