In this article, we will explore how adaptive policy scopes can be used to apply retention to shared, resource, and inactive mailboxes.
Organizations today face the challenge of managing and retaining vast amounts of data in Microsoft Purview. To address this, Microsoft has introduced a powerful feature called Adaptive Policy Scopes. This feature provides advanced flexibility when applying retention policies and labels to specific users, sites, and group locations in Microsoft Purview. In this article, we will explore how adaptive policy scopes can be used to apply retention to shared, resource, and inactive mailboxes.
Shared Mailbox Retention using Adaptive Policy Scopes:
Shared mailboxes are commonly used by organizations when multiple users need to access a single mailbox. Previously, including shared mailboxes in organization-wide retention policies was only possible using static scopes. However, with the introduction of adaptive policy scopes, administrators can now create scopes to target specific shared mailboxes. This allows for more granular control over retention rules for shared mailboxes based on attributes like department, location, or custom identifiable information.
Resource Mailbox Retention using Adaptive Policy Scopes:
Resource mailboxes, such as room mailboxes and equipment mailboxes, are used to manage physical resources in Exchange Online. Historically, resource mailboxes were not included in Microsoft 365 retention policies. However, with adaptive policy scopes, administrators can now create policies specifically for room and equipment mailboxes or include them in existing retention policies. By using OPATH (a query language) in the advanced query builder, administrators can filter resource mailboxes based on their mailbox type, allowing for more granular control over retention rules.
Inactive Mailbox Retention using Adaptive Policy Scopes:
When a user object is deleted from Azure AD (Entra), the associated mailbox becomes inactive. In the past, retention policies applied to the entire organization would automatically affect inactive mailboxes. However, there was no efficient way to have a retention policy specific to inactive mailboxes. With adaptive policy scopes, administrators can now target inactive mailboxes using the advanced query builder and the “is InactiveMailbox” property. This enables organizations to have separate retention rules for inactive mailboxes, which ensures compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
The introduction of adaptive policy scopes in Microsoft 365 offers organizations enhanced control over retention policies for shared, resource, and inactive mailboxes. With the ability to create adaptive scopes based on specific attributes and properties, administrators can apply tailored retention rules to different types of mailboxes. This ensures compliance with regulatory, legal, and business requirements whilst effectively managing and retaining critical data within Microsoft 365.
By leveraging adaptive policy scopes, organizations can confidently implement retention policies to safeguard their data and meet compliance obligations in an increasingly regulatory landscape.