mailvault365

Blog

Email archiving,
explained in plain English.

Practical guides on Microsoft 365 retention, leaver mailboxes, compliance, and everything we've learned building an email archive — no jargon, no scare tactics.

Latest Comparisons

Moving from MailStore to a cloud archive: what to consider

The archive works — it is the server underneath that nobody wants to own anymore. What to check before moving an on-prem email archive to a service.

Compliance

How long should a business keep email?

Six years? Ten? Forever? Why there is no single answer, what typical retention periods look like, and how to set a policy you can actually enforce.

7 min read
Guides

How to archive shared mailboxes in Microsoft 365

Your order confirmations, complaints, and contracts live in info@ and sales@ — the mailboxes with the most authors, no owner, and the weakest retention.

6 min read
Guides

Email archiving for small businesses: a plain-English guide

No jargon, no scare tactics: what archiving actually is, whether your business needs it, what it should cost, and how to get it done in an afternoon.

9 min read
Comparisons

Microsoft 365 retention policies vs. a dedicated email archive

Purview retention policies can preserve email. So when is a dedicated archive worth paying for? A side-by-side look at what each one actually guarantees.

8 min read
Microsoft 365

Does Microsoft 365 archive email automatically?

“Microsoft surely keeps everything, right?” Sort of. Sometimes. Depending on licensing and setup. Here is what the built-in tools actually do.

8 min read
Microsoft 365

PST files are not an archive

The PST export is the most popular email retention strategy in small business IT. It is also one file-share cleanup away from being no strategy at all.

6 min read
Compliance

Email archiving vs. backup: two tools, two completely different jobs

A backup answers “can we get it back?” An archive answers “can we prove what was sent?” Confusing the two is how companies end up with neither.

6 min read
Microsoft 365

What happens to a Microsoft 365 mailbox when an employee leaves?

Remove the license and a 30-day countdown starts. Here is what actually happens to the mailbox — and the four ways to keep its contents, honestly rated.

7 min read

Rather just have it handled?

mailvault365 archives every Microsoft 365 mailbox automatically — set up in five minutes, nothing to install. 14 days free, no credit card.

Start free trial