Mark, Author at SmiKar

SharePoint Analytics

by Mark | Apr 3, 2025 | SharePoint

Unlock the Power of SharePoint Analytics with SharePoint Storage Explorer

Managing SharePoint storage can be a complex task, especially as your organization’s data continues to grow. Keeping track of how much space each site or user is consuming, identifying trends, and ensuring your storage stays within allocated limits are crucial for effective SharePoint management. This is where SharePoint analytics tools can make a significant difference, and SharePoint Storage Explorer stands out as an essential free tool to simplify the process.

What is SharePoint Storage Explorer?

SharePoint Storage Explorer is a free and user-friendly tool that provides clear and detailed insights into your SharePoint storage usage. It allows you to see exactly how much storage each site, document library, and user is consuming, making it easier to stay on top of storage management. Whether you’re an IT administrator or a site manager, SharePoint Storage Explorer equips you with the data you need to make informed decisions about your SharePoint environment.

Key Features of SharePoint Storage Explorer

Comprehensive Storage Breakdown: With SharePoint Storage Explorer, you get an in-depth view of your storage usage, broken down by site collections, document libraries, and users. This feature helps you quickly identify which sites or users are using the most storage space.
Track Storage Trends Over Time: Understanding how your storage usage evolves is key for managing growth. SharePoint Storage Explorer lets you track storage usage over time, so you can anticipate future needs and avoid unexpected issues.
Simple and Intuitive Interface: Unlike other SharePoint analytics tools, SharePoint Storage Explorer is designed to be simple to use. You don’t need advanced technical skills to navigate the tool and access the data you need.
Find Large Files and Folders: Large files or document libraries can quickly eat up your storage space. SharePoint Storage Explorer helps you find these files so you can take action before they cause problems.
Optimize Storage Costs: With detailed reports on your SharePoint storage, you can identify areas where you can archive or delete unnecessary data, ultimately helping you optimize storage costs and improve efficiency.

Why Choose SharePoint Storage Explorer for Your SharePoint Analytics?

While there are many SharePoint analytics tools available, SharePoint Storage Explorer provides a unique combination of ease of use, detailed insights, and free access. It’s ideal for administrators who want a clear understanding of their SharePoint storage without the complexity and high costs that come with other tools.

By leveraging SharePoint analytics through this tool, you can ensure your SharePoint environment stays efficient, cost-effective, and scalable. It helps you stay ahead of potential issues, such as performance bottlenecks or storage overflow, by offering detailed, real-time data.

How Does SharePoint Storage Explorer Work?

Once you install SharePoint Storage Explorer, it automatically scans your SharePoint environment, gathering data on storage usage across all sites and libraries. The tool then generates a comprehensive report that categorizes storage usage by:

Site collections
Document libraries
User storage consumption
Storage trends over time

These insights allow SharePoint administrators to quickly spot inefficiencies or issues that could affect performance or lead to unnecessary costs.

Benefits of Using SharePoint Storage Explorer

Saves Time: SharePoint Storage Explorer makes storage management quicker and easier. You no longer have to manually track storage usage or generate complex reports; everything you need is right at your fingertips.
Better Control Over Your Storage: With clear data and trends, you have full control over your SharePoint storage. You can prevent unexpected issues and optimize your storage for better performance and cost savings.
Proactive Storage Management: By regularly monitoring your SharePoint storage with SharePoint Storage Explorer, you can proactively manage space, making sure you don’t run into capacity problems.
Free and Easy to Use: SharePoint Storage Explorer is completely free and designed for users of all technical levels. Whether you’re an experienced administrator or new to SharePoint, you’ll find it easy to use.

Get Started with SharePoint Storage Explorer

Ready to take control of your SharePoint storage? Download SharePoint Storage Explorer for free today and start monitoring your SharePoint environment with ease. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, it’s the perfect tool to help you manage and optimize your SharePoint storage efficiently.

