Managing long-term digital information has never been more critical. As organizations generate and rely on increasing volumes of digital content, ensuring these files remain accessible, trustworthy and compliant over decades has become a cornerstone of effective governance.

Preservica’s recent ARMA Education Series brought together experts to discuss best practices for managing long-term (> 7 years) records in Microsoft 365, with practical steps you can take to standardize and automate the governance of this data in Microsoft SharePoint.

Whether you’re a records manager, IT professional, or compliance officer, this blog condenses key takeaways from the series into a guide for integrating Digital Preservation into your Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Bridging the Gap: Managing Long-Term Digital Records

Long-term records are vital assets - subject to governance laws, regulations and compliance requirements mandating retention for seven years or more. Yet, many organizations face significant challenges in ensuring their records remain accessible, authentic and usable over time.

File format obsolescence, data corruption and loss of context or permissions threaten the integrity of these records, while traditional backup and archiving solutions fall short.

The solution? Active Digital Preservation™. By integrating tools like Preserve365® into Microsoft 365, organizations can automate preservation workflows that:

• Migrate and normalize obsolete file formats to maintain accessibility.

• Ensure records retain full metadata, context and compliance.

• Securely archive records with retention policies and labels.

“In the world of Digital Preservation, trust is everything. Ensuring data remains accessible, reliable and usable decades from now isn’t just important—it’s non-negotiable.” - Mike Davis, Sr Solutions Architect, Preservica

Action Steps:

1. Evaluate your current digital records for gaps in compliance, integrity and readability.

2. Implement tools like Preserve 365 to ensure long-term accessibility and compliance.

3. Use automated workflows to simplify and scale preservation processes.

To make this process straightforward, we’ve developed a simple, high-level checklist to help organizations quickly evaluate their risks for data loss and ensure their approach to Digital Preservation is robust:

1. Will the files be trustworthy?

2. Can you prove the files are original?

3. Will you be able to easily open the files, even if the format becomes obsolete?

4. Is the full context of each record retained as a complete package?

5. Can business users quickly and easily find and use the archived records and files they need?

To address these challenges effectively, organizations must not only preserve their digital records but also identify and protect high-value content within platforms like SharePoint, where vital information often lurks beneath the surface.

Identifying and Protecting High-Value SharePoint Content

With organizations increasingly relying on Microsoft 365 platforms like SharePoint, the challenge of managing high-value, long-term content becomes critical. SharePoint environments often resemble “digital icebergs”—vast, unstructured repositories where vital information risks being lost.

Key Drivers for Action:

1. Cloud Migration Challenges: The shift to Microsoft 365 has unified storage but also brought legacy data challenges. Only 26% of organizations incorporated information governance strategies during migration, leading to unorganized and duplicated content. For others, the migration was a fast-paced lift and shift, leaving a significant governance gap.

2. Information Management and Compliance: As data sharing and collaboration grow, robust classification and tagging are essential to protect sensitive content.

3. Litigation Costs: Proper lifecycle management can significantly reduce legal risks and costs.

4. Institutional Memory: Preserving long-term records in accessible and authentic formats is critical to maintaining organizational knowledge.

The Role of AI and Automation

Generative AI tools like Microsoft Copilot are revolutionizing knowledge extraction and content management, but their effectiveness hinges on high-quality, well-governed data. Automating processes for classifying and tagging content can reduce manual workloads, though manual intervention is often still necessary for legacy content.

“Organizations face a growing digital iceberg—without robust governance, high-value data risks becoming lost in an overwhelming heap of information.” - Vivek Bhatt, CTO, Infotechtion

Actionable Strategies:

• Start with High-Value Content: Use tools like Microsoft Purview to identify critical records for compliance, litigation, or institutional memory.

• Adopt Governance Frameworks: Align stakeholders with models like the Information Governance Reference Model (IGRM).

• Leverage Automation: Deploy AI-powered tools and workflows to streamline classification and lifecycle management.

• Preserve Digital Integrity: Convert critical files into supported formats and update practices to match evolving technology.

• Train and Engage Teams: Build a culture of information governance through training and awareness.

Begin by auditing your SharePoint environment to identify high-value content, classify it effectively and implement lifecycle management policies to protect your organization’s future.

By addressing the complexities of high-value content management in SharePoint, organizations can lay the groundwork for seamless, automated retention and disposition processes—ensuring compliance, reducing risk, and streamlining workflows within Microsoft 365.

Automating Retention and Disposition Processes: “Zero-Click” Archiving in Microsoft 365

Effective records management ensures compliance and preserves valuable information while eliminating redundant or outdated data. Retention labels in Microsoft 365 serve as the cornerstone of this process, automating content management based on predefined rules.

Retention Label Best Practices:

• Create intuitive naming conventions aligned with organizational functions (e.g., “HR Records” or “Marketing Documents”).

• Use contextual default values to apply labels automatically, reducing manual workload.

• Align retention schedules with operational needs to simplify compliance and reduce clutter.

The Benefits of Automation:

• Reduces human error.

• Ensures compliance with minimal manual intervention.

• Simplifies lifecycle management for both high-value and redundant content.

Closing the Gap: Despite the power of retention labels, many organizations still struggle to access legacy or obsolete file formats. Solutions like Preserve 365 embed archiving and preservation directly into Microsoft 365 workflows, ensuring:

• Archived files remain accessible and readable.

• Metadata and retention details are preserved.

• Users can search and retrieve records within SharePoint using familiar tools.

“This isn’t about doing something new—it’s about leveraging and optimizing the steps your organization has already taken to classify and identify high-value information.” – Gareth Aitken, VP Commercial Strategy, Preservica

Action Steps:

1. Use tools like Microsoft Purview to classify and label high-value content.

2. Automate retention workflows with Power Automate to streamline processes.

3. Adopt Preserve 365 to ensure long-term preservation of critical files.

4. Regularly audit and refine governance policies to meet evolving needs.

5. Train IT and records management teams to maximize Microsoft 365 functionality.

Your Next Steps in Digital Preservation

From managing long-term records to automating retention processes, the strategies shared highlight the urgency of robust Digital Preservation and governance in today’s data-driven world.

Preservica helps empower organizations to enhance compliance, protect high-value content., streamline SharePoint environments and unlock the full potential of Microsoft 365 tools.

If you’re ready to take the next step, Preservica offers:

• Masterclass Series: Deep-dive with industry experts into achieving “Zero-click” archiving & Digital Preservation in Microsoft 365 for high-value content.

• Executive Buy-In Guide: A comprehensive infographic to secure leadership support.

• One-on-One Workshops: Tailored guidance to meet your organization’s specific needs.

Watch the full ARMA Education Series here and start transforming your digital governance strategy today with Preservica and Microsoft 365.