A couple of days ago, we reported that Microsoft is bringing a new Auto-Archiving feature to Exchange Online. As the name suggests, this would automatically archive the oldest emails if the utilization quota of your primary mailbox hits 90%. While this sounds great on paper, Microsoft surprisingly emphasized that this feature would begin rolling out on October 15, and customers would have no option to disable it.
Now, Microsoft has decided to delay this rollout due to major backlash from IT admins. In an update on its original blog post, the company says:
We heard your feedback and are working on revised release plan for this feature. We will update this post (and release plan) accordingly in the near future.
Judging by the comments on the blog post, this isn"t surprising at all. One IT admin noted that rolling out a global redesign of retention policies on a one-week notice, without an option to disable it, is just "dumbfounding". They highlighted that it took their organization six months of internal discussions to finally decide on retention policies, and now, Microsoft is ready to upend them on short notice.
Another IT admin stated that they have already configured notifications that inform users if their mailboxes are getting full. This enables them to knowingly delete emails they don"t need anymore or move them to the archive. However, Microsoft"s redesign is enforcing certain retention policies on mailbox users without a proper notification flow, which may confuse them when they can"t find old emails. It would also cause archive mailboxes to unnecessarily fill up in some cases, too.
Similarly, others have expressed frustration at how control is being taken away from them, impacting their existing flows. That said, the public comments are likely only the tip of the iceberg, and Microsoft may have received communication from IT admins in private channels too, prompting it to delay the release of Auto-Archiving.