Microsoft Purview vs. Archiveo: who should run records disposition?

If your organization runs on Microsoft 365, someone has probably said it in a meeting already: "We have Purview. Can't it handle our retention schedule?" It's a fair question. Microsoft Purview is where retention labels live, and retention labels are how a retention schedule becomes something Microsoft 365 understands.

But records management in a public body isn't only a set of rules. It's a process that archivists run: deciding what to look at, checking the result against the schedule, getting the right sign-off, then destroying with proof or transferring to the national archive. That process is where Purview and archivists tend to part ways. This article lays out what Purview does well, where it stops, and how Archiveo fills the gap without replacing it.

What Microsoft Purview does well

Purview's data lifecycle and records management features are a solid foundation:

• Retention labels and a file plan. Each label carries a retention period, a trigger (creation date, last modification, labeling date or an event) and what happens at the end.
• Automatic application. Labels can be applied by default to a library, or automatically based on content or properties.
• Record declaration. Items labeled as records are protected against editing and deletion.
• Disposition review. At the end of the retention period, a label can start a review instead of deleting automatically. Up to five review stages can be defined, and reviewers can approve disposal, relabel the item or extend its retention.

For IT and compliance teams, it's the right tool to make sure nothing in Microsoft 365 is deleted too early. Archiveo uses those same retention labels. The question is what happens once the retention period is over.

Where the archivist's process and Purview part ways

None of this makes Purview a bad product. It was designed for compliance administrators managing retention across a tenant. A public body's archivists have a different job, and four differences matter most.

1. Disposition should start when the archivist decides

In Purview, disposition is driven by time. When an item's retention period ends, that item, and only that item, enters the review queue. On a busy tenant, that means a steady trickle of documents arriving every day, from every site, in no particular order.

Archivists don't work that way. They work by file, by unit and by event: a committee has been dissolved, a project is closed, a directorate is reorganized, a shared drive is about to be decommissioned, or it's time for the annual disposal campaign. In Archiveo, the archivist creates an archive request for that scope (a Teams or SharePoint site, some folders, a network drive or a set of boxes) at the moment it makes sense. Archiveo then lists everything in that scope that has reached its due date under your rules.

That's what on demand means: the rules still come from the retention schedule, but the decision to act comes from someone who understands the context. The second article in this series goes further: On-demand records disposition: why archivists, not timers, should decide.

2. Review before execution, by the right people

Purview's disposition review is real review, and it can have several stages. But it's configured once, on the label, by whoever administers Purview. Reviewers need a specific role in a compliance portal that most archivists and managers rarely open. And if auto-approval is turned on to keep the queue moving, items can be disposed of without anyone having looked at them.

In a public body, destroying records is an administrative decision. The archivist checks that the list is consistent and complies with the schedule; the manager responsible for the records gives the formal approval. Archiveo builds those two steps into every request. There's no timeout that turns silence into consent: until the manager approves, nothing is destroyed or transferred.

The retention schedule tells you when a record may be disposed of. Only a person can confirm that it's appropriate for this file, today.

3. Destruction is only half of the job

A retention schedule has two possible outcomes: destroy, or keep permanently. Purview's disposition actions cover the first. For records with permanent value, the job is to prepare them and transfer them to the national archive, and Purview has no built-in action for that.

Archiveo handles both branches. Records to destroy are deleted, then verified as no longer accessible, SharePoint recycle bin included. Records to keep go through a secure buffer zone for cleanup and reclassification; Archiveo then generates the transfer package and deposit file, sends them over secure FTP, and the archivist closes the archive once the national archive confirms receipt.

4. Not every record lives in Microsoft 365

Purview retention applies to Microsoft 365 locations. Most public bodies also have years of folders on network drives and thousands of paper boxes, governed by the same retention schedule. Archiveo applies that schedule to all three. Expired folders on network drives are proposed based on their creation or last-modified date, and every paper box gets its own record with its location, barcode label and calculated disposal date. Same request, same approvals, same audit trail. See network drives and paper records on the Archiveo homepage.

Archiveo doesn't replace Purview. It puts it to work for archivists.

Archiveo imports your Microsoft 365 retention labels in bulk. Each label keeps its retention period, its trigger and its final disposition, so the labels maintained in Purview remain the single reference. There's no second retention schedule to keep in sync.

The split is straightforward. Purview holds the rules and keeps Microsoft 365 content from being deleted too early. Archiveo is where archivists run the process those rules call for: on demand, with review, and with the proof a public body needs.

Frequently asked questions

Does Archiveo replace Microsoft Purview?

No. Archiveo imports your Microsoft 365 retention labels and uses them as its rules. Purview keeps its role for retention and records labeling in Microsoft 365; Archiveo adds the archivist-led workflow on top.

Can Purview disposition review transfer records to a national archive?

Its disposition actions are approve disposal, relabel and extend. Transferring records to an external archive with a transfer package and a deposit file isn't a built-in action. In Archiveo, it's the standard outcome for records that must be kept.

Does Archiveo delete anything automatically?

No. Archiveo calculates due dates and builds the disposal report automatically, but nothing is destroyed or transferred until the archivist has validated and the manager has approved.

Does Archiveo work for records outside Microsoft 365?

Yes. The same archive requests, approvals and audit trail apply to network drives and paper boxes.

Sources on Purview features: Microsoft Learn, Disposition of content and Learn about retention policies and retention labels. Purview capabilities change over time; check the current documentation for your tenant.