Quick Overview
- 1#1: Veritas Enterprise Vault - Enterprise-grade solution for archiving emails, files, and unstructured data with compliance and eDiscovery features.
- 2#2: Commvault Complete Data Protection - Comprehensive platform for data backup, recovery, and long-term archiving across hybrid environments.
- 3#3: OpenText InfoArchive - Scalable archiving system for structured and unstructured data with governance and retention policies.
- 4#4: Mimecast Archive - Cloud-based email archiving service focused on compliance, search, and legal hold capabilities.
- 5#5: Proofpoint Enterprise Archive - Secure email and collaboration archiving with advanced search and regulatory compliance tools.
- 6#6: Smarsh Enterprise Archive - Cloud archiving platform for communications data in regulated industries like finance.
- 7#7: Global Relay Archive - Unified archiving for email, chat, social media, and voice with eDiscovery and supervision.
- 8#8: Barracuda Message Archiver - Affordable on-premises and cloud email archiving for SMBs with PST management and search.
- 9#9: Archive360 - Cloud-native archiving and governance solution for legacy data migration and compliance.
- 10#10: Veeam Data Platform - Backup and recovery platform with immutable archiving for long-term data retention.
Tools were selected based on robust feature sets (including compliance, scalability, and search capabilities), proven quality, user-friendly design, and competitive value, ensuring relevance across diverse organizational requirements.
Comparison Table
Archive management software is critical for effective data retention, organization, and retrieval, and this comparison table explores key tools—such as Veritas Enterprise Vault, Commvault Complete Data Protection, OpenText InfoArchive, Mimecast Archive, and Proofpoint Enterprise Archive—outlining their features, capabilities, and unique strengths to help readers select the right solution.
| # | Tool | Category | Overall | Features | Ease of Use | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veritas Enterprise Vault Enterprise-grade solution for archiving emails, files, and unstructured data with compliance and eDiscovery features. | enterprise | 9.5/10 | 9.8/10 | 7.8/10 | 8.7/10 |
| 2 | Commvault Complete Data Protection Comprehensive platform for data backup, recovery, and long-term archiving across hybrid environments. | enterprise | 9.0/10 | 9.5/10 | 7.8/10 | 8.5/10 |
| 3 | OpenText InfoArchive Scalable archiving system for structured and unstructured data with governance and retention policies. | enterprise | 8.7/10 | 9.2/10 | 7.8/10 | 8.5/10 |
| 4 | Mimecast Archive Cloud-based email archiving service focused on compliance, search, and legal hold capabilities. | enterprise | 8.4/10 | 9.1/10 | 7.6/10 | 8.0/10 |
| 5 | Proofpoint Enterprise Archive Secure email and collaboration archiving with advanced search and regulatory compliance tools. | enterprise | 8.6/10 | 9.3/10 | 7.7/10 | 8.1/10 |
| 6 | Smarsh Enterprise Archive Cloud archiving platform for communications data in regulated industries like finance. | specialized | 8.7/10 | 9.2/10 | 7.8/10 | 8.0/10 |
| 7 | Global Relay Archive Unified archiving for email, chat, social media, and voice with eDiscovery and supervision. | specialized | 8.2/10 | 9.1/10 | 7.4/10 | 7.8/10 |
| 8 | Barracuda Message Archiver Affordable on-premises and cloud email archiving for SMBs with PST management and search. | enterprise | 8.3/10 | 8.8/10 | 8.2/10 | 7.9/10 |
| 9 | Archive360 Cloud-native archiving and governance solution for legacy data migration and compliance. | enterprise | 8.4/10 | 9.1/10 | 7.8/10 | 8.2/10 |
| 10 | Veeam Data Platform Backup and recovery platform with immutable archiving for long-term data retention. | enterprise | 8.1/10 | 8.5/10 | 7.9/10 | 7.7/10 |
Enterprise-grade solution for archiving emails, files, and unstructured data with compliance and eDiscovery features.
Comprehensive platform for data backup, recovery, and long-term archiving across hybrid environments.
Scalable archiving system for structured and unstructured data with governance and retention policies.
Cloud-based email archiving service focused on compliance, search, and legal hold capabilities.
Secure email and collaboration archiving with advanced search and regulatory compliance tools.
Cloud archiving platform for communications data in regulated industries like finance.