Microsoft 365 Backup

by Mark | Mar 27, 2025 | Microsoft Teams, Office 365, Onedrive, SharePoint

Understanding Microsoft 365’s Native Data Protection

Protecting your organization’s data within Microsoft 365 is crucial to ensure business continuity, compliance, and resilience against threats like accidental deletions, cyberattacks, and data corruption. Implementing a comprehensive backup strategy safeguards your critical information and facilitates rapid recovery when needed.

Microsoft 365 offers built-in data protection features designed to maintain high availability and disaster recovery:

High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HADR): Microsoft 365 services are architected for resilience, with replicated data copies to ensure seamless failover during service disruptions.

Data Retention Policies: Tools like Microsoft Purview provide long-term retention capabilities, ensuring critical data remains preserved and compliant with organizational policies.

Versioning and Recycle Bin: Features such as file versioning and a two-stage recycle bin allow users to recover previous versions or deleted items within specific timeframes.

While these features offer a foundational level of data protection, they may not fully address all recovery scenarios, particularly those involving extensive data loss or corruption.

Why Implement Additional Backup Solutions?

Relying solely on native Microsoft 365 protections might leave gaps in your data recovery strategy. Consider the following scenarios:

Accidental or Malicious Deletions: Users might inadvertently delete important emails or documents, or malicious actors could remove critical data. Once retention periods expire, recovery becomes challenging.

Cybersecurity Threats: Ransomware attacks can encrypt or corrupt data, necessitating restoration from clean backups to resume normal operations.

Regulatory Compliance: Certain industries require data to be stored for extended periods or in specific formats, which may exceed Microsoft 365’s native retention capabilities.

To address these challenges, integrating a dedicated backup solution ensures comprehensive data protection and swift recovery options.

Best Practices for Microsoft 365 Backup

Assess Business Requirements and Risks: Identify which Microsoft 365 data—such as emails, documents, and calendars—are critical to your operations and determine the potential impact of data loss.

Select an Appropriate Backup Solution: Consider utilizing Microsoft’s own backup offerings or reputable third-party solutions that integrate seamlessly with Microsoft 365. These solutions should provide features like granular recovery, automated backups, and compliance support.

Define Backup Frequency and Retention Policies: Establish how often backups should occur and the duration for retaining backup data, aligning with your organization’s data recovery objectives and compliance requirements.

Implement Security Measures: Ensure backup data is encrypted both in transit and at rest to protect against unauthorized access. Utilize features like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and role-based access controls to enhance security.

Regularly Test Backup and Restore Processes: Conduct periodic tests to verify the integrity of backups and the effectiveness of restoration procedures. This practice helps identify and address potential issues before a real data loss event occurs.

Monitor and Audit Backup Activities: Implement monitoring tools to oversee backup operations and generate alerts for failures or unusual activities. Regular audits ensure compliance with internal policies and external regulations.

Educate Employees: Train staff on data protection policies and the importance of backups. Awareness reduces the risk of accidental deletions and encourages adherence to best practices.

Conclusion

Implementing a robust backup strategy for Microsoft 365 is essential to protect your organization’s data assets. By understanding the limitations of native protections and adopting comprehensive backup solutions, you can safeguard against data loss, ensure regulatory compliance, and maintain business continuity.

2025 OneDrive Licensing Changes

by Mark | Mar 20, 2025 | Office 365

Navigating Recent Microsoft OneDrive Licensing Changes

Microsoft recently announced significant changes to its OneDrive licensing and storage policies, affecting organizations that heavily rely on cloud storage solutions. Starting January 27, 2025, unlicensed OneDrive accounts—those without assigned user licenses—will be automatically archived after 93 days, rendering them inaccessible unless covered by retention policies or legal holds.

Key Takeaways

Change	Impact on Businesses	Recommended Action
Automatic archiving after 93 days	Risk of losing access to important data	Assign licenses timely; audit accounts regularly
Reactivation and storage fees	Unexpected operational costs	Set up billing proactively
Retention policies and legal holds	Essential for compliance and access	Verify and update policies regularly
Admin notifications and reporting	Increased administrative oversight	Utilize Microsoft 365 Message Center reports

What’s Changing for OneDrive Licensing?

