While the question might not be an easy one to answer, the solution is simple as there are multiple ways to stop or redirect the mail flow to another recipient. In other cases, a critical business workflow might depend on continuing to receive emails to the mailbox. In some cases, it might not be appropriate to keep messages flowing to the mailbox. Again, there are multiple correct answers here. Whether the mailbox should continue receiving new email messages is another question you need to answer.
PST files should be imported into the primary mailbox or archive mailbox so that you have a single, authoritative source of data, and so you can control the preservation of the data. Keeping the Online archive has implications for licensing, which I will explain a bit later. If the need to preserve mailbox data is identified, you should also check whether the user has archived data, either in the form of an Exchange Online archive, or stored in PST files.
Immutability means preserving data in an unchanged state, which is important if the data is being retained for legal requirements. Immutability of the data is another factor you should be considering. Chances are there is a lot of sensitive information stored in their mailboxes, so while preservation is a no brainer, access to the data should only be allowed in controlled manner. This does not necessarily mean that said colleagues should be given access to the mailbox content, but that’s certainly an option.Įxpert level personnel, team leaders and managers represent another group of employees that are likely to be the subject of data preservation requirements. Getting the opinion of their manager or peers as to whether the mailbox can be immediately purged is usually a good idea. Employees often forget to share important information with their peers, for example the contact details for an external partner. For a mid-level employee or someone that has been with the company for long time, chances are you will find some value in preserving the data at least for some short duration of time purely for the sake of convenience. Still, depending on the industry you’re working in or the country legislation, the need to keep the data might arise. If the departed user was an entry level employee or a summer intern, the answer will probably be no.
The answer to this question, as well as some details related to it, will most often govern the whole process. One of the first questions you should ask is whether you genuinely need to preserve the mailbox data. Using Inactive Mailboxes to Preserve Data.Using Shared Mailboxes to Preserve Data.