A Guide to the Uses of Google Vault
Google Vault is a valuable tool that companies can use to archive data and export it if necessary. It’s beneficial to anyone that has confidential data such as financial information. Google Vault safely stores the information in the cloud, so it doesn’t take up any room on your actual computer.
Google Vault is a Google Workspace product that will archive information based on the rules you have set up. In the event of a legal matter that you need to access this information, you can search for it and export it to be used in an investigation using a process called eDiscovery.
If you’re curious about whether or not Vault is something that you need for your business, stick around. The guide to the uses of Google Vault is right here, so keep reading.
What Is Google Vault?
Google Vault is a web-based product created by Google for Google Workspace users. It will allow you to archive information from Google apps such as Gmail, Google Meet, Drive, and Google chat. After they are archived, you will be able to use eDiscovery to search and find information in the event of any litigation or other legal aspects.
How Does eDiscovery Work with Google Vault?
This is the process for searching and finding information in an electronic format. This information is generally sought due to legal matters or investigations that may arise in the course of doing business.
The entire eDiscovery and Google Vault process will run from the time a lawsuit is imminent until it is presented and includes all data that an attorney would deem relevant.
Why Use Google Vault?
Why would you need Google Vault? The short answer is that no business is immune to legal proceedings, whether founded or not. If you have employees, you are also responsible for the communications that they have with other people using your business account.
With everything being digital these days, there is no such thing as too much protection. If someone should say that you or an employee did something inappropriate, would you feel better having something better to back you up then just “I never said that.”?
That is where Vault comes in. They will archive your conversations for you, and you can search them out if ever needed.
Here are some of the benefits of Google Vault, and how they work:
Benefit | How Google Vault does it |
Data Retention |
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Industry Compliance |
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Legal Investigations | If a legal matter comes up, Google Vault will automatically
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What Does Google Vault Retain from Each App?
Google App | What It Covers | Exclusions |
Gmail |
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Google Groups |
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Google Drive |
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Hangouts Chat | Chats are archived in Google Vault | If you have 1:1 or group chat only “on the record” chats are archived. Google Workspace Administrators can switch the chat setting to history always on |
Hangout Meet | Google Meet meetings are recorded and saved in the Drive, so they are archived |
Critical Terms in Google Vault
There are keywords to remember when working in Google Vault. These are the main words that make Google Vault function.
Matter : When an investigation is created, a matter is where everything is organized about that case.
Hold : Holds will always override any retention rules. Holds are placed when it has already been deemed as relevant to a case.
Who Can See Information in Google Vault And How To Customize That
In Google Vault, you can create organizational units based on what users do or need to be a part of. Setting up organizational units allows you to set up different levels for each part or person in your organization.
Even in doing this, some functions will be company-wide and not be able to separate. In this table, Tenant is everyone and cannot be separated by organization units.
Privilege | What it does | Assignment |
Manage Retention | Create, update and delete retention rules | Google Workspace Tenant |
Audits | View logs, hold reports and hold in matters | Google Workspace Tenant |
Retention Policies | View all retention policies | Google Workspace Tenant |
Matters | View all matters | Google Workspace Tenant |
Manage Matters | Create, close, modify remove or restore | Google Workspace Tenant or Organizational Unit |
Manage Holds | Creat, remove or view holds | Google Workspace Tenant or Organizational Unit |
Manage Searches | Perform searches and view output data | Google Workspace Tenant or Organizational Unit |
Manage Exports | View and download or delete exports | Google Workspace Tenant or Organizational Unit |
What Is The Cost Of Google Vault?
So now you are wondering what this costs extra. There are different Google Workspace packages, some of them include Google Vault, and some do not.
Below is an outline of how Google Vault’s pricing works with Google Workspace packages:
Google Workspace Package | Cost of Google Workspace Package | Is Google Vault Included |
Google Workspace Business Starter | $6 | No |
Google Workspace Business Standard | $12 | No |
Google Workspace Business plus | $18 | Yes |
Conclusion:
Is Google Vault something you should have or make use of? Yes, you can set up your own retention rules based on your industry rules or preferences for your comfort zone.
Google Vault will ultimately help you if you are ever faced with an investigation that involves any kind of impropriety without having to look too far. You also don’t want ever to take the chance that an employee would delete some information that may be needed by someone in the event of an investigation.
Final thoughts are in this day in age when everyone is suing everyone. No matter if it is a founded suit or not, every piece of backup that you can have while you are running a business is a piece of mind. Google Vault is more of the unseen attorney, legal or human resources department in your back pocket that you did not even know was there.