New Compliance Search in Exchange Online: A Comprehensive Guide

In today's digital age, businesses and organizations handle vast amounts of data daily. With the increase in data volume and complexity, the importance of compliance has never been greater. For organizations using Microsoft's Exchange Online, ensuring compliance with industry regulations and internal policies is a critical task. To assist in this endeavor, Microsoft has introduced the New Compliance Search feature, a powerful tool designed to help organizations search for and manage data across their Exchange Online environments. This article will explore what the New Compliance Search in Exchange Online is, how it works, its key features, and best practices for using it effectively.

What is Compliance Search?

Compliance Search is a feature within the Microsoft 365 compliance center that allows organizations to search for content across multiple Microsoft 365 services, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Teams. It is designed to help compliance officers, legal teams, and administrators quickly locate content that may be relevant for legal investigations, data subject requests (DSRs), or compliance requirements.

With Compliance Search, organizations can perform large-scale searches and explore various data sources within their organization. This feature is particularly valuable for organizations that need to comply with regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), or other industry-specific standards.

The Evolution of Compliance Search in Exchange Online

The New Compliance Search in Exchange Online is an evolution of the earlier search tools provided by Microsoft, such as eDiscovery search and content search. While these earlier tools were useful, they had limitations regarding scalability, speed, and the ability to search across multiple data sources simultaneously.

The New Compliance Search addresses these limitations by providing a more robust and scalable solution. It allows organizations to perform searches across large datasets quickly and efficiently. Additionally, it supports more complex search queries, enabling users to narrow down results with greater precision.

Key Features of the New Compliance Search

1. Scalability and Performance: The New Compliance Search is designed to handle large-scale searches across multiple mailboxes, SharePoint sites, and other data sources. This scalability ensures that organizations can quickly find the information they need, even when dealing with extensive data volumes.

2. Complex Query Capabilities: Users can create sophisticated search queries using various operators, such as AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR. These operators allow users to refine their searches and locate specific content based on keywords, phrases, or other criteria.

3. Search Across Multiple Data Sources: The New Compliance Search can search across multiple Microsoft 365 services, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Teams. This cross-platform capability ensures that organizations can find relevant content regardless of where it is stored.

4. Preview and Export Options: Once a search is performed, users can preview the results to determine their relevance. If the results are relevant, they can be exported for further analysis or legal review. The export options include exporting to a PST file, Excel file, or other formats.

5. Integration with Advanced eDiscovery: The New Compliance Search integrates seamlessly with Microsoft’s Advanced eDiscovery solution, providing additional capabilities such as data analysis, case management, and document review. This integration makes it easier for organizations to manage legal holds, review content, and prepare for legal proceedings.

How to Use the New Compliance Search in Exchange Online

To use the New Compliance Search, users must have the necessary permissions within the Microsoft 365 compliance center. Typically, these permissions are assigned to roles such as compliance officer, eDiscovery manager, or global administrator. Once permissions are granted, users can follow these steps:

1. Access the Compliance Center: Navigate to the Microsoft 365 compliance center by signing in with your admin credentials.

2. Create a New Compliance Search: In the compliance center, select "Content search" under the "Solutions" section. Click on "New search" to start creating a new compliance search query.

3. Define Search Criteria: Enter keywords, phrases, or other criteria to define the scope of your search. You can use advanced query syntax to create complex search conditions. For example, you can search for emails containing specific keywords within a particular date range.

4. Select Data Sources: Choose the data sources you want to include in the search. You can select specific mailboxes, SharePoint sites, OneDrive accounts, or Teams channels.

5. Review Search Results: After defining the search criteria and selecting data sources, run the search and review the results. You can preview individual items to determine their relevance.

6. Export Search Results: If the search results are relevant, export them for further analysis. Choose the export format that suits your needs, such as PST or Excel.

Best Practices for Using the New Compliance Search

1. Plan Your Searches: Before conducting a search, plan what you are looking for and define clear search criteria. This planning will help you create more effective queries and reduce the time spent reviewing irrelevant results.

2. Use Specific Keywords: When defining search criteria, use specific keywords and phrases relevant to your investigation or compliance requirement. This specificity will help narrow down search results and improve accuracy.

3. Leverage Advanced Query Syntax: Take advantage of the advanced query syntax options available in Compliance Search. Use operators such as AND, OR, and NOT to refine your searches and create more precise queries.

4. Review Search Results Carefully: After conducting a search, review the results carefully to ensure they meet your requirements. Preview individual items to determine their relevance before exporting them.

5. Stay Informed About Updates: Microsoft regularly updates its compliance tools and features. Stay informed about new updates and enhancements to take full advantage of the latest capabilities.

Conclusion

The New Compliance Search in Exchange Online is a powerful tool that helps organizations meet their compliance and legal obligations. By providing a scalable, efficient, and versatile solution for searching across multiple data sources, Compliance Search enables organizations to quickly locate relevant content, respond to data subject requests, and prepare for legal investigations. By following best practices and leveraging the advanced features of Compliance Search, organizations can ensure they remain compliant with industry regulations and protect their valuable data.

Tables and Data Analysis

While not every organization will need to use tables and data analysis with the New Compliance Search, these tools can enhance the understanding of search results. For example, exporting search results to Excel allows compliance officers to sort, filter, and analyze data more effectively. Here's an example of how search results might be organized in a table:

By organizing search results in a table, organizations can easily track and manage their compliance efforts.