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	If you or an employee intentionally deletes the Google Workspace data, it will still be maintained in the Vault. Vault administrators can search for and export any required date.
Industry Compliance	Some industries have compliance standards that must be followed. Insurance, for example, is seven years of documents. Vault can keep the data that you need to stay compliant without you having to be hands-on.
Legal Investigations	If a legal matter comes up, Google Vault will automatically Put required user information on hold (retention rules no longer apply) Search for information that has involved parties Export the data from your search results You can run audit reports to see what has been done in Google Vault

What Does Google Vault Retain from Each App?

Google App	What It Covers	Exclusions
Gmail	All emails that your users send and receive	Emails sent through other servers References linked in emails
Google Groups	Distribution lists and Q&A Groups	For Q&A type groups the admin will have to turn the archiving on
Google Drive	Google Docs Google Sheets Google Slides Google Forms Google Drawings Non-Google files if you have them uploaded to drive (i.e., pdf, jpeg, word) Hangout Meet calls that are recorded Jamboard (Google’s whiteboard) that are stored on the Drive	Files that you download but do not upload your Drive.
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.