M365 CAB

Hi all,

I'm hoping to get some advice and examples from anyone managing permanent digital records in Microsoft 365, particularly in an education (or similarly regulated) environment.

We're currently planning a digitisation project to scan our school enrolment registers. These are long-term/permanent records that are accessed from time to time to support records searches.

As we work through the design, we've got a few questions and would really appreciate hearing how others have approached this in practice:

• Are organisations comfortable storing permanent/archival records in SharePoint Online using retention labels (e.g. "retain permanently" or declaring records), rather than maintaining a separate archival system?
• Are these records managed within your core Information Architecture (aligned to your file plan/taxonomy)?
• Or have you set up a separate archive or records site (e.g. a dedicated hub or "records centre"-style site) to keep permanent or inactive records separate from day-to-day content?
• Have you encountered any challenges with long-term digital preservation in M365, such as format stability, migration over time, or storage strategies?

I'm particularly interested in what's working in reality, not just what's technically possible.

Any lessons learned, useful design patterns, or "what you'd do differently next time" insights would be very welcome.

I'd also be keen to understand whether people are relying solely on Purview and SharePoint, or if you've introduced an additional archive or preservation layer for permanent records.

Thanks in advance!

Michelle