I support a small company using Microsoft 365 E3, with a managed service provider handling the broader setup. Some users keep years of email, and full mailboxes or oversized Outlook cache files are stopping them from working.
What can we do to reduce disruption without losing mail the business needs?
Start with online archiving rather than deletion. Check the licenses and current mailbox policies with your provider, then test moving older mail into an archive for a small group. Users can still access it, while the primary mailbox has less to hold.
Pick an age that fits how the sales team actually uses old messages. Also check archive capacity and whether auto-expanding archiving is available and appropriate for your setup. Moving mail to an archive is not the same thing as backing it up.
Don't quietly purge anything. Get the owner to decide what the company needs to retain, with legal advice where appropriate, and document the decision. Old email can be subject to discovery, but deleting records that should have been kept can also cause trouble.
A fixed deletion period might work, but two years or any other number needs a business and legal basis. Check for holds and other preservation obligations before applying a policy, and make sure the backup retention setup is understood too.
Separate the cloud mailbox problem from the Outlook cache problem. A large local OST and a mailbox hitting its server quota need different fixes. Have the provider check which limit is actually blocking each affected user before changing policies across the company.
For the immediate cases, look at mailbox size and the biggest folders and attachments. Review Outlook's cached mail settings and whether users can access mail through the web while the desktop issue is being resolved. Changing cache settings does not reduce the server mailbox size.
Put the choices in front of management in plain terms. Keeping everything needs storage and support, while automatic deletion needs an agreed retention policy. Ask the provider for costs and a practical plan for each option, then record the decision so IT isn't making it alone.
c905~teacup_7:
That gives me a way to frame it as a business choice rather than just asking people to clean their inboxes again.
Answers are reviewed before publication.
Farnick.6w:
Tell users where archived messages will show up before the pilot. Otherwise moving familiar mail out of the primary mailbox can look a lot like deleting it.