3 KPIs to identify unused data on Microsoft 365

According to a recent study, 53% of EMEA organisations exceeded their cloud storage budget in 2023, and 91% plan to increase it in 2024. Given the continuous and massive increase in data, it is essential that storage spaces are controlled, in particular to promote more responsible digital approach.

In view of this, this article explores the key indicators to identify ROT data: Redundant, Obsolete, and Trivial data and inactive files, so that storage management can be optimised on Microsoft 365. Studies estimate that many large enterprises spend as much as $34 million dollars on redundant, obsolete, and trivial data that could safely be deleted (source: securiti).

On the agenda:

- 1. Inactive sites or dormant files
- 2. File Versioning
- 3. Saturated storage spaces
- MyDataManagement: the new solution to identify and clean up large files and resources on Microsoft 365

1. Inactive spaces and dormant files

Inactive spaces and files that haven't been accessed for a while are common in Microsoft 365 environments.

Dormant files are content that have not been accessed for a period of time. They have no recent changes or access. The period of inactivity depends on the organisation habits and policies.
Inactive spaces are storage spaces, such as mailboxes, OneDrive folders and SharePoint sites (Teams), that have not been used for a specific period of time. These spaces may contain obsolete files, unread emails, or outdated documents that are no longer relevant for the company. Inactivity can result from an employee leaving the company, internal reorganisation or simply poor site management.

These resources consume storage space and can lead to "documentary chaos" (management of duplicates, infobesity, outdated content etc.) which can have an impact on user productivity, which is why sorting and cleaning are necessary.

2. File versioning

File versioning is a feature offered by Microsoft Sharepoint online or OneDrive, that enables to save new copies of a document when users make changes. This allows users to manage the different revisions within a file and go back to an earlier version if necessary.

Even a minor change, like adding a comma, creates a new version. And each version of a document is deducted from the available quota of the SharePoint site and, therefore, from the tenant's overall quota.

screenshot file versions sharepoint

Example of a document with several versions and size

Files like PowerPoint presentations or Excel files, which sometimes contain hundreds of versions, take up a lot of storage space:

→ For example, it is not uncommon for PowerPoints from our clients to have a size of 100MB with more than 100 versions, giving a total size of more than 10GB.

The versions therefore impact the size of the files and the available storage space.

Consequently, it is important to manage automatic file versioning, to pay attention to file size and clean old versions - not to keep all of them in order to optimise storage space. There are also options to reduce file size, such as compressing images, removing hidden data or converting to PDF format (note that these are manual actions and are not automated in Microsoft services).

3. Saturated storage spaces

Storage spaces have quotas which are predefined limits for different resources in Microsoft services, such as Microsoft 365 and Azure. Each quota represents a specific resource, such as the number of virtual machines you can create, the number of storage accounts you can use simultaneously, and so on. Previously, we called these quotas “limits”, which were defined and applied at subscription level.

When a resource reaches its quota, this means that it has used up the space allocated to it. If resources exceed their quotas, the following happens:

OneDrive: You will no longer be able to upload, edit or sync new files. Your existing files will remain read-only.
Mailbox: You will not be able to send or receive new emails, even if you have not exceeded your mail storage quota. All emails sent to you will be returned to the sender. After 6 months, Microsoft may delete your OneDrive and all files in it, and once deleted these files cannot be recovered
Microsoft Teams (SharePoint): You will not be able to send or receive messages containing attachments.

It is important that each user is aware of their quotas and their data consumption to avoid service interruptions on the collaborative tools in Microsoft 365 and to guarantee efficient use of resources. If you exceed your quotas, it is recommended that you free up space or increase your storage limits by upgrading your Microsoft 365 account.

MyDataManagement, the new solution to identify and clean up large files and resources on Microsoft 365

It is important to draw up a precise inventory of Microsoft Teams, Sharepoint, OneDrive, etc. and identify unnecessary data so that you can free up space and optimise costs.

IDECSI has launched MyDataManagement, a system that allows you to identify and clean up unnecessary files from your Microsoft 365 environment using dashboards (powerBi):

Report on large files to quickly and easily identify files that could be deleted with high optimisation impact

report onedrive storage large files

→ Example of OneDrive storage status report:
- Large files without recent access
- Files that have not been opened for more than 90 days

Report on resources that have reached their quotas to identify the space consumed and the remaining space available, to access the different files according to their size.
Inactive resources to know SharePoint sites that have not been accessed for a set period of time and to know their volume. These can be

sharepoint storage indicator

→ Example of storage status report on SharePoint resources:
- Inactive, large sites that have not been used recently
- Saturated, large sites that have exceeded the storage limit

MyDataManagement allows businesses to reduce unnecessary data and optimise storage to improve digital sobriety.

*Cloud storage index study published by Wasabi 2024.

3 KPIs to identify unused data on Microsoft 365

1. Inactive spaces and dormant files

2. File versioning

3. Saturated storage spaces

MyDataManagement, the new solution to identify and clean up large files and resources on Microsoft 365

Data protection, let's discuss your project?