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the changes:

Archiving of Unlicensed Accounts: After 93 days, unlicensed OneDrive accounts will be automatically archived.
Inaccessibility: Archived accounts become inaccessible to both users and administrators, except when protected by retention policies or legal holds.
Retention Policies and Legal Holds: Content under these policies remains accessible via specific mechanisms, despite archiving.
New Fees: Reactivating archived accounts incurs fees ($0.60 per GB), as does storing archived accounts ($0.05 per GB per month).
OneDrive Sync Warning: Users without assigned licenses will see warnings, and accounts will initially enter read-only mode prior to archiving.

Microsoft cites safety and security concerns as the motivation, highlighting risks such as security vulnerabilities, compliance issues, and file duplication associated with unmanaged accounts.

Impacts on Businesses

These licensing changes can significantly affect businesses by:

Increased Operational Complexity: Organizations must proactively monitor account statuses and manage licenses to prevent unexpected charges.
Escalating Costs: Reactivation fees and ongoing storage costs for archived data could rapidly escalate organizational expenses.
Heightened Compliance Risks: Premature archiving of data could lead to inadvertent violations of regulatory compliance.
Operational Disruptions: Loss of access to important data from archived accounts could disrupt workflows and business continuity.

Preparation is Key

Organizations can mitigate these impacts by:

Regularly auditing unlicensed accounts.
Promptly assigning licenses or removing unnecessary accounts.
Configuring Microsoft 365 Archive billing proactively to manage and predict costs effectively.

Enter Chipmunk

Automated OneDrive Data Protection

To address these challenges proactively, we’ve developed Chipmunk, our innovative solution designed to help organizations navigate these licensing changes seamlessly. Chipmunk automatically monitors Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) and initiates backups of OneDrive files from disabled or inactive accounts before they become archived, safeguarding your data.

How Chipmunk Helps Your Organization

Automatic Backups: Prevents data loss by securely backing up OneDrive files before Microsoft archives accounts.
Cost Efficiency: Minimizes potential reactivation and storage fees associated with archived data.
Simplified Compliance: Provides straightforward access to backed-up data, ensuring compliance with regulatory and audit requirements.

FAQ

Q: When do these changes take effect?
A: Starting January 27, 2025, and will gradually roll out over a few months.

Q: Will archived accounts be completely inaccessible?
A: Archived accounts are inaccessible unless covered by retention policies or legal holds.

Q: How can I avoid unexpected fees from these changes?
A: Proactively audit accounts, assign licenses timely, and configure Microsoft 365 Archive billing.

Q: Can I reactivate an archived account?
A: Yes, but reactivation will incur fees ($0.60 per GB).

Stay Ahead of the Changes

As Microsoft’s licensing and storage policies evolve, staying ahead is essential. Chipmunk ensures your organization remains protected, compliant, and cost-efficient.

Don’t wait until it’s too late—get proactive with Chipmunk today.

Squirrel vs. Microsoft 365 Archiving: Key Differences Explained

by Mark | Mar 11, 2025 | SharePoint, Squirrel

Squirrel vs. Microsoft 365 Archiving

Which Solution Saves You More?

Managing SharePoint storage efficiently is crucial as data grows—discover how Squirrel Archiving stacks up against Microsoft 365’s built-in options to cut costs and improve accessibility.

SharePoint Online Archiving Solutions

As organizations grow, so does their SharePoint storage. With Microsoft’s built-in options and third-party solutions like Squirrel Archiving, businesses often wonder: Which archiving solution is best for my organization?

This post compares Squirrel Archiving with Microsoft 365’s native archiving features to help IT administrators, compliance officers, and decision-makers choose the right approach for reducing SharePoint storage costs while ensuring easy file access and compliance.

