10 Things You Need to Know about Office 365 Compliance Search

The ability to search across data is increasingly important, and Microsoft is now offering a lighter, quicker way to search across Office 365: Compliance Search, part of the Office 365 Compliance Center. Here are 10 things you need to know about the new feature.

1. Compliance Search can be used to find data in individual Exchange mailboxes, SharePoint sites, OneDrive for Business locations, and Skype for Business data that has been placed on hold in Exchange mailboxes.

2. There are no limits on the scale of searches.

3. Multiple searches can be run simultaneously.

4. Users can select all mailboxes and sites, distribution groups, or specific people and sites. 

5. Keyword Query Language can be used for advanced search.

6. Permissions can be implemented to control what can and can't be searched--for example, specific SharePoint URLs or mailboxes that can be searched based on Active Directory properties, location, or distribution group membership.

7. Compliance Search is done in-place, using the existing search system of Office 365. This means users are always searching on the most up-to-date data.

8. Compliance Search is enabled from the Office 365 Admin Center. From there, click Compliance, then Permissions, then grant specific permissions. Once a user has been granted permissions, he or she will see the Search tab in the Compliance Center and will be able to create new Compliance Searches.

9. Users can preview the results of a search to make sure it is working correctly. 

10. Compliance Search is available now. New features will be rolled out soon; two that are on Microsoft's agenda are Export Search Results and Case Management and Hold.