Short answers to the questions people ask first.

First, an instant assessment reads Microsoft’s own usage reports and gives you an indicative business case as a PDF. It opens no files. If you choose the detailed scan, it measures real file ages in the libraries you pick and gives you a measured business case.

You can see both first, made from one fictional company’s data. The sample indicative business case (PDF, 1 page) prices backing up everything Microsoft reports, at A$189.50 a month. The sample measured business case (PDF, 2 pages) prices archiving only the files that match the 2-year rule, at A$118.50 a month.

The assessment comes back within minutes, though Microsoft’s reports run 24 to 48 hours behind. The detailed scan can take hours or days on a large Microsoft 365. It emails you when it’s done.

Your Microsoft 365 Global Administrator approves a read-only app on Microsoft’s own screen. If that isn’t you, the sign-up page gives you a single-use link to send them. They can remove the app later under Enterprise applications in Microsoft Entra.

Sign-up is open in Australia (Sydney). In Europe and the United States, new sign-ups are still being verified, so contact us first.

One that hasn’t changed for a set time: 2 years by default, or anything from 6 months to 3 years. Microsoft keeps no reliable “last opened” date, so ArchiveBridge uses the date a file last changed. Closed work doesn’t have to wait. A folder rule (say, a Completed folder) or a SharePoint column (say, “Ready to Archive”) can archive matching files at any age, at the next daily run.

ArchiveBridge copies it to cheaper storage, reads the copy back and checks it matches exactly. Only then does it leave a link file in the folder, a small web page with a Restore button, and delete the original to free the space. If a check fails, that file is left in place and flagged for review.

A little. A link file, named like the original plus .html, sits where each archived file was. SharePoint search still finds the link file by its name, but not the words that were inside the file. Old links to the file won’t open it. Opening the link file and pressing Restore puts the file back in its folder. Old sharing links don’t come back after a restore.

Anyone with the link. It contains an unguessable ID, and restore requests are rate-limited. People normally see the link only if SharePoint lets them open the link file. Restore puts the file back in its SharePoint folder. It never sends the file to the person who clicked.

Nothing. Restores back to SharePoint are never charged, whether one file or everything, and there’s no yearly limit. Only a full export to storage outside ArchiveBridge is quoted, and only after you approve the quote.

Files whose retention label locks them as a record are skipped. ArchiveBridge doesn’t read retention policies, legal holds or eDiscovery holds, so keep those sites out of scope. If Microsoft blocks a change, the file stays put and is listed for review.

Archiving on a site under a Microsoft retention policy may not free space until the policy period ends, because Microsoft keeps its own copy of deleted files. Backups still copy held, labelled and record-locked files. Backup never changes or removes anything, so you can protect held sites while leaving them out of archiving.

ArchiveBridge is operated by ArchiveBridge Pty Ltd (ABN 68 701 459 261), an Australian company founded and led by Nick Gee. Where your archives live is security information, so we keep customer names private, yours included.

We reply within one business day, Monday to Friday, Sydney time. Use the contact form or write to hello@team.archivebridge.app.

For the Australian service, processing and the service database are in Sydney. File details, such as names and paths, are kept there too. Managed storage defaults to Sydney, and you can check the destination during setup. Your own bucket stays where you put it.

It’s a second app, approved later and only if you go ahead. Its write access covers every SharePoint site and OneDrive in your Microsoft 365. It has no mail, calendar or chat permission. Picking sites limits what ArchiveBridge touches, but Microsoft doesn’t enforce that, and per-site grants (Sites.Selected) aren’t available today. All file access uses a certificate, so ArchiveBridge never sees or stores your Microsoft 365 passwords.

Not yet. Both are on the roadmap but not started, and there’s no date yet. The Australian service’s hosting, database and storage providers are certified to ISO 27001, and the database and storage providers also hold SOC 2 reports. Those certificates are theirs, not ours.

US$35 per TB a month with our storage. With your own bucket it’s US$24, and your storage provider bills you for the bucket separately. One flat rate covers every terabyte. Over 100 TB, contact us for a price. Prices are in A$, US$ and £, before tax.

Free under 100 GB — no card, no time limit. Metered pricing above that; routine restores included. Immutable (compliance-locked) backups need a paid account. The 100 GB counts backups, archived files and kept versions together. “Routine restores” means restores back to SharePoint, and those are never charged.

No card for the free scan or the first 100 GB. Above 100 GB you pay for what you store. We measure it every day and charge for each day at the published price per TB, automatically, to your card. Month to month, no lock-in. There are no per-seat fees.

Microsoft charges about US$205 per TB a month for extra SharePoint storage, and your agreement may differ. ArchiveBridge’s all-in rate is over 80% less per terabyte than that list price. The calculator shows the effect on your whole bill.

Yes. Restore to SharePoint before you leave. It’s free, and the link files stop working without ArchiveBridge. Stored copies are ordinary files under their original names and folders, readable with any S3 tool. With your own bucket they’re already yours. With managed storage, you can take the storage over or have it deleted. The IT and procurement pack lists each option.

No. OneDrive is backup only. A checked copy goes to your storage and the original is never touched. You can download files from the console, or restore them to the same user’s OneDrive while it exists. Restoring into another user’s OneDrive isn’t available today. If someone is leaving, back up their OneDrive before you change their licence.

One console covers every client. Each client keeps its own Microsoft 365 connection and storage bucket, with its own policy and metered usage. Nothing is installed in the client’s Microsoft 365, and the client’s own admin approves before you can manage it.

Partner pricing is agreed when you’re approved. We bill you, the partner, for all your clients together, from each client’s usage, measured daily. We don’t bill your clients: you set their prices and invoice them yourself. Their console says billing is handled by their service provider.