Microsoft 365 Backup

Did you know you need to back up your M365 data?

It’s a common trend we see where people don’t realise that Microsoft 365 does not include a backup and Microsoft put the full onus on the customer to protect their data. Its scary to realise you might be unable to recover in the event of accidental data loss, or worse, malicious data loss.

We have put together a question and answer list below with the most common questions.

Why do I need to backup Microsoft 365 data?

While Microsoft 365 offers robust services, it doesn’t natively offer protection against data loss and in fact puts the onus on the end customer to protect their data. Accidental deletions, malicious attacks, and system failures can jeopardize your business critical information. Having a backup ensures that you can recover data swiftly and maintain business continuity.

Doesn’t Microsoft 365 have its own built-in data protection features?

Microsoft 365 includes basic retention policies and recycle bin features, but these are not backups. It is still very easy to lose data. Microsoft have recently released a backup tool which really highlights the need for backup protection if they are offering it as an addon!

What kind of data should I backup in Microsoft 365?

The crucial areas are really Exchange so email, OneDrive for personal files, SharePoint for files and Teams for collaboration.

How does the backing up M365 work?

With either the M365 tool or a 3rd party backup solution the process is very similar. They take a point in time snapshot of all the data and store that in a way which can be then restored at a later time. Microsoft store the backups within Azure which might be required for some regulatory requirements however the downside of that is in the event of a Microsoft issue that data is also unavailable and it places all the risk on that Microsoft account. We utilise a 3rd party which stores the data away from Azure if a highly secure and fully encrypted way so its just as safe and protected at all times.

How do I get data back in the event of an issue?

Both the Microsoft tool or a 3rd party backup system or allow for IT administrators to restore data, either individual items such as a single email or file, right up to the full system. Equally you can take a managed service and take all the maintenance, backup tests and restores and place them with us allowing you to get on with something more important!

How are systems licensed?

Microsoft bill their service per GB which can work out to be very expensive if there are users who make full use of their mailbox storing lots of emails, and your organisation stores data in SharePoint and OneDrive. Most 3rd parties, including our service, bill based on a user count. This works out beneficial because everything is included in one easy calculation. Shared features such as Shared Mailboxes and the organisations SharePoint sites are all included as part of licensing the users resulting in full coverage and no worries for you!