Comparing Squirrel Archiving vs. Native Microsoft 365 Archiving

Feature	Squirrel Archiving	Microsoft 365 Archiving
Storage Type	Azure Blob Storage (low-cost, flexible)	SharePoint Online Storage (costly, limited)
Automated Policies	Yes – Customizable rules for auto-archiving	Limited – Only retention policies available
User Experience	End-users can restore files via SharePoint UI, SharePoint synced folders, and Microsoft Teams (including private Teams channels)	Requires admin intervention for restores
Stub Files (Click to Restore)	Yes – Maintains file presence in SharePoint	No – Archived files are moved elsewhere
Storage Cost Savings	Saves up to 75% on storage costs	Costs remain high for additional storage
Restoration Time	Instant restoration from stubs, can be performed by end user	Manual recovery process, takes between 24 to 48 hours to restore files. Requires Administrator to start restoration.
Integration with SharePoint	Seamless, appears as part of SharePoint UI	Files are not visible after archiving

Understanding SharePoint Archiving

What is SharePoint Archiving?

Archiving in SharePoint Online is the process of moving old or inactive documents from primary storage to cheaper long-term storage while keeping them accessible when needed. This helps organizations reduce storage costs, improve performance, and meet compliance requirements.

Why is Archiving Important?

Avoid Microsoft’s Expensive Overages – SharePoint Online comes with fixed storage limits. Additional storage costs $0.20 per GB per month, which can add up quickly.

Improve SharePoint Performance – Large libraries slow down search and collaboration.

Ensure Compliance & Retention – Many industries require long-term data retention.

Enable Easy Data Recovery – Users need quick access to archived files without IT intervention.

Storage and Cost Efficiency

Microsoft 365 provides additional SharePoint storage at $0.20 per GB per month. For organizations with terabytes of data, this can quickly add up. Squirrel moves files to Azure Blob Storage, offering up to a 70% cost reduction compared to Microsoft’s pricing.

Automated Archiving & User Experience

Microsoft’s native archiving tools focus on retention policies, but these do not move data to cheaper storage automatically. Admins must manually move files, making it inefficient. Squirrel automates archiving based on custom rules (e.g., last modified date, last accessed date, file type, folder location, sharepoint online site), ensuring that inactive files are archived without manual intervention.

Additionally, Microsoft’s approach does not provide stub files in SharePoint, meaning users may struggle to find their archived files. Squirrel, on the other hand, replaces archived files with clickable stubs, allowing one-click restoration without IT assistance.

Compliance & Retention Policies

Both Microsoft 365 and Squirrel support retention policies, but Microsoft’s approach retains files within costly SharePoint storage, whereas Squirrel offloads them to Azure while ensuring archived files remain accessible for compliance needs. This makes Squirrel more cost-effective for long-term storage.

Data Restoration & Accessibility

Comparison of Data Restoration Methods

Feature	Squirrel Archiving	Microsoft 365 Archiving
User Restore Access	Users can restore files via SharePoint UI, synced folders, and Teams (including private channels)	Requires IT intervention
Restore Buttons	Available in SharePoint and Teams	Not available
Stub Files	Yes – Clickable stubs remain in SharePoint	No – Files are moved and not visible
Self-Service Archiving	Yes – Users can archive files without IT	No – Admins must manually configure policies
Restoration Time	Instant via stub file or button	Manual and time-consuming

Squirrel offers restore buttons directly in SharePoint, as well as stub files that allow users to restore their files with a single click. These features extend to SharePoint synced folders and Microsoft Teams (including private Teams channels), making it seamless for users to access their archived content from anywhere. Additionally, Squirrel enables end-users to archive their own files without IT involvement, providing full flexibility for content lifecycle management.

With Microsoft’s built-in archiving, users need IT intervention to retrieve archived files, whereas Squirrel allows self-service restores through the familiar SharePoint interface. This reduces IT workload and enhances productivity.

Which One Should You Choose?

