Best method for archiving term'd user data (Mail spool and OneDrive data), for retention and retrieval at a later time?

OneTech IT 141 Reputation points
2021-11-23T15:01:41.297+00:00

I am looking for best practices for being able to archive terminated user data, with the following requirements:

  • I want to be able to archive exited and terminated employee data (OneDrive and Exchange mailbox) to their own dedicated “Terminated Users” location within the system, where the data is held and locked for compliance purposes, for 10 years, but is still available to recover and be searchable, for future requirements (such as an audit, etc.)
  • I also want to be able to completely remove the user’s account from M365, rather than just de-licensing them and leaving the account in-place where it gets listed with the full Users list in the Admin portal.

Appreciate any feedback.

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  1. Viki Ji_MSFT 4,421 Reputation points
    2021-11-24T07:47:41.3+00:00

    Hi @OneTech IT ,
    Welcome to Q&A forum!

    Per my research, I found the following information, please check if it is helpful to you.

    • The user whose license is deleted will have 30 days to access the data in OneDrive, you can set the OneDrive retention of 30 to 3650 days for the deleted users. Regarding the content in Outlook, you can try to export it as a .pst file.
    • As far as I know, if you delete a user's account completely, the content in their OneDrive and Outlook will only be retained for 30 days. After 30 days, you will no longer be able to access any data of the account. If we want the data in OneDrive to be stored for up to 10 years, I suggest you set the OneDrive retention period for the deleted user instead of completely deleting the account.

    For more suggestions on deleting former employees, please refer to: Overview: Remove a former employee and secure data.

    Beisdes, if you have any feedback or suggestions on the use of OneDrive and Outlook, I suggest you post them in the Feedback web portal.
    Hope the information is heflp to you.

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