In short
Good email archiving software captures every message by journaling, stores it immutably, applies retention by user, department or domain, and gives authorised reviewers eDiscovery and legal hold with an audit log. Also check how it imports legacy archives, handles leavers, where data is held and how it is licensed, and compare it fairly with Microsoft Purview or Google Vault.
Get a quote for email archiving software
Tell us roughly how many users or sites you have and we will reply by email with options and a quote.
Start with what the archive has to do
Before comparing products, write down why you need an archive. The answer shapes which features matter. Common triggers include:
- A regulator, auditor or client asking how you keep communications
- A dispute where you could not prove what was sent
- A subject access request that reached into years of mail
- Licences kept for leavers only to preserve their mailboxes
- An old on-premises or hosted archive that is due for renewal or retirement
- A move to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace that left record keeping unresolved
Then agree, at least in outline, how long you need to keep each category of mail. Our guides on email retention policy and how long to keep emails help with that. With purpose and periods agreed, the checklist below becomes a quick way to test any product.
The email archiving software checklist
The table lists the points we would check for any archive, and how NinjaOne Archiver, the product we supply, answers each one based on NinjaOne's published material.
| Requirement | Why it matters | NinjaOne Archiver |
|---|---|---|
| Capture method | Journaling captures mail as it flows; snapshots can miss mail deleted between runs | Real-time journaling; automatic set-up for Microsoft 365, manual Gmail routing for Google Workspace |
| Immutable storage | Evidence is only useful if it cannot have been changed | Immutable WORM storage with full audit trails |
| Retention granularity | Different records need different periods | From 30 days to over a decade or indefinite, by user, department or domain, plus a separate SharePoint policy |
| eDiscovery | Finding the right mail quickly, across every mailbox | Search by account, date range, from, to/cc/bcc and keywords with AND/OR; search inside attachments; saved searches |
| Ongoing monitoring of topics | Some reviews are continuous, not one-off | Tagging, and alerts when new mail matches a saved search |
| Review roles | Compliance searches should not sit with IT by default | Compliance and Review Officer, Data Protection Officer, Reviewer and Limited Reviewer roles; the IT Admin role cannot access compliance features |
| Legal hold | Deletion must stop when litigation is anticipated | Legal hold preserves held data regardless of retention until removed |
| Audit log | Shows who searched, viewed and exported | Audit log included |
| Legacy import | Old archives and PSTs must come with you | NinjaOne ingestion of zipped EML or unzipped PST files with a mapping file; NinjaOne says it provides this at no charge |
| Leavers | Keep mail without keeping licences | Deactivated mailboxes keep existing archived data, accessible to admins; seat treatment confirmed at quote |
| Data location | Some policies require a named region | Held in NinjaOne's cloud, outside your tenant; we confirm the location for your account when we quote |
| Platforms | Must match your mail system | Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace |
| Backup | Avoid buying and running two products | Archiver bundles include NinjaOne SaaS Backup Standard |
| Licensing model | Predictable cost as you grow | Per user, in four bundles; ask us for a quote |
The full product picture is on NinjaOne Archiver, and the bundles on NinjaOne SaaS Backup Standard vs Archiver bundles.
Not sure which option fits? Ask us
Tell us what you need and we will recommend the right option for your organisation, with a quote.
Native options: Microsoft Purview and Google Vault
Before buying anything, check what you already have. Both major platforms include retention and discovery tools, and for some organisations they are enough.
Microsoft 365. Depending on licence, Microsoft Purview provides retention policies, eDiscovery and holds, and Exchange Online provides archive mailboxes. Microsoft recommends managing data in place with Microsoft 365 retention where possible. The data stays inside your tenant, and features depend on the licences in place. Our page on Office 365 email archiving compares the native route with a separate archive, and Exchange Online Archiving explains the archive mailbox.
Google Workspace. Google Vault provides retention rules, holds, search and export. Google itself says "Vault isn't a data archive": its retention applies to live data, and Google warns that if you delete a user or a required licence, their data might be irreversibly purged. See Google Vault vs a separate email archive.
A separate archive tends to make sense when you want a copy held outside the tenant, journaling capture, leavers' mail kept without live licences, compliance roles kept apart from IT, or archive and backup in one console.
Questions to ask any supplier
- How is new mail captured, and what happens if journaling stops working?
- Can an administrator delete or alter archived mail before its retention period ends?
- Can retention be set per department or per user, and what happens to mail when a period ends?
- Who can search, and can searches be kept away from IT staff?
- How are leavers handled, and do they count towards paid seats?
