Document Management
25 August 2026
Is the data in your Microsoft 365 tenant growing faster than you can keep up with? Do you need to comply with laws and regulations, or do you want to get your storage costs under control? On this page, you’ll learn how, as an IT administrator, you can establish an effective policy for archiving, retention, and retention periods within Microsoft 365. We’ll show you how tools like Microsoft 365 Archive and Purview can help you keep your tenant organized, reduce storage costs, and meet compliance requirements at the same time.
Many IT admins face similar challenges when it comes to data and document management. These include, for example:
There are increasingly stringent requirements, such as the NIS-2, DORA, the Archives Act, BIO and AVG,
that you must comply with as an organization. It can be challenging to effectively integrate these obligations into your management strategy.
Redundant, Old and Trivial (ROT) data is piling up. End users cannot find relevant information properly due to the abundance of outdated/unimportant documents interfering with their search results.
The rapidly growing volume of data on SharePoint
can eventually lead to high
costs for additional storage
capacity. Managing these costs becomes increasingly difficult as the data continues to grow in volume
.
You want to implement Copilot or other AI tools within your organization, but have concerns about what is discoverable due to improper access rights. This can pose risks to the security and privacy of your data.
Fortunately, powerful tools such as Microsoft Archive and Microsoft Purview are available to address these challenges. Microsoft 365 Archive makes it easy to move data to lower-cost cold storage. Microsoft Purview lets you set up advanced rules that translate laws and regulations regarding archiving and retention periods into concrete actions.
This goes beyond simply deleting data over time—you can also mark important data as “records” to ensure they aren’t accidentally deleted. Data Lifecycle Management and records management go hand in hand here.
Automatically delete Teams chats exactly one month after they are sent. This keeps your tenant tidy and prevents unnecessary storage usage.
Retain contract documents as records for five years, starting from the contract’s end date. Request a disposal review before disposing of these documents.
Archive project sites in cold storage five years after the project end date. This reduces storage costs while ensuring your data is preserved.
Retain emails for seven years and then delete them automatically. This helps ensure compliance with retention periods without requiring manual action.
Delete applicant data one month after the application process, in accordance with the GDPR. This ensures the efficient and secure processing of applicant data.
By using Microsoft Purview and Microsoft 365 Archive, you can automatically archive and/or delete data over time. This keeps your tenant organized, saves on storage costs, and ensures that users (and Copilot) encounter less irrelevant data. In addition, a good archiving policy reduces the risk of data breaches: what’s no longer there can’t be viewed, leaked, or stolen.
And the advantage is that these tools integrate seamlessly with the platforms your users work with every day: SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, etc.
Want to know how your organization scores on governance and compliance? Schedule a scan and get instant insight. We map key areas, identify risks and provide practical guidance for quick improvements.
Setting up Microsoft Purview requires careful consideration. We offer advice and support in establishing an optimal configuration. In addition, we help you improve your information architecture so that your tenant remains organized and easy to manage well into the future.
Do you have specific needs that can’t be met with standard Microsoft 365 functionality? We specialize in extending SharePoint, Purview, and M365 Archive so that these tools can be used to their full potential to keep your environment clean and efficient.
