Archive (Archiving)

Archive, in the compliance and security context, refers to the tamper-proof storage of digital communication and relevant business data. The aim is to keep messages and content findable, traceable and available in a compliant manner over the long term.

Core requirements are the immutability of stored content, defined retention and deletion periods, access control and a powerful search across many channels – from email and collaboration tools to messaging platforms. Archiving must be distinguished from backup: backups serve recovery after data loss, archives serve the long-term, often legally required retention and analysis of individual content.

In regulated industries in particular, archiving is therefore not a pure storage topic, but the basis for e-discovery, communication supervision and the ability to provide information to supervisory authorities. Retention rules and responsibilities for this are defined within Data Governance.