Unified archiving for email, chat, social media, and voice with eDiscovery and supervision.
Affordable on-premises and cloud email archiving for SMBs with PST management and search.
Cloud-native archiving and governance solution for legacy data migration and compliance.
Backup and recovery platform with immutable archiving for long-term data retention.
Veritas Enterprise Vault
enterpriseEnterprise-grade solution for archiving emails, files, and unstructured data with compliance and eDiscovery features.
Intelligent policy-based archiving with automated retention, deduplication, and single-instance storage across multi-platform sources
Veritas Enterprise Vault is a comprehensive enterprise archiving platform designed to capture, store, and manage vast amounts of unstructured data including emails, files, and instant messages from sources like Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, and Google Workspace. It optimizes primary storage by offloading data, enforces compliance through customizable retention policies, and enables rapid eDiscovery with powerful indexing and search capabilities. As a market leader, it scales to petabyte levels, supporting large organizations in reducing costs and mitigating risks.
Pros
- Exceptional scalability for petabyte-scale deployments
- Robust compliance and eDiscovery tools with legal holds and auditing
- Seamless integration with major email platforms and hybrid environments
Cons
- Complex initial setup and configuration requiring specialized expertise
- High licensing and maintenance costs
- Steep learning curve for non-expert administrators
Best For
Large enterprises and regulated industries needing scalable, compliant archiving for massive data volumes.
Pricing
Quote-based enterprise licensing; typically $5,000+ per TB/year for subscription model, plus implementation fees.
Commvault Complete Data Protection
enterpriseComprehensive platform for data backup, recovery, and long-term archiving across hybrid environments.
AI-powered IntelliTrace for automated anomaly detection and resilient archiving with isolated recovery environments
Commvault Complete Data Protection is a comprehensive enterprise platform specializing in data backup, recovery, and long-term archiving across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. It offers advanced archive management features like policy-based retention, deduplication, compression, and tiered storage to optimize costs and ensure compliance. With powerful search, eDiscovery, and AI-driven insights, it enables efficient data governance and rapid retrieval for regulated industries.
Pros
- Scalable archiving for petabyte-scale data with multi-cloud support
- Strong compliance tools including WORM storage and audit-ready reporting
- Efficient deduplication and compression reducing storage costs by up to 95%
Cons
- Steep learning curve and complex initial configuration
- High licensing costs unsuitable for SMBs
- Resource-heavy agents impacting performance on endpoints
Best For
Large enterprises and regulated industries needing robust, compliant long-term data archiving across hybrid environments.
Pricing
Quote-based enterprise licensing, typically capacity or workload-based subscriptions starting at $0.05-$0.20 per GB/month depending on scale and features.
OpenText InfoArchive
enterpriseScalable archiving system for structured and unstructured data with governance and retention policies.
Unified active archiving platform that governs and queries all content types in a single, policy-driven repository
OpenText InfoArchive is a robust enterprise archiving platform designed for long-term retention and management of unstructured data from diverse sources like email, documents, social media, and legacy systems. It provides policy-based retention, advanced search capabilities, and compliance with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SEC 17a-4. The solution supports active archiving, allowing data to remain accessible and usable while minimizing storage costs through tiered storage and deduplication.
Pros
- Scalable to petabyte-level volumes with efficient compression and deduplication
- Comprehensive compliance and audit trail features with multiple certifications
- Broad integration support including APIs for ECM, email, and collaboration tools
Cons
- Complex initial setup and configuration requiring IT expertise
- High licensing costs unsuitable for small to mid-sized businesses
- User interface can feel dated and less intuitive for non-technical users
Best For
Large enterprises with high-volume, multi-format archiving needs and stringent regulatory compliance requirements.
Pricing
Quote-based enterprise pricing, typically based on ingested data volume, storage tiers, and user seats; starts around $50,000+ annually for mid-tier deployments.
Mimecast Archive
enterpriseCloud-based email archiving service focused on compliance, search, and legal hold capabilities.
Precision Threading for context-aware email reconstruction and advanced search accuracy
Mimecast Archive is a cloud-based email archiving solution that securely stores, indexes, and manages email data for compliance, e-discovery, and supervision needs. It automates retention policies, applies legal holds, and provides rapid search across petabytes of data with advanced contextual threading. Integrated seamlessly with Microsoft 365 and other platforms, it helps organizations reduce on-premises storage costs while ensuring regulatory adherence.
