Should you backup Microsoft 365?

Many businesses assume Microsoft 365 automatically backs everything up. After all, your emails, SharePoint sites and OneDrive files live in the cloud, so they must be protected… right?

Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Microsoft keeps the platform running, but you are responsible for protecting your organisation’s data. That means if a file is deleted, overwritten, corrupted, encrypted by ransomware, or lost due to human error, Microsoft does not provide a full, point-in-time backup that can restore everything.

Shared Responsibility:

Microsoft’s Shared Responsibility Model clearly states that while they provide infrastructure and data storage, you are responsible for backing up and recovering your data.

Limited Retention:

While Microsoft provides some basic data retention tools within Microsoft 365, they do not recommend relying solely on these tools for backup and recovery. They strongly suggest that you use third-party backup solutions to protect your data in addition to their own retention and recovery features. See note.

For subscriptions that do not include retention, deleted data will be removed from the recycle bin after 90 days.

Data Loss Scenarios:

Third-party backup solutions are essential for protecting against various data loss scenarios, including accidental deletion, malicious actions, ransomware attacks, or system failures.

Recovery Options:

Third-party backups often offer more granular control over retention policies, faster recovery times, and more flexible restore options compared to Microsoft’s native tools.

Business Continuity:

Implementing a robust third-party backup solution is a key component of a comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery plan.

Backup and Replication info and Prices