Mimecast Aware vs Microsoft Purview eDiscovery: which finds the Teams data?
A subject access request, a regulator or a legal hold now reaches the conversations in Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zoom, and the question is which tool can actually find and produce them. Microsoft Purview eDiscovery is the native answer for Teams and comes with the licences many organisations already own. Mimecast Aware is built specifically for collaboration data across all three platforms. This guide compares them, says when Purview alone is enough, and explains why we usually recommend Aware where the collaboration compliance burden is real. C4C is an accredited Mimecast partner, disclosed up front.
The obligation to produce collaboration data is not new, but the data has moved. Decisions, opinions and personal data now sit in channels, group chats and direct messages, edited and deleted over time, across more than one platform. Our guide on subject access requests in Microsoft Teams covers why that is hard. This guide is about the two tools most UK organisations shortlist to make it possible.
The difference is one of scope and depth. Purview is built for the Microsoft estate and does Teams well when it is licensed and configured. Aware is built for collaboration itself, across Teams, Slack and Zoom, and captures the conversation as it happened rather than as it was left.
What each one actually is
Microsoft Purview eDiscovery is Microsoft’s search, hold and export tooling for Microsoft 365 content, including Teams chats and channels. It comes in a standard tier and a premium tier. The premium tier, included in Microsoft 365 E5 and the E5 Compliance add on, adds custodian based search, review sets, redaction and richer export. Retention policies and Purview Communication Compliance sit alongside it, the latter for detecting inappropriate content in Teams messages. Slack and Zoom can be brought in through data connectors, with more limited fidelity than native Teams content.
Mimecast Aware is a collaboration governance and compliance platform. It captures Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zoom conversations through their native APIs, including edits, deletions and reactions, into a searchable store. It searches one person’s entire footprint in a single query, classifies and retains the data, supports immutable legal holds with audit trails, detects sensitive data and inappropriate conduct in chat as it happens, and automates the removal of a user’s data when an erasure request or a leaver process requires it. Our Mimecast Aware page covers what it does in more detail.
Head to head
The rows below are where the two actually differ for a subject access request, an investigation or a hold. Where Purview holds its own we say so.
| What matters | Microsoft Purview eDiscovery | Mimecast Aware |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms covered | Microsoft Teams natively. Slack and Zoom through data connectors with reduced fidelity. | Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zoom natively, in one store and one search. |
| Completeness of the record | Depends on retention policies being in place. Edits and deletions are preserved only where retention holds them. | Captures the conversation as it happened, including edits, deletions and reactions, regardless of what users did afterwards. |
| Searching one person’s footprint | Custodian based search in the premium tier. Workable for Teams, slower across many teams and private channels. | Built in. One query across every channel, group chat and direct message for a named individual. |
| Subject access request workflow | Search, review set and export, with redaction in the premium tier. | Search, export for review and redaction, and automated removal of the person’s data when required. |
| Legal hold | Holds within eDiscovery cases. Solid for Microsoft content. | Immutable holds across all three platforms with an audit trail of who did what and when. |
| Sensitive data and conduct in chat | Communication Compliance in E5 detects inappropriate content in Teams after the fact. | Real time detection of personal and regulated data and inappropriate language, with alerts to the right team. |
| Retention and classification | Retention policies and sensitivity labels across Microsoft 365. | Classification by type, sensitivity and retention need, with policies applied to collaboration data specifically. |
| Licensing | Standard tier in most plans. Premium tier needs E5 or the E5 Compliance add on. | Per user subscription on quote. |
| Overlap to check | Mimecast Cloud Archive, if you have it, already captures Teams as part of a wider archive. | Same. Check the overlap with Cloud Archive before buying a second capture of Teams. |
| Who runs it | Compliance or legal with Microsoft skills. Configuration decides what is captured. | Legal, compliance and HR through the platform. C4C implements and supports it as an accredited partner. |
When Purview alone is the right answer
If your collaboration is Teams only, you own E5 or the E5 Compliance add on so the premium eDiscovery tier is already yours, your retention policies were set before the conversations you might need to produce, and requests are occasional, Purview can be enough. The tooling is native, the licence is paid for, and a compliance team that knows it can answer a straightforward subject access request from it. We say so when that is the situation.
