Data Lifecycle Management

Executive Summary

Data Lifecycle Management defines how enterprise information is created, retained, protected, reviewed and disposed across Microsoft 365.

For Microsoft 365 and Copilot readiness, lifecycle management reduces data sprawl, improves search quality and helps ensure sensitive or obsolete content is handled according to business and compliance requirements.

한국어 요약

Data Lifecycle Management는 Microsoft 365에 저장된 데이터가 생성되고, 보관되고, 폐기되는 전체 흐름을 관리하는 체계입니다.

Retention, deletion, records management, ownership, audit evidence를 설계하면 SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, Exchange 데이터가 무분별하게 쌓이는 문제를 줄이고 Copilot이 참조하는 정보 품질도 개선할 수 있습니다.

Business Scenario

• Microsoft 365 retention policy design
• SharePoint and OneDrive data cleanup
• Records management and audit readiness
• Copilot data quality improvement
• Legal hold and investigation support
• Data ownership and lifecycle governance

Lifecycle Architecture

Data lifecycle architectureCreate, retain, review, dispose

01Create and classifyNew content receives owner, location, label, sensitivity and business context.

02Retain and protectRetention, records, DLP and access controls apply based on policy.

03ReviewOwners and compliance teams review stale, sensitive, regulated or obsolete content.

04Dispose or evidenceDispose content when allowed, preserve evidence when legal or audit requirements apply.

Core Design Areas

Area	Design Focus	Output
Data ownership	Business owner and system owner	Ownership matrix
Retention	Retention labels and policies	Retention schedule
Disposition	Review, approval and deletion workflow	Disposition process
Records	Regulatory and business records	Records management model
Audit	Evidence for policy and disposal decisions	Audit evidence pack

Decision Checklist

Decision	Recommended Question
Data categories	Which content types require retention or records control?
Retention duration	How long must each data category be retained?
Disposition review	Who approves deletion or record disposition?
Ownership	Which business owner is accountable for each content area?
Legal hold	How are investigations and holds handled?
Copilot readiness	Which obsolete or overshared content must be cleaned up first?

Anti-Patterns

• Keeping all content forever because deletion feels risky
• Applying retention policies without business owner validation
• Ignoring Teams and OneDrive content in lifecycle planning
• Deleting content without evidence or approval workflow
• Treating lifecycle management separately from Copilot readiness

Delivery Artifacts

• Data lifecycle policy
• Retention schedule
• Records management design
• Disposition review process
• Data owner matrix
• Copilot data cleanup plan
• Audit evidence package

Customer Success Pattern

Industry	Scenario	Pattern
Manufacturing	Engineering document lifecycle	Retention schedule and owner-based disposition review
Finance	Audit evidence readiness	Records management and legal hold operating model
Retail	Collaboration data cleanup	Teams and SharePoint lifecycle governance before Copilot rollout

검색 키워드

• Microsoft Purview data lifecycle management
• Microsoft 365 retention policy
• records management
• data disposition
• Copilot data cleanup
• Microsoft 365 데이터 수명주기
• Purview 보존 정책

Related Documents

• Purview
• Purview Information Protection
• Compliance Manager
• Copilot Architecture

Contact / Asset Request

For retention policy matrices, data lifecycle assessment sheets, records management checklists or Copilot data cleanup planning templates, use Contact and Asset Request.