Learn about connectors for third-party data

  • Article

Microsoft 365 lets administrators use data connectors to import and archive non-Microsoft, third-party data from social media platforms, instant messaging platforms, and document collaboration platforms, to mailboxes in your Microsoft 365 organization. One primary benefit of using data connectors to import and archive third-party data in Microsoft 365 is that you can apply various Microsoft Purview solutions to the data after it's been imported. This helps you ensure that your organization's non-Microsoft data is in compliance with the regulations and standards that affect your organization.

Watch this interactive guide that demonstrates how to create data connectors to import and archive third-party data and examples of applying compliance solutions to data after it's imported to Microsoft 365.

Tip

If you're not an E5 customer, use the 90-day Microsoft Purview solutions trial to explore how additional Purview capabilities can help your organization manage data security and compliance needs. Start now at the Microsoft Purview compliance portal trials hub. Learn details about signing up and trial terms.

Third-party data connectors

The Microsoft Purview portal and the Microsoft Purview compliance portal provides native third-party data connectors from Microsoft to import data from various data sources, such as LinkedIn, Instant Bloomberg, and Twitter and data connectors that support the Insider risk management solution. In addition to these data connectors, Microsoft works with the following partners to provide many more third part data connectors in portals. Your organization works with these partners to set up their archiving service before creating a corresponding data connector in one of the portals.

The third-party data listed in the next sections (except for HR data and physical badging data that is used for the Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management solution) is imported into user mailboxes. The Microsoft Purview solutions that support third-party data are applied to the user mailbox where the data is stored.

Microsoft data connectors

The following table lists the native third-party data connectors available in the Microsoft Purview portal and the compliance portal. The table also summarizes the compliance solutions that you can apply after you import and archive third-party data in Microsoft 365. See the Overview of compliance solutions that support third-party data section for a more detailed description of each compliance solution and how it supports third-party data.

Select the link in the Third-party data column to go the step-by-step instructions for creating a connector for that data type.

Third-party data Litigation hold eDiscovery Retention settings Records management Communication compliance Insider risk management
Bloomberg Message Check mark. Check mark. Check mark. Check mark. Check mark.
Epic EHR healthcare Check mark
Facebook Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark
Generic EHR healthcare Check mark
Human resources (HR) Check mark
ICE Chat Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
Instant Bloomberg Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
LinkedIn Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
Physical badging Check mark
Twitter Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark

Veritas data connectors

The table in this section lists the third-party data connectors available in partnership with Veritas. The table also summarizes the compliance solutions that you can apply to third-party data after you import and archive it in Microsoft 365. See the Overview of compliance solutions that support third-party data section for a more detailed description of each compliance solution and how it supports third-party data.

Before you can archive third-party data in Microsoft 365, you have to work with Veritas to set up their archiving service (called Merge1) for your organization. For more information, select the link in the Third-party data column to go the step-by-step instructions for creating a connector for that data type.

Third-party data Litigation hold eDiscovery Retention settings Records management Communication compliance Insider risk management
CellTrust Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
Cisco Jabber on MS SQL Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
Cisco Jabber on Oracle Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
Cisco Jabber on PostgreSQL Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
EML Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
FX Connect Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
Jive Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
MS SQL Database Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
Pivot Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
Redtail Speak Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
Reuters Dealing Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
Reuters Eikon Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
Reuters FX Check mark. Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
RingCentral Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Salesforce Chatter Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
ServiceNow Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Skype for Business Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Slack eDiscovery Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Symphony Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Text-delimited Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Twitter Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Webex Teams Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Webpages Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Workplace from Facebook Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
XIP Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
XSLT/XML Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Yieldbroker Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
YouTube Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark
Zoom Meetings Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark

TeleMessage data connectors

The table in this section lists the third-party data connectors available in partnership with TeleMessage. The table also summarizes the compliance solutions that you can apply to third-party data after you import and archive it in Microsoft 365. See the Overview of compliance solutions that support third-party data section for a more detailed description of each compliance solution and how it supports third-party data.

Before you can archive third-party data in Microsoft 365, you have to work with TeleMessage to set up their archiving service for your organization. For more information, select the link in the Third-party data column to go the step-by-step instructions for creating a connector for that data type.

TeleMessage data connectors are also available in GCC environments in the Microsoft 365 US Government cloud. For more information, see the Data connectors in the US Government cloud section in this article.

Third-party data Litigation hold eDiscovery Retention settings Records management Communication compliance Insider risk management
Android Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
AT&T Network Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Bell Network Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Enterprise Number Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
O2 Network Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Rogers Network Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Signal Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Telegram Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
TELUS Network Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Verizon Network Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
WeChat Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
WhatsApp Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark

17a-4 data connectors

The table in this section lists the third-party data connectors available in partnership with 17a-4 LLC. The table also summarizes the compliance solutions that you can apply to third-party data after you import and archive it in Microsoft 365. See the Overview of compliance solutions that support third-party data section for a more detailed description of each compliance solution and how it supports third-party data.