Pros
- Exceptional search speed and e-discovery capabilities with millisecond query responses
- Robust compliance tools including automated supervision and legal holds
- Efficient data compression and deduplication for cost-effective unlimited storage
Cons
- Complex setup and configuration for non-enterprise users
- Primarily email-focused, with limited support for non-email archiving
- Premium pricing that may not suit small businesses
Best For
Mid-to-large enterprises requiring comprehensive email archiving for compliance and legal requirements.
Pricing
Subscription-based, typically $6-12 per user per month (billed annually), with custom enterprise quotes.
Proofpoint Enterprise Archive
enterpriseSecure email and collaboration archiving with advanced search and regulatory compliance tools.
AI-powered Contextual Search that delivers precise, context-aware results in seconds across petabytes of archived data
Proofpoint Enterprise Archive is a cloud-based solution specializing in the secure archiving of email, instant messaging, and other enterprise communications for compliance and e-discovery purposes. It provides immutable storage, powerful search capabilities, and legal hold functionalities to help organizations meet regulatory requirements like GDPR, HIPAA, and SEC 17a-4. The platform scales to handle petabytes of data while ensuring quick retrieval and audit-ready reporting.
Pros
- Exceptional e-discovery and legal hold tools with defensible chain of custody
- Ultra-fast, AI-enhanced search across massive archives
- Robust compliance certifications and immutable storage options
Cons
- Complex setup and administration requiring IT expertise
- Premium pricing not suitable for SMBs
- Primarily focused on communications, less versatile for general file archiving
Best For
Large enterprises in regulated industries like finance, healthcare, and legal needing advanced email and messaging compliance archiving.
Pricing
Quote-based enterprise pricing, typically starting at $20,000+ annually based on users, storage volume, and features.
Smarsh Enterprise Archive
specializedCloud archiving platform for communications data in regulated industries like finance.
Omni-channel archiving with automated capture from 80+ sources including hard-to-archive platforms like WhatsApp and Teams
Smarsh Enterprise Archive is a robust compliance archiving platform that captures, stores, and manages electronic communications across email, instant messaging, social media, voice, and emerging channels like Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp. It provides advanced search, eDiscovery, supervision, and analytics tools to help regulated organizations meet strict retention and audit requirements from bodies like SEC and FINRA. Designed for scalability, it supports cloud, on-premises, or hybrid deployments to handle petabyte-scale data volumes securely.
Pros
- Multi-channel capture supporting over 80 platforms including modern collaboration tools
- Powerful AI-driven search, eDiscovery, and supervision capabilities
- High scalability and reliability with 99.99% uptime in cloud deployments
Cons
- High cost unsuitable for small or mid-sized organizations
- Steep learning curve and complex initial setup
- Overly focused on compliance, limiting appeal for general-purpose archiving
Best For
Large enterprises in regulated industries like finance and insurance needing comprehensive, compliant archiving of diverse communications.
Pricing
Custom enterprise pricing via quote; typically starts at $100,000+ annually based on data volume, users, and channels.
Global Relay Archive
specializedUnified archiving for email, chat, social media, and voice with eDiscovery and supervision.
Real-time archiving and supervision across diverse channels like voice, video, and collaboration apps with AI-powered risk detection
Global Relay Archive is a cloud-based compliance archiving solution tailored for regulated industries like finance and legal, capturing and preserving electronic communications including email, instant messaging, voice calls, and social media. It provides secure storage, advanced search capabilities, e-discovery tools, and supervision features to meet stringent regulatory requirements such as SEC, FINRA, and MiFID II. The platform ensures data immutability, audit trails, and scalable deployment for enterprise needs.
Pros
- Comprehensive multi-channel capture across 15+ communication types including emerging collaboration tools
- Robust compliance tools with real-time supervision, e-discovery, and analytics
- High scalability and security with WORM-compliant storage and global data centers
Cons
- High cost structure unsuitable for small businesses
- Steep learning curve and complex initial setup requiring IT expertise
- Limited flexibility for non-regulated archiving needs
Best For
Large financial institutions and regulated enterprises needing enterprise-grade compliance archiving for audits and supervision.
Pricing
Custom enterprise pricing via quote; typically $15-30 per user/month depending on volume and features, with minimum commitments.
