How Microsoft 365 Helps Fulfill eDiscovery Needs

Every day, businesses find new reasons to embark on an eDiscovery journey. Maybe you need records for a financial deal, a legal matter or a regulatory review. No matter the situation, the eDiscovery process can be a challenge without the right tools, processes and software. That's why Microsoft 365 has updated some of its features to streamline the eDiscovery process.

Microsoft 365 and eDiscovery

Microsoft 365 (previously known as Office 365) is a suite of productivity and communication tools. Your business can leverage these tools for the eDiscovery process thanks to built-in features that make it easier to gather and keep documentation and data. Let's look at what different Microsoft products offer and see how you can use them.

Exchange Online

Exchange Online is a cloud-based email service that is part of the Microsoft suite. Exchange Online provides organizations with the ability to set an "in-place hold" on email data, which helps to preserve data that may be relevant to a legal request or internal investigation. This feature prevents the deletion or modification of email data, even if the user has deleted the email or the mailbox.

Exchange Online also allows organizations to export email data, which they can then use to respond to legal requests or internal investigations. This speeds up the data collection process and helps businesses to improve efficiency.

SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business

SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business are cloud-based services for document and file management. Both provide organizations with the ability to search and retrieve data from the cloud, which is essential for eDiscovery. SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business offer robust search capabilities, giving organizations the means to find and retrieve relevant data in response to legal requests.

These products also allow organizations to set retention policies, which can help to preserve data. To get the most out of this tool, create a policy for how long to keep documents and records at the company level and ensure all your team has the necessary training to follow these rules.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a collaboration and communication platform that has become an integral part of the way many staff members work together and share information. There are many types of data that collaborators can exchange, including files, videos, chats and channel history. Microsoft 365 provides organizations with the ability to set retention policies for chat and channel messages, allowing you to keep detailed records of what team members are doing.

Teams also has an export feature to streamline the eDiscovery collection process. You and your team can quickly gather and share the relevant data with the appropriate parties.

Compliance Center

The Compliance Center, now part of Microsoft Purview, is a centralized location for managing eDiscovery, data retention, and other compliance-related tasks in the Microsoft suite. Purview provides organizations with the ability to manage eDiscovery cases, set retention policies, and perform content searches across services.

Use Microsoft Purview To Improve Your eDiscovery

While each service from Microsoft has great tools to make the eDiscovery process smoother, it can still be a hassle to use each program's retention and exporting features separately. This is where Microsoft Purview comes in handy. It integrates all aspects of the Microsoft suite so you can get more done with less work.

Purview works by examining all the data in your Microsoft 365 programs at once rather than forcing you to search each service individually. You can apply filters to make sure you only get the documents you need without producing extra data to sort through.

This tool is also helpful in identifying data custodians, or the people or entities who are currently in charge of certain information. The custodian won't always be the same as the creator, but it is a useful piece of data for regulators and auditors.

Purview also has the ability to format your eDiscovery data in various ways. Because different jurisdictions and organizations may have different requirements for the same type of data, it's good to be able to shape and format the data in the requested style. Overall, Purview is a great way to get accurate data quickly from your Microsoft programs.

The Advantage of Using Microsoft 365

Thanks to such advanced integration and interoperability, the Microsoft suite has become a staple of the productivity world. As eDiscovery becomes more common and more complicated, the connectedness of Microsoft's services will be even more advantageous to organizations. Businesses get a consistent framework for creating, storing, collecting and sharing data that protects the integrity of the eDiscovery process.

Verifying and accounting for all your data is critical to a successful eDiscovery effort, so any tools that help make this happen have a lot of value. The Microsoft suite is also well-supported with plenty of documentation for training your staff on retention and eDiscovery policies. Investing in this system is a good way to be proactive.

Fulfill Your eDiscovery Needs With Microsoft 365

Getting started on your journey with Microsoft may seem difficult if you are using other programs or older versions of Microsoft services. However, the value that comes with having the best tools and knowing you are ready for an eDiscovery journey is well worth it.

At Cloudficient, we simplify our customers' transition to Microsoft 365, migrating files and settings, upgrading legacy systems and archiving data as necessary. If you would like to learn more about how Cloudficient can take care of your migration needs, reach out to us today.

With unmatched next generation migration technology, Cloudficient is revolutionizing the way businesses retire legacy systems and transform their organization into the cloud. Our business constantly remains focused on client needs and creating product offerings that match them. We provide affordable services that are scalable, fast and seamless.

If you would like to learn more about how to bring Cloudficiency to your migration project, visit our website, or contact us.