Before you can archive third-party data in Microsoft 365, you have to work with 17a-4 LLC to set up their archiving service (called DataParser) for your organization. For more information, select the link in the Third-party data column to go the step-by-step instructions for creating a connector for that data type.

17a-4 data connectors are also available in GCC environments in the Microsoft 365 US Government cloud. For more information, see the Data connectors in the US Government cloud section in this article.

Third-party data Litigation hold eDiscovery Retention settings Records management Communication compliance Insider risk management
BlackBerry Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Bloomberg Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Cisco Jabber Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Cisco Webex Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
FactSet Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Fuze Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
FX Connect Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
ICE Chat Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
InvestEdge Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
LivePerson Conversational Cloud Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Quip Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Refinitiv Eikon Messenger Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
ServiceNow Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Skype for Business Server Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Slack Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
SQL Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Symphony Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark
Zoom Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark

CellTrust data connectors

The table in this section lists the third-party data connector available in partnership with CellTrust. The table also summarizes the compliance solutions that you can apply to third-party data after you import and archive it in Microsoft 365. See the Overview of compliance solutions that support third-party data section for a more detailed description of each compliance solution and how it supports third-party data.

Before you can archive third-party data in Microsoft 365, you have to work with CellTrust to set up their archiving service (called CellTrust SL2) for your organization. For more information, select the link in the Third-party data column to go the step-by-step instructions for creating a CellTrust SL2 connector.

Third-party data Litigation hold eDiscovery Retention settings Records management Communication compliance Insider risk management
CellTrust SL2 Check mark. Check mark Check mark Check mark Check mark

The CellTrust SL2 data connector is also available in GCC environments in the Microsoft 365 US Government cloud. For more information, see the Data connectors in the US Government cloud section in this article.

Overview of Microsoft Purview solutions that support third-party data

The following sections describe some of the things that the Microsoft Purview solutions can help you to manage the third-party data listed in the previous table.

Litigation hold

You place a Litigation hold on a user mailbox to retain third-party data. When you create a hold, you can specify a hold duration (also called a time-based hold) so that deleted and modified third-party data is retained for a specified period and then permanently deleted from the mailbox. Or you can just retain content indefinitely (called an infinite hold) or until the Litigation hold is removed.

eDiscovery

The three primary eDiscovery tools in Microsoft 365 are Content search, Microsoft Purview eDiscovery (Standard), and Microsoft Purview eDiscovery (Premium).

  • Content search. You can use the content search tool to search mailboxes for third-party data that you imported. You can use search queries and conditions to narrow your search results, and the export the search results.
  • eDiscovery (Standard). This tool builds on the basic search and export functionality by enabling you to create cases that let you control who can access case data, place a hold on user mailboxes or mailbox content that matches search criteria. That means you can place an eDiscovery hold on the third-party data that was imported to user mailboxes.
  • eDiscovery (Premium). This powerful tool expands the case functionality of eDiscovery (Standard) by letting you add custodians to a case, placing custodian's data on hold, and then loading a custodian's third-party data into a review for further analysis such as themes and duplicate detection. After you load third-party data into a review set, you can query and filter it to a narrow result set. Both eDiscovery (Standard) and eDiscovery (Premium) let you manage third-party data that may be relevant to your organization's legal or internal investigations.

Retention settings

You can apply a retention policy to user mailboxes to retain and then delete third-party data (and other mailbox content) after retention period expires. You can also use retention policies to delete third-party data of a certain age or use retention labels to trigger a disposition review when the retention period for third-party data expires.

Records management

The records management feature in Microsoft 365 lets you declare third-party data as a record. This can be done manually by users who apply a retention label that marks third-party data in their mailbox as record. Or you can auto-apply retention labels by identifying sensitive information, keywords, or content types in third-party data.

Communication compliance

You can use Communication compliance to examine third-party data to make sure it's compliant with your organization's data standards. You can do this by you detecting, capturing, and taking remediation actions for inappropriate messages in your organization. For example, you can monitor the third-party data that you import for offensive language, sensitive information, and regulatory compliance.

Insider risk management

Signals from third-party data, like selective HR data, can be used by the Insider risk management solution to minimize internal risks by letting you to detect, investigate, and act on risky activities in your organization. For example, data imported by the HR data connector is used as risk indicators to help detect departing employee data theft.

Using eDiscovery tools to search for third-party data

After you use data connectors to import and archive third-party data in user mailboxes, you can use Microsoft 365 eDiscovery tools to search for third-party data. You can also eDiscovery tools to create query-based holds associated with eDiscovery (Standard) and eDiscovery (Premium) cases to preserve third-party data. For more information about eDiscovery tools, see eDiscovery solutions in Microsoft 365.

To search for (or place a hold on) any type of third-party data that you've imported to user mailboxes using a data connector, you can use the following search query. Be sure to scope the search to user mailboxes.

kind:externaldata

You can use this query in the Keywords box for a Content search, a search associated with a eDiscovery (Standard) case, or a collection in eDiscovery (Premium).