Barracuda Message Archiver
enterpriseAffordable on-premises and cloud email archiving for SMBs with PST management and search.
Unlimited cloud archiving storage with no per-GB overage fees
Barracuda Message Archiver is a robust email archiving solution that captures, indexes, and stores email data for compliance, eDiscovery, and storage optimization. It supports both on-premises appliances and cloud-based deployments, offering unlimited storage in the cloud option along with powerful search tools. The platform includes retention policies, legal holds, and integration with Microsoft 365 and other email systems for seamless archiving.
Pros
- Unlimited cloud storage eliminates capacity concerns
- Advanced search and eDiscovery tools with near-instant retrieval
- Strong compliance features including WORM storage and audit trails
Cons
- Pricing can escalate for large enterprises with high email volumes
- Primarily focused on email, limited support for other data types
- Initial setup may require IT expertise for on-premises deployments
Best For
Mid-sized organizations seeking reliable email archiving for regulatory compliance and efficient storage management.
Pricing
Cloud subscription starts at ~$3/user/month (billed annually); on-premises appliances from $5,000+ with annual support fees.
Archive360
enterpriseCloud-native archiving and governance solution for legacy data migration and compliance.
Defensible Deletion technology for compliant, auditable data purging without legal risks
Archive360 is a cloud-based archiving and compliance platform specializing in Microsoft 365 data management, including emails, SharePoint, Teams, and Viva Engage content. It provides defensible archiving, retention policies, eDiscovery, and governance tools to help organizations meet regulatory requirements like GDPR, HIPAA, and SEC rules. The software emphasizes cost-effective storage, fast search capabilities, and secure data lifecycle management for enterprise-scale deployments.
Pros
- Deep integration with Microsoft 365 ecosystem for seamless archiving of emails, Teams, and SharePoint
- Advanced compliance features including defensible deletion and automated retention policies
- Powerful eDiscovery and audit-ready search across petabyte-scale archives
Cons
- Steep learning curve for non-Microsoft admins due to complex setup
- Limited support for non-Microsoft data sources like Google Workspace
- Enterprise pricing can be opaque and high for smaller organizations
Best For
Large enterprises reliant on Microsoft 365 needing robust compliance archiving and eDiscovery.
Pricing
Custom enterprise subscription pricing based on data volume and users, typically starting at $10,000+ annually with volume discounts.
Veeam Data Platform
enterpriseBackup and recovery platform with immutable archiving for long-term data retention.
Scale-Out Backup Repository (SOBR) for tiered, rehydratable archiving across object storage with performance optimization
Veeam Data Platform is a robust data protection solution that extends into archive management through features like long-term retention in Scale-Out Backup Repositories (SOBR) and integration with object storage, tape, and cloud archives. It provides immutable, policy-driven archiving for compliance and ransomware resilience, with efficient indexing and retrieval from archives. While primarily a backup platform, it handles large-scale data archiving effectively in hybrid environments.
Pros
- Immutable archiving ensures compliance and protection against ransomware
- Seamless integration with backup workflows for automated long-term retention
- Supports diverse targets like S3-compatible storage, tape, and cloud for cost efficiency
Cons
- More backup-centric than a dedicated archive management tool, lacking advanced WORM policies in some scenarios
- Setup can be complex for non-Veeam users managing large archives
- Pricing scales with capacity, which may increase costs for pure archiving needs
Best For
Mid-to-large enterprises seeking integrated backup and archive solutions in virtualized or cloud-hybrid setups.
Pricing
Subscription or perpetual licensing based on protected instances/capacity (e.g., ~$130/year per VM workload); enterprise quotes required.
Conclusion
The top 10 archive management solutions present varied strengths, with Veritas Enterprise Vault ranking first as an enterprise-grade tool excelling in email, file, and unstructured data archiving, along with strong compliance and eDiscovery features. Commvault Complete Data Protection follows as a robust choice, offering comprehensive support for hybrid environments in backup, recovery, and long-term archiving, while OpenText InfoArchive stands out for its scalability in managing both structured and unstructured data with effective governance and retention policies. Each tool serves distinct needs, but Veritas Enterprise Vault claims the top spot as the most versatile for broad enterprise use.
Explore Veritas Enterprise Vault to unlock its enterprise-grade archiving and compliance capabilities, streamlining your data management and retrieval processes.
Tools Reviewed
All tools were independently evaluated for this comparison