Use Case	Best Option
You need cost-effective archiving	✅ Squirrel Archiving
You want to automate the process	✅ Squirrel Archiving
Users need self-service restore and archive	✅ Squirrel Archiving
You only need basic retention policies	✅ Microsoft 365 Archiving

Dedicated Deployment & Data Ownership

Unlike multi-tenant cloud services, Squirrel is deployed as a dedicated instance for each client. There is no shared infrastructure across clients, ensuring higher security and better performance.

Deployed in the same region as the SharePoint tenant to comply with data residency requirements.
Uses the client’s own Azure Blob Storage, ensuring organizations retain full ownership of their archived data.
While data traverses Squirrel’s appliance, it remains encrypted and compressed before being stored, adding an extra layer of security.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How does Squirrel integrate with SharePoint?

Squirrel seamlessly integrates with SharePoint Online, allowing users to archive and restore files via buttons in the UI, stub files, SharePoint synced folders, and Microsoft Teams.

Where is my data stored when using Squirrel?

Squirrel uses your own Azure Blob Storage, deployed in the same region as your SharePoint tenant, ensuring compliance with data residency requirements.

Is Squirrel a shared or dedicated service?

Each Squirrel deployment is dedicated to a single client. There is no shared infrastructure across clients, ensuring security and isolation.

Does Squirrel encrypt my archived data?

Yes, all archived data is encrypted and compressed before being stored in Azure Blob Storage.

Can users restore their own files without IT help?

Yes! Squirrel provides self-service restore options, allowing users to restore files with a single click via stub files, SharePoint synced folders, or Microsoft Teams.

Can users archive their own files too?

Yes! Unlike Microsoft 365 Archiving, which requires IT to set retention policies, Squirrel allows end-users to manually archive their own files, reducing IT workload.

Does Squirrel affect SharePoint search?

No. While files are archived, stub files remain in SharePoint, ensuring searchability and a seamless user experience.

What happens if my organization decides to stop using Squirrel?

Since your archived files are stored in your own Azure Blob Storage, you retain full ownership of your data, even if you stop using Squirrel.

Final Verdict: Squirrel Wins for Cost & Automation

For organizations that want to reduce SharePoint costs, automate archiving, and allow self-service restores, Squirrel is the superior choice. It provides a seamless user experience, dramatically lowers storage costs, and ensures compliance-friendly archiving.

Microsoft 365’s native archiving is useful for basic retention policies but lacks automation and cost-saving benefits. If your organization is looking for a smarter way to manage SharePoint storage and compliance, Squirrel is the solution you need.

Squirrel: The Smarter Way to Archive and Restore in SharePoint

Tired of bloated SharePoint storage and slow file access? Squirrel automates archiving, reducing storage costs by up to 70%, while keeping your files just a click away. With self-service restore buttons, stub files, and seamless integration into SharePoint, Teams, and synced folders, Squirrel ensures fast, cost-effective content management—without IT headaches.

Stop overpaying for SharePoint storage! Squirrel archives files to your own Azure Blob Storage, cutting costs by up to 70%—while keeping data secure and accessible.

Want to Cut SharePoint Storage Costs?

How to Restore Archived SharePoint Site

by Mark | Mar 5, 2025 | SharePoint, Squirrel

Full Guide to Recovering Your SharePoint Data

Need to bring back archived files in SharePoint? This step-by-step guide walks you through restoring all previously archived files in a SharePoint Online site using Squirrel, ensuring a seamless and efficient recovery process.

Squirrel for SharePoint Site Size Reporting

How to Restore All Files from Archive in a SharePoint Online Site with Squirrel

Restoring an entire SharePoint Online site from Squirrel is a simple and efficient process that ensures all previously archived files are returned to their original location within SharePoint. This functionality is particularly useful when a site requires full access to archived content, whether for compliance, business needs, or reactivation of an old project.

Important Note: This process will restore only the files that were archived in the selected SharePoint site. Any files that were not archived will remain untouched. For this example, we will be restoring all files in the Engineer site, which was previously archived in our earlier blog post.

