In short: Harmony Email archiving is an add-on to Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email and Collaboration and Avanan). It stores the email the service processes for a retention period you choose, from one to 10 years, managed in the same console. You can filter, search and bulk-export messages for recovery, e-discovery and compliance.
What Harmony Email archiving does
Archiving is one of the add-ons you can attach to either security tier of Harmony Email and Collaboration, now officially Check Point Email Security. Once it is switched on, the email that Check Point processes for your protected mailboxes is retained in Check Point's cloud archive for the period you set.
Because the archive is held by the Check Point service rather than in each person's mailbox, a message that a user deletes, by mistake or on purpose, can still be found and recovered for as long as your retention period runs. Administrators work with it in the same Check Point Portal console they already use for phishing quarantine and policy, so there is no second product to learn.
Check Point's archiving page sets out three main uses:
- Business continuity and disaster recovery: a copy of mail that does not depend on the live mailbox
- Recovery of emails deleted by users, whether by mistake or deliberately
- Regulatory compliance and records management: keeping business communications for a defined period and producing them when asked
Key features
| Feature | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Retention from one to 10 years | Keep processed email for anything from one year to a decade, to match your records policy |
| Configurable retention | Customise the retention period of archived email to fit your organisation, and change it as your policy changes |
| Filtering | Filter archived email to find the messages you need from the same console used for security events |
| Bulk export | Export large batches of archived mail on demand as an encrypted Zip file containing standard EML files, for disaster recovery or legal review |
| One-time import | Bring in an archive from a previous tool so you are not left running two archives in parallel |
| Audit logging | Archive searches, imports, exports and downloads are recorded in the system logs, so you can show who accessed what |
| Same console | Archive, quarantine and threat investigation sit together in the Check Point Portal |
Check Point's current archiving and plans pages both give 10 years as the maximum retention period, and that is the figure we work to.
UK retention, legal hold and e-discovery
There is no single UK rule for how long to keep email. The right period depends on what the messages contain and which rules apply to you, for example:
- Tax and company records: HMRC expects businesses to keep financial records for a number of years, and contracts, invoices and approvals often live in email
- Potential claims: many organisations keep correspondence for at least the limitation period for contract claims in their jurisdiction
- Sector rules: FCA-regulated firms, the public sector, health and education each have their own record-keeping expectations
- UK GDPR storage limitation: personal data should not be kept for longer than you need it, so endless retention is not a safe default either
A configurable retention period lets you set one policy that reflects that balance, and the audit log helps show the policy is being followed. When a dispute, subject access request or investigation arrives, you can search the archive and export the relevant messages as EML files for your solicitors or e-discovery tool.
Check Point's archiving page does not describe a separate litigation-hold workflow. If you need a formal hold on particular custodians, we will check how that is best handled alongside Microsoft 365's or Google Workspace's own retention and hold features before you rely on it. This is not legal advice; your retention schedule should be agreed with your legal or compliance lead.
How it compares with Microsoft 365 and Google retention
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace both include retention and archive features, depending on the licence you hold. So why add another archive?
- Independence. Check Point's archive is a separate copy held by your security service, which helps if a mailbox is deleted or an account is compromised and mail is purged.
- One place for email risk. Security events, quarantined mail and the archive are in one console, which is convenient for small IT teams.
- Simple export. Encrypted EML exports are easy to hand to third parties.
If you are already licensed for Microsoft Purview retention or Google Vault and use them well, you may not need a second archive. We will look at what you have before recommending it. For the wider picture, see our Microsoft 365 security guide.
Licensing and how we help
Archiving is licensed as an add-on to Harmony Email and Collaboration, alongside your chosen plan (Advanced Protect or Complete Protect). It is licensed with the rest of your subscription, and Check Point lets you add more layers from within the product later, so you do not have to decide on day one. If you have data location requirements for archived mail, tell us and we will confirm Check Point's current hosting options for your tenant before you buy. The Harmony pricing and licensing guide explains the factors that change the cost.
Forever Systems can:
- Agree a retention period with you based on your records policy and sector
- Enable archiving in your Check Point Email Security tenant and set retention
- Import an existing archive from your previous tool, where needed
- Show your team how to search, restore and export, and how to review the audit log
Contact us for a quote.
How Forever Systems supplies and supports Check Point Harmony
We supply and support the whole Check Point Harmony suite, now marketed as Check Point Workspace Security, for UK organisations: from a single product to endpoint, email, SaaS, mobile, browser and SASE together, with Check Point MDR if you want round-the-clock cover.
- Scoping and licensing: the right products, editions and plans for your users, devices and risk, and a clear view of what the old Harmony names now mean
- Proof of value: trial deployments that show what Harmony finds in your own mailboxes, devices and traffic
- Deployment: endpoint agents and policies, the Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace connection, mobile roll-out through your MDM, browser extensions and SASE access policies
- Migration: moving from another endpoint, email or VPN product, or from Harmony Connect to Harmony SASE
- Ongoing support: policy tuning, alert triage, upgrades and renewals, managed in the Check Point Portal
Forever Systems Ltd is an independent IT and cyber security provider. We will always recommend what fits, including other options if Harmony is not right for you.
Want a Check Point Harmony quote, trial or renewal review?
Tell Forever Systems what you need and we will come back to you by email with options, not a hard sell.
Contact usFrequently asked questions
How long does Check Point email archiving keep emails?
You choose a retention period from one to 10 years, and you can customise it to fit your organisation's records policy. Check Point's current archiving and plans pages both give 10 years as the maximum.
Can I import my old email archive into Harmony Email?
Yes. Check Point describes a one-time import of archives from other tools, so you can retire the old archive rather than keep paying for two.
How do I export archived emails for e-discovery?
Administrators can filter the archive and export large batches of messages. Exports are delivered as an encrypted Zip file containing EML files, a standard format most e-discovery and legal review tools accept.
Is the archive included in Harmony Email and Collaboration?
No. Archiving is an add-on to either security tier, Advanced Protect or Complete Protect. Ask us for a quote that includes it.
Is Check Point email archiving audited?
Yes. Archive searches, imports, exports and downloads are recorded in the system logs, which helps you show who accessed archived mail and when.