Getting Started with Squirrel SharePoint Archiving

Squirrel is an automated document archiving platform built for SharePoint Online. This page is the short orientation for both administrators and end users; the detailed guides are linked at the bottom.

What is Squirrel?

Squirrel is an automated archiving platform that integrates with SharePoint Online. It helps you manage document lifecycle policies, reduce storage costs, and meet compliance requirements - all while keeping documents easily accessible to your users.

From fully automated background archiving to user-driven file restoration, Squirrel brings that functionality to your SharePoint environment with minimal effort.

Key Features

• Automated Archiving
  Automatically identify and archive documents from SharePoint Online to Azure Blob Storage based on your defined lifecycle policies. This reduces manual overhead and ensures consistency across your environment.

• Cost-Effective Storage
  Lower your Microsoft 365 storage usage by offloading rarely accessed files to Azure Blob, a significantly more economical storage option.

• User-Initiated Archiving
  Give users the flexibility to archive files manually from within SharePoint - no need to wait for policy-based triggers.

• One-Click Restore (Self-Service Rehydration)
  Every archived file leaves behind a stub file in SharePoint with a Restore button. Users can rehydrate documents themselves instantly, with no admin intervention required.

• Compliance-Ready
  Support your organisation's data retention and audit requirements. Squirrel helps ensure your SharePoint data management aligns with regulatory and governance standards.

• Enterprise-Grade Security
  Archives are written into your organisation's own Azure storage account rather than SmiKar's, so your data stays under your control and your existing Azure policies apply to it.

Prerequisites

Before you begin using Squirrel, make sure you have the following:

• A supported web browser:
  Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge

• An active internet connection
  For accessing the Squirrel platform and services

• Permissions
  You’ll need appropriate Microsoft 365 admin or SharePoint permissions depending on your role (admin or end user). See the Admin Guides for more details.

Evaluating Squirrel? The proof of concept walkthrough takes you from an empty portal to a file archived and restored, in order, with the settings that commonly stall an evaluation called out up front.

Otherwise, start with the User Guides to explore specific features for administrators and end users.

For more details on the platform itself, visit:
Squirrel Product Page