Study: Top Drivers for Implementing Microsoft Teams Governance

ZL Tech recently partnered with Osterman Research to investigate how enterprises are archiving and protecting Microsoft Teams data. Surveying medium- and large-scale organizations that have adopted Microsoft Teams, 143 IT leaders were questioned about their governance strategies. Exploring one facet of the study, this blog will discuss the key factors that lead organizations to archive and govern their Microsoft Teams data.

Reasons why organizes are implementing Microsoft Teams governance

Participants were asked how important, from not at all to extremely, capturing Microsoft Teams data was to their organization for a host of actions that could require this information. The top eight drivers for archiving Microsoft Teams data are shown in the below graphic.

Adding further detail to these findings, 49% of respondents noted that five or more of these reasons were either very or extremely important to their organization, with 26% listing all eight as very or extremely important. Some industries prioritized these reasons more than others, with 67% of participants in the life sciences and 52% of participants in the financial services industry listing five or more reasons as very or extremely important.

Instances that required Microsoft Teams data

Interestingly, the top drivers for archiving Microsoft Teams data do not align with the most frequent instances in which participants needed access to this data. Respondents were asked what circumstances they encountered in the last 12 months that required access to Microsoft Teams data; their answers are listed in the graphic below.

A vast majority of respondents (75%) experienced at least one of the five incident types in the last year, and just under 50% experienced two or more incidents. Interestingly, internal investigations were the least important factor in archiving Microsoft Teams data yet were tied with eDiscovery requests for the most frequently required use case. That said, internal investigations are never required by law, which may have decreased its importance despite just under half of the respondents having conducted one with Microsoft Teams data.

The future of Microsoft Teams data governance

Regardless of why an organization chose to adopt Teams archiving—or not to--access to Microsoft Teams data is already required. Just under half of the participants (49%) required Microsoft Teams data to conduct eDiscovery, and the other half, unfortunately, may need to at a moment's notice pending a lawsuit. Furthermore, while only 30% of respondents needed Microsoft Teams data for a compliance audit, all organizations must comply with these regulations, even if they happened not to be audited in the past year. The question is no longer “if Microsoft Teams data needs to be governed,” rather “how will Microsoft Teams data be governed.” IT, legal, and compliance leaders will need to incorporate Microsoft Teams data into their governance strategy—or pay for it later.

For some organizations, the native archiving capabilities offered in Microsoft teams may be sufficient; however, many enterprises have complex requirements that are better suited to a third-party solution. The study went into greater depth investigating when organizations should turn to a third-party archiving and governance solution, and these results will be highlighted in future posts. ZL Tech has integrated Microsoft Teams archiving in its solutions for compliance, privacy, eDiscovery, records management, and analytics.

Read the full report to learn more about current Microsoft Teams governance trends.

archiving compliance Data governance eDiscovery Microsoft Teams privacy

A graduate from Kalamazoo College, Martin Hansknecht serves as a marketing associate for ZL Tech. He gets his Midwestern charm from growing up in the mitten of Michigan, his East Coast work ethic from his time spent in NY and D.C., and his European fashion from years living in England, Germany, and Hungary. Now he is looking forward to absorbing that innovative West Coast mindset!