How to Set Retention Policy in Office 365: Superlative Guide

Why Create Microsoft 365 Email Retention Policy?

The significant reasons to set a data retention policy for Office 365 are:

• Comply with industry and legal regulations by specifying deletion periods.
• Reduce risk for sensitive data breaches or loss from virus infection, etc.
• Free up storage space by archiving emails that are too old or not required.
• Moreover, get quick email access, efficient cost management, and centralized control.

These are some common factors to set up an Office 365 email archive policy. Next, let’s figure out the procedure to set up them.

How to Create Retention Policy in Office 365?

We can create a retention policy for free through Office 365 or Powershell. However, the manual method doesn’t guarantee data security, and thus, a professional tool to take Office 365 backup is suggested. Find the detailed steps for the methods below.

Manually Construct Retention Policy in Microsoft 365

There are two ways to perform the creation procedure. Follow these steps:

Method 1: Retention Policy Creation via O365 Compliance Center

1. Firstly, ensure you have admin credentials for your Office 365 account.
2. Now, sign in to the Microsoft Compliance Admin Center.
3. Then, select Information Governance and click Retention Policies.
4. Further, press on the +New Retention Policy and a window appears.
5. Here, enter a name for your policy and description too. Click Next.
6. Afterward, pick Static/Adaptive as a type for your retention policy. Hit Next.
7. Later, select the scope and locations to apply the retention policy. Tap Next.
8. Subsequently, set the required retention policy settings for the mailbox data.
9. Click Next and recheck the specified settings. Lastly, click Submit to complete.

Method 2: Retention Policy in Office 365 Powershell Commands

1. Start Windows Powershell and install Exchange Online, if not already done. Use the command:

Install-Module -Name ExchangeOnlineManagement

2. Next, to connect with Exchange Online, run the command:

Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName -ShowProgress $true

3. In addition, run the below-given command to create a retention policy:

New-RetentionPolicy -Name “name of the policy” -RetentionAction (Delete/Retain/RetainandDelete) -RetentionDuration (Days/Months/Years)

4. After that, if you need to apply the created retention policy, run this command:

Set-Mailbox -Identity -RetentionPolicy “name of the policy”

5. At last, verify the created policy and disconnect from Exchange Online by these commands:

Get-Mailbox -Identity | Select Name, RetentionPolicy Disconnect-ExchangeOnline -Confirm:$false

What are the Limitations of These Manual Methods?

• Admin credentials are a must, and technical knowledge is needed.
• Not suitable for large-scale user mailboxes and is time-consuming.
• Chances of delay and policy conflicts leading to failed outcomes.
• Not flexible and convenient with Non-Exchange Microsoft Services.
• Data security is at risk and chances of errors due to potential threats.

Thus, taking backup with a professional tool can be beneficial.

How to Create Retention Policy in Office 365 Via Tool?

SysInfo Office 365 Backup Tool can help with this task. It cannot directly create retention policies but solve your problem of data security and backup. Additionally, this tool seamlessly backups Office 365 complete mailbox data in bulk without limits. Also, it saves them in different file formats and exports them to other email clients as well. Moreover, the comprehensive tool ensures any tech or non-tech users can easily operate it and get advantages of its functionalities. Some of them are:

• Restoration of Outlook OST and PST files directly from the software.
• Archive Emails in Office 365 and other data items like notes, contacts, etc.
• Also, supports all Exchange and Windows OS versions to backup data feasibly.

Steps for Retention Policy in Office 365

1. Launch the software and hit the Backup option on the screen.
2. Next, sign In to a Microsoft 365 account with admin credentials.
3. Further, pick the Mailboxes and O365 User ID for backup and click Next.
4. Preview the entire mailbox data and select the folders to proceed. Hit Next.
5. After that, select the file format or an email client of your choice to save.
6. As per the preference, apply filters on the resultant data and choose a destination.
7. At last, map the mailboxes (if required) and press the Convert button.

Conclusion

To sum up, creating a retention policy is difficult but essential for data deletion, archiving, and retention. This blog specified three solutions including two manual and a professional. The manual methods via Compliance Center and Powershell have some limitations that are sometimes troublesome. But it does help to set up a retention policy in Office 365. On the other hand, use a professional tool for accuracy, data protection, and hassle-free backup.

Frequently Asked Questions

About The Author:

Lovely Baghel

Lovely specializes in technical writing for SysInfoTools Software and has over 2 year of experience writing blogs, and articles about databases & backup, email recovery, email migration & management solutions. Her passion is researching and developing content that helps Office users, professionals, administrators, enterprises, and novices solve multiple problems.