Automating Sensitivity and Retention Labels for Microsoft 365

How ProvisionPoint’s February 2025 Update Simplifies Governance in Microsoft 365 

Across the globe, municipalities are undergoing rapid digital transformation. Whether at the city, town, or regional level, local governments are increasingly turning to Microsoft 365 to manage documentation, enable collaboration, and deliver efficient services to their communities. But with digital convenience comes greater responsibility, especially in the areas of compliance, privacy, and information governance. 

To help address these challenges, ProvisionPoint introduces powerful automation features: the ability to set default Sensitivity and Retention Labels for document libraries and lists at the point of provisioning. These enhancements streamline setup, reduce manual errors, and ensure consistent enforcement of data policies across municipal departments. 

Why Labels Matter for Local Governments 

Sensitivity and Retention Labels are essential for managing how information is classified and retained throughout its lifecycle. For municipalities, they offer the ability to: 

• Classify documents by sensitivity level (e.g., public, internal, confidential). 

• Automatically enforce retention schedules to meet legal and regulatory requirements (e.g., records retention laws, privacy legislation). 

• Prevent accidental data leaks or premature deletion of critical public records. 

However, when applied manually, these labels can be inconsistently used—especially in large, distributed municipal organizations. ProvisionPoint’s automation helps solve that problem. 

Default Sensitivity Labels for Document Libraries 

With the latest release, municipalities can now configure ProvisionPoint to assign a default Sensitivity Label every time a new document library is created. 

This ensures that documents are immediately protected according to policy, without relying on employees to select the correct label themselves. For instance, HR-related libraries can default to a “Confidential” label, while public-facing communication teams might default to “Internal Use.” 

Why this matters: 

This matters because it eliminates the risk of mislabeling or forgetting to classify documents, ensuring that sensitive information is consistently protected from unauthorized access. It also enhances overall compliance, particularly in hybrid work environments where tools like Microsoft Co-Pilot are increasingly used to automate document creation and sharing, making it even more crucial to have reliable classification in place from the start. 

Default Retention Labels for Lists and Document Libraries 

In addition, municipalities can now assign default Retention Labels when provisioning both lists and document libraries. This enables automatic enforcement of retention policies; a crucial requirement for public record management. 

Key benefits: 

• Ensuring compliance with records management and data protection policies. 

• Supports both adaptive scopes (dynamic policies based on user or group properties) and static scopes. 

• Naming conventions allow for alignment with specific organizational units (e.g., “Social Services – 7 Year Retention”). 

With increasing regulatory oversight and growing public concern over privacy and transparency, municipalities can no longer afford to manage data governance reactively. Automated solutions like those introduced in ProvisionPoint are not just helpful, but are becoming foundational for responsible, modern municipal IT infrastructure. 

Smarter Provisioning for Safer Municipal Governance 

ProvisionPoint gives municipalities the tools they need to take control of their Microsoft 365 environments with greater confidence. By automating the application of Sensitivity and Retention Labels, local governments can reduce compliance risks, streamline IT processes, and create a safer, more efficient digital workspace. 

If your municipality is looking to improve information governance, support Microsoft 365 users more effectively, and stay audit-ready, ProvisionPoint is the ideal next step. Get in touch to see how automated labeling can streamline compliance and protect your data.