By default the Nexetic Backup for Microsoft 365 service has unlimited retention of data. I.e. all the data that has been backed up once will be kept in the backup indefinitely.
We have now added an option to create retention policies that can be used to define how to handle the data & user accounts that have been deleted from the Microsoft 365 service. Option to create retention policies is currently available for:
- Deleted users
- Deleted OneDrive files
- Deleted SharePoint & Teams files
1. Create a retention policy
To create a retention policy, click Retention policies in the drop-down menu under your signed-in username.
Next, click Create in the top-left corner.
1.1. Policy for Deleted users
- Name: Type a name for the policy
- Service: Click the small arrow to open Service selection. Select Deleted Users from the drop-down menu.
- Groups: Select scope for the retention policy. It can be applied to users in all Entra ID Groups (All groups), or to selected Entra ID groups. You may choose one or multiple groups, and a search option is available to help you locate them.
- Delete older than: Define length for the retention: x Days/Weeks/Months/Years. Minimum retention value for deleted users is 7 days.
EXAMPLE: Get rid of deleted users' data
By creating the policy shown below, user accounts deleted from the organization's Microsoft 365 tenant more than 180 days ago are also deleted from backup, including all their data. The policy applies to all Entra ID groups of the organization.
Note
If there are overlapping or conflicting policies:
- Group-specific policies will take priority over policies that cover all groups.
- If a multiple policies have been assigned to a single group, the one with the shortest retention will be applied.
1.2. Policy for deleted OneDrive files
- Name: Type a name for the policy
- Service: Click the small arrow to open Service selection. Select Deleted OneDrive files from the drop-down menu.
- Groups: Select scope for the retention policy. It can be applied to users in all Entra ID Groups (All groups), or to selected Entra ID groups. You may choose one or multiple groups, and a search option is available to help you locate them.
- Keep latest revision: When selected, the latest revision of the files that have reached their retention period is always kept. All the older file versions are deleted. If not selected, also the latest file version is deleted.
- Delete older than: Define length for the retention: x Days/Weeks/Months/Years from the date when the files were deleted from the users' OneDrive in Microsoft 365.
EXAMPLE: Get rid of deleted OneDrive files
By creating the policy displayed below, all files deleted from the users' OneDrives more than 6 months ago are also fully deleted from backup. This policy applies to users belonging to Entra ID groups 'Nexetic Marketing' and 'Nexetic Rocks'.
Note
Minimum value for OneDrive file retention is 90 days.
If there are overlapping or conflicting policies:
- Group-specific policies will take priority over policies that cover all groups.
- If multiple policies have been assigned to a single group, the one with the shortest retention will be applied.
- If multiple policies affect the same files, policy with the shortest retention will be applied.
1.3. Policy for SharePoint files
- Name: Type a name for the policy
- Service: Click the small arrow to open Service selection. Select Deleted SharePoint files from the drop-down menu.
- SharePoint sites: Select the scope for the retention policy. You can apply it to all SharePoint sites and Teams (All SharePoint sites), or to specific SharePoint sites and/or Teams. You may choose one or multiple sites or teams, and a search option is available to help you locate them.
- Keep latest revision: When selected, the latest revision of the files that have reached their retention period is always kept. All the older file versions are deleted.
- Delete older than: Define length for the retention: x Days/Weeks/Months/Years from the date when the files were deleted from the organization's SharePoint.
EXAMPLE: Get rid of deleted SharePoint files
By creating the policy shown below, files deleted from the organization's SharePoint more than three months ago will also be removed from the backup. This policy applies to files located on the SharePoint site 'Nexetic Team Site'.
Note
Minimum value for SharePoint file retention is 90 days.
If there are overlapping or conflicting policies:
- Site-specific policies will take priority over policies that cover all sites.
- If multiple policies have been assigned to a single site, the one with the shortest retention will be applied.
- If multiple policies affect the same files, policy with the shortest retention will be applied.
2. Modify or delete retention policies
You can modify any of the existing retention policies by clicking the Edit button (pen icon) for the policy. All the policy attributes are editable.
You can delete any of the policies by clicking the Delete button (trash bin icon) for the policy. After deleting a policy, the retention rule ceases to exist.