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Email Archiving

Email archivingfor Microsoft 365,audit-proof.

Archive captures all inbound, outbound, and internal emails from Microsoft 365 Exchange Online and Exchange Server. Compliant, searchable, and without a mandatory connector.

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Audit-Proof Email Archiving for Microsoft 365 and Exchange

Archive archives the entire email flow from Microsoft 365 Exchange Online and Exchange Server On-Premise in a audit-proof way. A single journal rule is enough, encrypted messages are stored in searchable plain text, and operations run exclusively in EU data centers.

Why native Microsoft tools fall short

Not allowed
Microsoft does not permit journaling into an Exchange Online mailbox
6 to 10 years
retention obligation for business emails under German HGB and AO, depending on the type of record
CLOUD Act
US access to Microsoft data remains possible despite EU data centers
S/MIME
encrypted content stays unsearchable in Purview eDiscovery

How Microsoft 365 connects to Archive

A single journal rule is enough. Handover is encrypted and requires no connector, delivering to a dedicated archive target outside Microsoft 365.

Journal rule instead of a connector

Exchange Online delivers journal reports via a journal rule to a dedicated Archive ingestion address. No additional connector is required.

Dedicated external archive target

Exchange Online delivers journal reports only to external archive systems. An Exchange Online mailbox cannot serve as a journal target. Archive takes on exactly this role.

Encrypted transport

Journal reports are handed over encrypted via TLS with modern authentication. The mail flow itself remains untouched.

What Archive delivers

Complete capture, audit-proof storage, and full-text search for Microsoft 365 and Exchange On-Premise.

Complete capture

Inbound, outbound, and internal emails are captured without gaps, whether they run through Exchange Online or Exchange Server.

Audit-proof and immutable

Every message is stored immutably and can neither be altered nor deleted after the fact. The archive is designed for audit-proof retention.

Encrypted mail searchable

S/MIME content that the gateway decrypts is archived as searchable plain text. Gateway-decrypted communication remains findable in full-text search.

Hybrid captured in parallel

Exchange Online and Exchange SE On-Premise are captured in parallel and deduplicated. Each email ends up in the archive exactly once.

Migration of legacy data

PST legacy data and archive mailboxes are migrated in a guided way, with no Outlook installation required.

Operated in EU data centers

Operations run exclusively in EU data centers with a German provider, without dependency on US cloud providers.

What sets Archive apart from native Microsoft tools

Microsoft Purview and Exchange Online Archiving cover different tasks. Archive is a separate, audit-proof archive.

A real archive, not a storage tier

The in-place archive in Exchange Online is closer to an additional storage tier per mailbox. Archive is a separate, audit-proof archive for the whole organization.

A permitted external journal target

Journaling into an Exchange Online mailbox is not allowed. Archive serves as a permitted external journal target via a dedicated ingestion address.

Encrypted content searchable

Purview eDiscovery does not support S/MIME content. Archive archives the gateway-decrypted plain text and makes those messages searchable.

Data sovereignty in the EU

The US CLOUD Act applies to Microsoft despite EU data centers. Archive runs exclusively in EU data centers with a German provider.

Audit-proof archiving in three steps

1

Set up the journal rule

A journal rule in Exchange Online is pointed at the dedicated Archive ingestion address. Transport runs encrypted via TLS.

2

Import legacy data

PST files and archive mailboxes are migrated and deduplicated in a guided way, without an Outlook installation.

3

Search and prove

All emails are available audit-proof and full-text searchable, including gateway-decrypted messages.

What the law expects from an archive in Microsoft 365

The obligation falls on the company, not on whoever runs the mailbox. Whether mailboxes live in Exchange Online or on your own hardware changes neither the retention periods nor the immutability requirement.

Six, eight and ten years

Business letters received and sent must be kept for six years, accounting records including incoming and outgoing invoices for eight years since 2025, and commercial books and annual financial statements for ten years. The governing rules are section 257 (4) of the German Commercial Code and section 147 (3) of the German Fiscal Code. An email counts as soon as it prepares, concludes or reverses a transaction, with or without an attachment. The period starts at the end of the calendar year in which the message was created, not on the day it arrived.

Immutable means provably unchanged

The GoBD require that a record subject to retention stays complete, correct and immutable, and that any change becomes visible. A mailbox does not meet that bar: anyone with access can move, edit or delete a message, and the in-place archive in Exchange Online shares that access. Archive receives the message in transit and stores it immutably before it reaches the mailbox. Every later access is logged.

Complete includes internal mail

Retention is not limited to what leaves the company. An internal message between two mailboxes in the same domain can carry the same content as a business letter and then falls under the same obligation. A journal rule in Exchange Online captures inbound, outbound and internal messages in one pass. A capture point that only sits on the way out never sees internal traffic.

The process documentation is part of it

The GoBD require documentation that shows how the process works and how immutability is ensured. It describes the path of a message from creation through capture and storage to deletion once the period has expired. An archive that logs that path without gaps supplies the evidence; the documentation itself is written by the company.

FAQ

Can an Exchange Online mailbox serve as a journal target?
No. Exchange Online does not allow journaling into an Exchange Online mailbox. Journal reports are delivered only to an external archive system. Archive takes on exactly this role via a dedicated ingestion address.
How is Microsoft 365 connected to Archive?
Through a journal rule in Exchange Online that forwards all inbound, outbound, and internal messages to the dedicated Archive ingestion address. Transport is encrypted via TLS with modern authentication, with no connector required.
How does Archive differ from Microsoft Purview and Exchange Online Archiving?
The in-place archive in Exchange Online is closer to a storage tier per mailbox, journaling into an Exchange Online mailbox is not allowed, and S/MIME content is not supported in Purview eDiscovery. Archive is a separate, audit-proof archive and makes gateway-decrypted content searchable.
Are encrypted emails archived in a searchable way?
Yes. Archive archives the decrypted plain text, so S/MIME messages remain full-text searchable. Purview eDiscovery, by contrast, does not support S/MIME content.
Are hybrid setups of Exchange Online and On-Premise supported?
Yes. Exchange Online and Exchange SE On-Premise are captured in parallel. Messages that appear in both environments are deduplicated, so each email is stored in the archive only once.
Where is the archived data stored?
Exclusively in EU data centers with a German provider. The US CLOUD Act applies to Microsoft despite EU data centers, whereas Archive is not subject to that access.
Is Exchange Online Archiving audit-proof?
No. The in-place archive in Exchange Online is additional storage attached to a mailbox, not an archive in the sense of the retention obligation. It stays within reach of the mailbox owner, follows the mailbox when it moves or is deleted, and does not evidence later changes the way the GoBD require. That calls for storage outside the mailbox.
How long must emails from Microsoft 365 be retained?
Six years for business letters received and sent, eight years for accounting records including invoices, and ten years for commercial books and annual financial statements. The period starts at the end of the calendar year in which the message was created. Where the mailbox is operated makes no difference.
Does Microsoft 365 meet the GoBD on its own?
Not without an archive. Microsoft 365 stores messages, but the GoBD also require completeness, immutability and traceable logging across the entire retention period. A retention policy prevents deletion, yet it replaces neither immutable storage nor the evidence that nothing changed between delivery and audit.
Does a retention policy in Purview replace an archive?
No. A retention policy holds messages in the mailbox or in the recoverable items area and protects them from deletion. It does not store them outside the environment that produced them, and it does not help if the tenant itself becomes unreachable. A separate archive keeps retention and operations apart.

Audit-proof archiving for Microsoft 365.

Archive captures the entire email flow from Exchange Online and Exchange On-Premise, makes encrypted content searchable, and runs in EU data centers.

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