The Manual Vault Headache
In the previous post, we covered how to handle a DSAR step by step using Google Vault. Vault is the right starting point because it is built for e-discovery and legal holds. But if you have managed a DSAR for a large organisation, you already know the process still consumes significant time.
Creating Matters, placing holds, configuring exports, downloading files before they expire, and securely transferring them to legal or compliance teams all add operational overhead. None of these tasks is particularly difficult on its own. Together, they become difficult to manage consistently at scale.
And when multiple requests arrive against strict compliance deadlines, manual execution quickly becomes a risk.
This is where GAT Flow changes the process.
1. Automating Legal Holds: The GAT Flow Advantage
A critical step in any DSAR or legal investigation is placing a legal hold on a user’s account to prevent data from being purged. Manually placing these holds, especially for multiple users, can be slow and prone to human error.
How GAT Flow helps: GAT Flow allows you to automate the process of setting a Google Vault hold through its flexible workflow system. This action can be set up in a normal, event-triggered, or recurring workflow, making it perfect for various scenarios, including user offboarding.
To configure it, you simply create a workflow, add the “Set Google Vault hold” action, and fill in the required details like the Matter and Hold name. If the matter or hold doesn’t exist, GAT Flow will create it for you. Once the workflow is approved and executed, the Google Vault hold is automatically applied, ensuring no data is lost.
Learn More: Configuring Google Vault Users in Hold with GAT Flow
2. Streamlining Vault Exports
Once a legal hold is in place, the next step is to export the data. Vault requires you to manually set up exports, specifying the service (Gmail, Drive, etc.), date range, and search terms. This process is functional but can be tedious.
How GAT Flow helps: GAT Flow allows you to create and manage these Vault exports automatically. You can build a workflow that performs all the necessary configurations for you, giving you granular control over the export. You can define the export with specific options, such as:
- ▪️ Matter and Export Name: To keep your Vault organized.
- ▪️ Service: Choose from Drive, Mail, or Hangout chat.
- ▪️ Export Format: For email exports, you can choose between MBOX and PST.
- ▪️ Data Scope: Define the time period, date range, or a specific number of days back.
- ▪️ Specific Terms: Enter a particular term for exporting data.
- ▪️ Advanced Options: Include shared drives, exclude email drafts, and include messages from chat spaces.
This level of precision ensures you only export the necessary data, which is a game-changer for admins who need to perform repeated or similar exports.
Learn More: Streamlining Google Vault Exports with GAT Flow
3. Automating Export Deliverables: A One-Time Setup for Seamless Transfers
Perhaps the biggest pain point of the traditional Vault export process is the download itself. Vault exports expire after approximately 30 days, forcing admins to manually download large files to a local device. This is inconvenient and creates a security risk.
How GAT Flow helps: GAT Flow solves this problem with a one-time authorization process. Once configured, you can set up a workflow that automatically uploads the Google Vault export directly to a Shared Drive.
- ▪️ One-Time Authorization: The first time you use this feature, a quick authorization process in the Google Admin Console is required to grant GAT the necessary scope (https://www.googleapis.com/auth/devstorage.read_only).
- ▪️ Automatic Upload: After that, GAT Flow will automatically upload your exports to a newly created Shared Drive, eliminating the need for manual downloads.
- ▪️ Centralized & Secure: The export is now in a centralized location that can be accessed by your legal or compliance teams. There’s no need to worry about manual downloads, expired links, or insecure transfers.
Learn more: Automatically Uploading Google Vault Exports to a Shared Drive for the First Time
Conclusion: A Proactive Approach to Compliance
DSARs and legal holds are not going away. By leveraging a tool like GAT Flow, you can transform a complex, reactive process into a streamlined, proactive workflow. Automating these steps with GAT Flow not only saves you significant administrative time but also reduces the risk of human error. That helps your organization maintain a strong, legally defensible posture in data privacy and compliance.
Ready to automate your Google Workspace e-discovery? Learn more about how GAT Flow can help you turn your biggest compliance challenges into automated successes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can I automate the entire DSAR process?
Most of the heavy lifting, yes. Legal holds, exports, and secure delivery can all be automated with GAT Flow. Manual review and redaction of exported data still requires human input. That step cannot be fully automated without introducing compliance risk.
2. How do I automatically set a legal hold on a user’s account?
Build a workflow in GAT Flow with the “Set Google Vault hold” action. It can be event-triggered. For example, it can activate automatically when a user is offboarded, so holds are applied consistently without relying on someone remembering to do it.
3. Can GAT Flow automatically save Vault exports?
Yes. After a one-time authorisation, GAT Flow uploads completed exports directly to a designated Shared Drive. No manual downloads. No expired links.
4. Is GAT Flow a replacement for Google Vault?
No. GAT Flow works alongside Vault. Vault handles retention policies, legal hold enforcement, and e-discovery. GAT Flow automates the manual steps Vault still requires, making the overall DSAR workflow faster and more reliable.
The Bottom Line
DSARs are not going away. Privacy regulation in the US is expanding, CCPA enforcement is active, and Virginia, Colorado, Texas, and other states now have their own frameworks. GDPR enforcement continues to produce significant fines across Europe.
The organisations that handle these requests well are the ones with a process in place before the request arrives. GAT Flow gives you that process: automated, logged, and repeatable.
Insights That Matter. In Your Inbox.
Join our newsletter for practical tips on managing, securing, and getting the most out of Google Workspace, designed with Admins and IT teams in mind.
