Nerve Center Tech Tip 1: Archive Old Emails & Clean Shared Drives
The Importance of Digital Housekeeping in 2026
Over the past few years, organizations have seen exponential growth in unstructured data; emails, attachments, documents, images, shared folders, and file versions scattered across cloud platforms. When this information becomes disorganized, teams spend more time searching for files; administrators struggle to enforce compliance, and the attack surface quietly expands.
This isn’t just a matter of tidiness. It’s a matter of operational clarity, regulatory alignment, and cybersecurity hygiene. January is the perfect moment to pause, take inventory, and bring order back to your environment before the pace of the year accelerates.
Modernizing Your Email Archive the Right Way
Email systems, especially Microsoft 365, can degrade when users hold onto years of messages that no longer need to live in their primary mailbox. Microsoft explicitly notes that oversized mailboxes reduce performance and increase load on the system. An efficient archive strategy not only keeps Outlook running smoothly but also enhances your storage management across the organization.
A proper archiving process should begin with identifying messages and attachments that are no longer needed in day-to-day operations. These can be transferred into an In-Place Archive Mailbox or governed through retention labels that automatically route older content to the appropriate location. If attachments already exist in SharePoint or OneDrive, they should be removed from email entirely to prevent version confusion and redundant storage.
Organizations that want a consistent, policy-driven approach should consider implementing Microsoft 365 retention and data governance features. Nevtec can assist with archiving strategies, retention enforcement, and automation.
Reorganizing Shared Drives and Collaboration Workspaces
Shared drives often evolve without structure as teams rapidly add new folders, store temporary documents, or save multiple iterations of files to “final_final_v3.docx.” Over time, this emerging digital sprawl leads to duplicated content, outdated files that linger long after a project is completed, and inconsistent naming standards that make locating information unnecessarily difficult.
A successful cleanup should begin with reviewing existing folders from a business relevance perspective. Outdated client materials should be archived or removed; internal documents should be consolidated into clearly defined structures, and inconsistent naming conventions should be replaced with standardized formats. Teams working heavily in Microsoft 365 should be encouraged to adopt SharePoint or OneDrive version control rather than treating shared drives as permanent storage repositories.
Strengthening Security Through Better Governance
When organizations accumulate unmanaged files, they also accumulate risk. Sensitive client information, financial statements, HR documents, and confidential internal records can easily end up in unsecured folders, sometimes with permissions unintentionally left open to individuals who should not have access.
A refreshed data governance approach introduces tools such as sensitivity labels, automated retention policies, data-loss prevention rules, and periodic access reviews. These measures not only reduce risk but also help ensure ongoing compliance with industry standards. Nevtec can support the development and implementation of governance frameworks tailored to your environment:
Start 2026 With a Cleaner, Safer, More Efficient Data Ecosystem
Book a Data Hygiene & Storage Optimization Session
Nevtec’s engineers can assess your email environment, analyze shared-drive clutter, identify security vulnerabilities, and implement automated governance features that keep your systems organized long-term.👉 Schedule your session.
