what is the difference between: Sharepoint online versioning Vs Retention policies when item is modified?

Question

Hello team,

Settings in Microsoft 365 for versioning:

1. Sharepoint has the versioning for the items
2. Purview retention policies has the option to create a copy of the item when it is modified What is the difference between each kind of versioning, if I already have SPO versioning, why I need retention policies create a copy when Item is modified?

can you confirm why these 2 features are not redundant settings to keep versions?

Answer 1

Hi @Sergio Londono

Greetings & Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum! Thanks for posting your query!

This is a great question, and understanding the difference between SharePoint Online versioning and Purview retention policies is crucial for managing data effectively in Microsoft 365. While both deal with keeping copies of content, they serve different purposes and are not redundant.

SharePoint Online Versioning

Purpose - SharePoint versioning is primarily designed to keep track of changes made to documents or list items over time. It allows users to view, restore, or delete previous versions of an item.

Functionality - Automatically saves a new version with each modification. Users can access version history to view changes and restore previous versions. Administrators can configure the number of versions to retain.

Scope - Versioning is specific to the SharePoint document library or list where it is enabled. It is focused on the content and its changes.

Microsoft Purview Retention Policies

Purpose - Retention policies in Microsoft Purview are designed to manage the lifecycle of information across Microsoft 365, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. They help organizations retain or delete content based on specific criteria.

Functionality - Can create a copy of an item when modified, ensuring compliance. Specifies retention periods for items, regardless of modifications. Automatically deletes items after the retention period expires.

Scope - Retention policies can apply across various Microsoft 365 services, not just SharePoint. They can cover emails, Teams messages, OneDrive files, and more.

Key Differences

Focus - SharePoint versioning is focused on tracking changes to documents and items within SharePoint, while retention policies are focused on compliance and data lifecycle management across the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Functionality - Versioning allows users to restore previous versions of items, while retention policies ensure that copies of items are kept for compliance purposes, even if the original item is modified or deleted.

Use Cases - Use versioning when you need to manage document changes and restore previous versions. Use retention policies when you need to comply with legal requirements for data retention and deletion.

Conclusion

So, even though versioning in SharePoint will allow you to view and restore previous versions, retention policies in Purview provide an additional layer of compliance by ensuring that a copy of modified data is preserved beyond the versioning configuration, especially for long-term retention and compliance.

For additional information, please refer the following documents.

• Versioning in SharePoint
• Learn about retention policies and retention labels
• Learn about retention for SharePoint and OneDrive

I hope this information helps. Please do let us know if you have any further queries.

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