In general, the following applies to audit-proof SharePoint archiving:
- Documents must be stored in their entirety, unaltered and loss-free.
- The data must be findable and reproducible at all times.
- Access to the data must be traceable in order to prevent manipulation.
But how exactly is archiving implemented in SharePoint? Read below about the different possibilities that SharePoint offers you.
Record Center / SharePoint Archiving
The Records Center is a separate SharePoint page that is separate from the rest of SharePoint and is the central location for all inactive documents. Documents that are no longer relevant to the company’s workflows end up there. After moving the documents, they are not available at any other document location in SharePoint and can only be accessed with the appropriate permissions. In this area, the criteria for monitoring and the expiry periods can also be defined. A document ID can be used to find information even after it has been copied to the repository because it is assigned and retained once.
Different policies can apply to different types of records. To simplify management, record libraries can be created for which uniform policies apply. Alternatively, content types can be created that are used to provide records with unique properties.
In Place Records in SharePoint Online
With this method, the data remains in the location where it was originally placed and is not moved. This variant enables direct record management and individual coordination of the individual documents. Of course, it also means more effort, because the data is no longer simply moved to an archive. The advantage is that the documents remain accessible to employees (depending on the authorizations, of course). On the other hand, it makes the revision more difficult because a central archive is no longer available.
Combination of the two variants
Here, the documents are first kept in the place where they were originally filed, with the possibility of individual coordination. After a predefined period of time, however, the documents are moved to the archive and provided with a document ID. In the archive, the specified settings and permissions apply.
Conclusion
Which method is ultimately the best depends on the individual requirements of a company. The answer therefore varies depending on the organization.
