Simplifying Digital Preservation and records transfers in Microsoft 365
Preserving permanent government records "in place" in Microsoft 365 at the Vermont State Archives & Records Administration (VSARA)
Driving greater compliance and efficiency
With Preserve365®, the Vermont State Archives & Records Administration (VSARA) are exploring new ways to automate the Digital Preservation of archival records created by over 60 agencies across Vermont’s statewide Microsoft 365 SharePoint tenant. This includes public records such as critical policy decisions, board & commission minutes and substantive correspondence of elected & appointed state officials.
Challenges
The Vermont State Archives and Records Administration (VSARA) oversees a vast and complex records environment. Operating within a single Microsoft 365 tenant shared by 60+ independent agencies, VSARA faces unique challenges:
- Control & Security: Microsoft 365 is managed by a separate state agency, requiring any preservation solution to be simple, secure and easily approved.
- Timing: Taking preservation actions earlier in the digital records lifecycle is critical to managing records that remain active and accessible to agencies for extended periods, including non-permanent records subject to legal holds.
- Scale: As the state’s most extensive record-keeping system, Microsoft 365 must support the efficient and compliant preservation of millions of born-digital records across diverse agencies, including those in natural resources, transportation, education, and human services.
VSARA’s goal was to find a solution that could automate preservation workflows directly within Microsoft 365, thereby reducing manual processes and preserving permanent born-digital records as they are actively created and used.
Solution
VSARA joined the pre-launch beta program for Preserve365. Together with Microsoft 365 administrators and agency users, VSARA rigorously evaluated the integration through a real-world proof of concept focused on:
- Automating the transfer & ingest of inactive archival records.
- Preserving active archival records in place within Microsoft 365.
- Integrating record-keeping metadata for faster access and management.
- Providing ongoing agency access to archival records through SharePoint.
The Preserve365 Administration Portal acts as a flexible middleware layer, bridging Microsoft 365’s compliance controls with the preservation system. This enables records to be securely and consistently transferred while allowing both tenant administrators and preservation specialists to maintain control over their respective domains.
Outcomes
Preserve365 empowers VSARA to
Automate archival workflows
Using Microsoft 365’s native capabilities, reducing manual effort and improving efficiency
Preserve records in place
Ensuring long-term access to state agencies as well as compliance and metadata integrity for state archival records
Manage preservation at scale
Across a multi-agency Microsoft 365 tenant without disrupting daily operations
Streamline compliance
By embedding records management into existing enterprise systems, eliminating the need for separate tools or processes
Reduce IT burden
By sunsetting legacy infrastructure (e.g., file shares), championing agency use of common management tools and reducing associated storage costs
Maximize Microsoft investments
To meet legal obligations and requirements in an automated, compliant and cost-effective way
Looking Ahead
VSARA continues to lead Vermont’s Digital Preservation modernization with Preserve365 as a core component of their strategy. Their ongoing focus includes:
- Scaling deployment across all state agencies within the Microsoft 365 tenant.
- Enhancing integration of record-keeping metadata to improve discoverability and access.
- Collaborating with Preservica to refine workflows and extend preservation capabilities aligned with evolving compliance needs.
This collaborative approach positions VSARA to sustainably safeguard government accountability and transparency by ensuring that records documenting decisions, correspondence and public policies remain preserved and accessible for future generations.
Learn More
Watch Vermont's presentation for the Council of State Archivists (CoSA) and Preservica's 2025 Digital Preservation Education and Advocacy program.
Take the Preserve365® Product Tour
Experience how Preserve365® is embedded into Microsoft 365 to simplify archiving & digital preservation for long-term SharePoint content
Preserve365® in US Government
Learn how US state & local government departments save time, money & resources with Preserve365® for Microsoft SharePoint archiving