- How do we bring in our existing archive or PST files, and who builds the mapping?
- Where will our archived data be held?
- Is backup included, or a separate product?
- Can we change bundle later, and are any changes one-way?
For NinjaOne Archiver, we can answer these as part of the quote. One point to know in advance: NinjaOne's documentation says that once Archiver is enabled for an organisation, you cannot revert to the regular SaaS Backup service.
Is email archiving software the right fit for you?
We will check it against your systems and requirements and recommend the right option.
Email archiving best practices once it is running
Buying the software is the start. These habits keep an archive useful:
- Document the policy. Record retention periods by category, who holds each compliance role, and how legal holds are applied and lifted.
- Assign roles to the right people. Give compliance and data protection roles to the people responsible, not to IT by default.
- Test a search early. Run a sample eDiscovery search across several mailboxes and a date range so reviewers know how it works before they need it.
- Watch for reauthentication requests. Journaling depends on valid credentials; act promptly when the platform asks a tenant to reauthenticate.
- Fold archiving into the leaver process. Confirm a leaver's mail is archived and covered by the right policy before their account is removed. See former employee mailboxes.
- Review once a year. Check retention periods, roles and scope against any changes in regulation or the business.
Mistakes to avoid when buying
- Buying on storage size alone. How mail is captured and who can search it matter more than headline capacity. NinjaOne ties a storage allowance to paid seats; we check the fit when we quote.
- Forgetting the old archive. Plan how existing archives and PST files will be imported before the old service ends.
- Leaving leavers out of the sums. Check how deactivated mailboxes count towards seats and how long their mail is retained.
- Setting one retention period for everything. It is simpler on day one but harder to defend later.
- Giving IT every role. Keep eDiscovery and data protection review with the people responsible for them.
- Assuming the native tools are not enough, or that they are. Compare what your Microsoft or Google licences already include before deciding.
Why talk to Forever Systems
We supply NinjaOne SaaS Backup with Archiver and help with the parts that need care: scoping mailboxes and leavers, setting retention policies by department, assigning roles, getting journaling working for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and planning the ingestion of legacy archives. For a Google Workspace tenant, we archive the mail you already have; your Google subscription stays as it is.
Pricing depends on the bundle, the number of users and the term, so ask us for a quote. Contact us and tell us which mail system you use and what you need to keep.
How Forever Systems helps with email archiving
We are an independent UK IT and cyber security provider. We supply NinjaOne SaaS Backup with Archiver for organisations on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and help you get the archive set up, the policies right and the people who need it confident using it.
- Scoping: we look at your mailboxes, leavers, legacy archives and record-keeping obligations, and what your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace plan already includes, before suggesting anything new
- Set-up: we can configure journaling for Exchange Online or Google Workspace, connect the archive and check that mail is arriving
- Retention and legal hold: we help you turn your email retention policy into archive rules, and show your compliance or HR lead how to search, hold and export
- Leavers and legacy archives: we can help you plan how former employees' mail and older archives are brought across, with the approach confirmed at quote
- Backup alongside the archive: the same NinjaOne per-user licence also covers backup of your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace data, so recovery and record-keeping are planned together
We work with businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations. If you also need wider protection, see our independent cloud security guides.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best email archiving solution?
The best fit is the one that captures mail by journaling, stores it immutably, matches your retention rules, gives the right people eDiscovery and legal hold, and handles leavers and old archives without extra cost or complexity. For Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace we supply NinjaOne Archiver, which also includes backup in the same per-user licence.
Is Microsoft 365 enough for email archiving?
It can be. Microsoft Purview retention, eDiscovery and holds, plus archive mailboxes, meet many organisations' needs if the right licences are in place. Organisations choose a separate archive when they want a copy outside the tenant, journaling capture, or leavers' mail kept without live licences.
Can email archiving software import old PST files?
NinjaOne offers an ingestion service for zipped EML files or PST files, uploaded with a mapping file; NinjaOne says it provides this at no charge. Contacts and calendar items are not ingested. See email archive migration.
How is email archiving software licensed?
NinjaOne Archiver is licensed per user, as part of NinjaOne SaaS Backup bundles that include backup. The term and storage allowance are confirmed when we quote. Ask us for a quote.
Does email archiving software work with Google Workspace?
NinjaOne Archiver works with existing Google Workspace tenants through Gmail routing rules that copy mail to the archive. We can help you set those up. We do not sell Google Workspace licences; your subscription stays as it is.
Still have a question about email archiving software?
Ask us and a member of our team will reply by email.