Why Restore an Archived SharePoint Site?

There are several reasons why you might need to restore an entire site’s archived files:

Business Needs – If a project is reactivated or a department needs historical data, restoring all files ensures they have everything they need.
Compliance & Legal Requirements – Some industries require companies to retain and restore archived documents for audits and regulatory compliance.
Collaboration & Access – If users need to work on a previously archived site, restoring the files provides immediate access to original content.
Accidental Archiving or Policy Changes – If a site was archived in error or business policies change, restoring files allows for a seamless rollback.

Regardless of the reason, Squirrel makes the restoration process straightforward while maintaining data integrity.

Access the Squirrel Dashboard

To begin the restoration process, follow these steps:

Log into your Squirrel web portal then navigate to the Site Archive Settings section of the dashboard.

This section provides an overview of all the SharePoint Sites in your environment, as well as the ability to whitelist a site from a global archive policy, implement the sites own archive policy. But also gives the administrator the ability to either Archive or Restore a complete site..

The dashboard ensures that administrators can quickly find the site they need to restore without navigating through complex menus.

Select the SharePoint Site for Restoration

Locate the Engineer site in the list of archived sites then click on the Restore button to proceed.

Confirm the Restoration Process

Before proceeding with the full restore, Squirrel review the information carefully.

Click Confirm Restore to initiate the process.

A warning prompt will appear, notifying that the restore process may take time and could impact user access. It is recommended to perform restores outside of business hours.

Once confirmed, the site restoration will begin, and you will be redirected to the Restore Queue for progress tracking.

Monitor the Restore Progress

The Restore Queue displays the current status of all active restores.

Navigate to the Restore Jobs section to check the details of the restoration process.

Squirrel provides real-time updates, showing progress bars for large restores.

Depending on the site’s size, restoration may take a few minutes to several hours.

Squirrel ensures that even during large-scale restorations, users can track the progress and plan accordingly.

Verify the Restored Files

Once the restoration process is complete, it’s important to verify that all files have been properly restored:

Open SharePoint Online and navigate to the Engineer site.

Access the document library to confirm that the previously archived files have been restored to their original locations.

Check file metadata such as last modified date and version history to ensure integrity.

At this stage, users should be able to access all files as they were before archiving

Validate Access and Integrity

As seen in the image, you can see that the file has been restored sucessfully back to SharePoint including all the version history.

Before finalizing the restore process, conduct a validation check:

Open several restored files – Ensure documents, spreadsheets, and images open correctly.
Check permissions – Verify that user permissions are still in place as expected.
Validate linked content – If there were interlinked documents or referenced files, ensure that they function as intended.

If any issues are detected, Squirrel’s logging system provides detailed reports that can help diagnose and resolve potential problems.

Conclusion

Restoring archived files from Squirrel is an easy and efficient way to bring back data when needed. Whether for compliance, business continuity, or user access, the step-by-step process ensures that all previously archived files in a SharePoint Online site can be restored seamlessly while maintaining SharePoint’s structure.

Key Takeaways:

✅ Selective Restoration – Only previously archived files are restored, ensuring no unnecessary changes.

✅ Fast & Reliable – The restore process is efficient, even for large SharePoint sites.

✅ Seamless User Experience – Files are returned to their original location with no manual intervention needed.

✅ Complete Control – Administrators can monitor the progress and verify restoration integrity.

With Squirrel, your SharePoint archiving and restoration processes remain secure, efficient, and hassle-free.

Stay tuned for more Squirrel guides and best practices!

Squirrel: The Smartest Way to Restore Your SharePoint Data – Fast, Reliable, and Hassle-Free!

Lost important SharePoint files? With Squirrel, you can instantly restore archived data and get your team back on track with minimal downtime.

No more struggling with missing files—Squirrel seamlessly rehydrates your SharePoint sites, ensuring all archived content is restored exactly where you need it.

Want to see Squirrel in Action?

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