The limits show up when Slack or Zoom are in the mix, when retention was not in place early enough to have preserved what was edited or deleted, when requests are frequent enough that a custodian search across many teams becomes a project each time, or when you need to see a conduct problem as it happens rather than find it later.
Take one real person and ask whether you could produce, this week, everything they said and were said about across every channel, chat and direct message, including what was edited or deleted, on every platform your people use. If Purview can do that for you, you may be covered. If the honest answer involves Slack, missing history or a week of manual work, that is the gap Aware closes.
When Aware earns its place, and why we usually recommend it
For most of the organisations we work with, collaboration is not Teams only and the record is not complete, and that is why Aware is the product we recommend more often than not. Slack and Zoom are in the estate, so one store and one search across all three is worth more than native Teams tooling plus connectors of lower fidelity. The record has to be the conversation as it happened, including what was edited and deleted, because that is what a subject access request or an investigation asks for, and Aware captures it regardless of what a user did afterwards. And searching one person’s whole footprint in one query is the difference between answering a request and running a project.
The conduct side matters too. Detecting personal data, regulated data or inappropriate language in chat as it happens, and alerting the right team, turns a problem into a ticket rather than a finding in a later review. For regulated sectors that is the difference between evidence of governance and an apology.
One caution, because we would rather say it than sell past it. If you already run Mimecast Cloud Archive, it captures Teams as part of a wider archive, and you should check the overlap before buying a second capture. Some organisations need both, some need one. We will tell you which.
Where C4C stands
C4C Group is an accredited UK Mimecast partner and reseller. We supply, implement and support Aware, and we tell clients when Purview alone is the right answer, which happens in Teams only estates with the premium tier and retention in place, and which is why the recommendation carries weight when we make it. Our independence is in the recommendation, our partnership is in the delivery and support. The free email and collaboration assessment is an honest first read on where your collaboration compliance sits.
Not sure whether Purview can answer your next request?
Tell us which platforms your people use, your Microsoft licensing, and how often requests or investigations come in. We will tell you honestly whether Purview properly configured is enough, or whether Aware earns its place, and give you a like for like quote if it does. We will tell you if it does not.
Prefer email? Reach us directly at hello@c4cgroup.co.uk.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mimecast Aware better than Microsoft Purview eDiscovery?
They differ in scope and depth. Purview does Teams well when the premium tier is licensed and retention was in place early, and it is native to Microsoft 365. Aware covers Teams, Slack and Zoom in one store, captures the conversation as it happened including edits and deletions, searches one person’s whole footprint in a query, and detects conduct issues in real time. For mixed platforms and frequent requests, Aware is usually the stronger answer.
Do I need Aware if I have Microsoft 365 E5?
Not automatically. E5 includes the premium eDiscovery tier and Communication Compliance, and if your collaboration is Teams only, retention is in place and requests are occasional, Purview may be enough. Aware earns its place where Slack or Zoom are in the estate, where the record needs to include what was edited and deleted, or where requests are frequent enough that each one is a project in Purview.
Does Aware cover Slack and Zoom as well as Teams?
Yes, natively. Aware captures Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zoom through their own APIs into one searchable store, so a request or an investigation runs once across all three. Purview covers Teams natively and brings Slack and Zoom in through data connectors with reduced fidelity.
Does Aware replace Purview or Mimecast Cloud Archive?
It can sit alongside either. Many organisations keep Purview for Microsoft 365 records and use Aware for collaboration compliance. If you run Mimecast Cloud Archive, it already captures Teams as part of a wider archive, so check the overlap before buying a second capture. Some organisations need both, some need one, and C4C will say which.
Which is cheaper, Aware or Purview eDiscovery?
If you own E5 or the E5 Compliance add on, the premium eDiscovery tier costs nothing extra and Aware is a new per user subscription. If you would be buying the add on, the comparison is closer. Aware is priced on quote, so the honest answer needs your user count and platforms. C4C gives like for like quotes and says what is negotiable.
Is C4C independent if it partners with Mimecast?
C4C is an accredited Mimecast partner and reseller, disclosed on every page that recommends it. The test is whether we will point you away from it, and we do: for a Teams only estate with the premium tier and retention in place, we say Purview can be enough. Aware is a frequent recommendation because it fits mixed platforms and frequent requests well, not because it is the answer to every question.