Query to search for third-party data.

You can also use the kind:externaldata property:value pair to narrow the scope of searches to third-party data. For example, to search for items imported from any third-party data source that contain the word contoso in the Subject property of the imported item, use the following query in the Keywords box:

subject:contoso AND kind:externaldata

Alternatively, you can use the Message kind condition to configure the same query.

Use Message kind condition to narrow searches to third-party data.

To search for a specific type of archived third-party data, use the itemclass mailbox property in a search query. Use the following property:value format:

itemclass:ipm.externaldata.<third-party data type>

Every item imported by a third-party data connector includes the itemclass property with a value that corresponds to the third-party data type. For example, to search for Facebook data that contains the word contoso, in the Subject property of the imported item, use the following query:

subject:contoso AND itemclass:ipm.externaldata.facebook*

Here are a few examples for itemclass values for different types of third-party data.

Third-party data type Value for itemclass property
Bloomberg Message ipm.externaldata.bloombergmessage*
CellTrust ipm.externaldata.celltrust*
Pivot ipm.externaldata.pivot*
WhatsApp Archiver ipm.externaldata.whatsapparchiver*

Values for the itemclass property aren't case-sensitive. In general, use the name of the third-party data type (without spaces) followed by a wildcard ( * ) character.

For more information about creating eDiscovery search queries, see Keyword queries and search conditions for eDiscovery.

Data connectors in the US Government cloud

Some data connectors are available in the US Government cloud. The following sections indicate the specific government environments that support third-party data connectors. For more information about US Government clouds, see Microsoft 365 US Government.

Veritas data connectors in the US Government cloud (preview)

Data connector GCC GCC High DoD
CellTrust Yes No No
Cisco Jabber on MS SQL Yes No No
Cisco Jabber on Oracle Yes No No
Cisco Jabber on PostgreSQL Yes No No
EML Yes No No
FX Connect Yes No No
Jive Yes No No
MS SQL Database Yes No No
Pivot Yes No No
Redtail Speak Yes No No
Reuters Dealing Yes No No
Reuters Eikon Yes No No
Reuters FX Yes No No
RingCentral Yes No No
Salesforce Chatter Yes No No
ServiceNow Yes No No
Skype for Business Yes No No
Slack eDiscovery Yes No No
Symphony Yes No No
Text-delimited Yes No No
Twitter Yes No No
Webex Teams Yes No No
Webpages Yes No No
Workplace from Facebook Yes No No
XIP Yes No No
XSLT/XML Yes No No
Yieldbroker Yes No No
YouTube No No No
Zoom Meetings Yes No No

TeleMessage data connectors in the US Government cloud

Data connector GCC GCC High DoD
Android Archiver Yes No No
AT&T SMS/MMS Network Archiver Yes No No
Bell SMS/MMS Network Archiver Yes No No
Enterprise Number Archiver Yes No No
O2 SMS and Voice Network Archiver Yes No No
Rogers Network Archiver Yes No No
Signal Archiver Yes No No
Telegram Archiver Yes No No
TELUS SMS Network Archiver Yes No No
Verizon SMS/MMS Network Archiver Yes No No
WeChat Archiver Yes No No
WhatsApp Archiver Yes No No

17a-4 data connectors in the US Government cloud

Data connector GCC GCC High DoD
BlackBerry DataParser Yes No No
Bloomberg DataParser Yes No No
Cisco Jabber DataParser Yes No No
Cisco Webex DataParser Yes No No
FactSet DataParser Yes No No
Fuze DataParser Yes No No
FX Connect DataParser Yes No No
ICE DataParser Yes No No
InvestEdge DataParser Yes No No
LivePerson Conversational Cloud DataParser Yes No No
Quip DataParser Yes No No
Refinitiv Eikon Messenger DataParser Yes No No
ServiceNow DataParser Yes No No
Skype for Business Server DataParser Yes No No
Slack DataParser Yes No No
SQL DataParser Yes No No
Symphony DataParser Yes No No
Zoom DataParser Yes No No

CellTrust data connectors in the US Government cloud

Data connector GCC GCC High DoD
CellTrust SL2 Yes No No

Working with a Microsoft partner to archive third-party data

Another option for importing and archiving third-party data is for your organization to work with a Microsoft Partner. If a third-party data type isn't supported by the data connectors available in the Microsoft Purview portal and the compliance portal, you can work with a partner who can provide a custom connector that will be configured to extract items from the third-party data source regularly and then connect to the Microsoft cloud by a third-party API and import those items to Microsoft 365. The partner connector also converts the content of an item from the third-party data source to an email message and then imports it to a mailbox in Microsoft 365.

For a list of partners that you can work with and the step-by-step process for this method, see Work with a partner to archive third-party data in Microsoft 365.