Does Microsoft 365 Backup My Data?

The answer is a little more complicated than you might be expecting. Although Microsoft offers some built-in retention and recovery features, Microsoft does not provide a comprehensive and robust backup and recovery service. According to Microsoft documentation, the maintenance of data integrity and retention is your responsibility

The effectiveness of Microsoft 365’s built-in features for protecting your important documents, emails, and team chats heavily depends on the size of your organisation and the volume of your data. Although these features can be useful, they are by no means a substitute for full third-party backups.

Reasons why you should consider third-party backup of Microsoft 365 data

Data loss due to user error and accidental deletions

Accidental deletions are a leading cause of data loss, although ransomware is becoming more common. If you realise the loss after your retention policy period with Microsoft, the data is gone. Even if you catch it in time, restoring files and accounts to their original state is challenging.

Common user errors include deleting the wrong file or folder or changing permissions and security settings by mistake. System administrators can also make errors, which can be more severe, such as leaving critical accounts or APIs exposed or overwriting important business data with a single keystroke.

Ransomware and compromised administrator accounts

Most data loss is caused by human error or malicious intent, not infrastructure failures. Phishing attacks are increasing and hard to avoid. A recent ESG survey found that 79% of respondents faced a ransomware attack in the past year, with 41% of those attacks being successful and impacting their organisation.

A single wrong click can infect your system with malware and corrupt your data. If your Microsoft 365 admin account is compromised, your native backups could be lost. Recovering from this can be difficult and time-consuming with Microsoft’s built-in tools. While OneDrive and SharePoint versioning can help, it uses up storage space and may lead to extra costs. Do you really want to rely on a fragmented recovery strategy during a crisis?

Better control of restoring files

In Microsoft 365, you may be able to restore an entire mailbox or site collection, but not specific files or folders. To save time and resources during a disaster recovery, you need the ability to restore exactly what you need.

Microsoft allows you to roll back OneDrive files to a previous point in time, but this is an “all or nothing” restore. You can’t choose specific files or folders to restore, which can result in losing important data and changes. A comprehensive backup solution with granular restore capabilities can prevent this.

Microsoft 365 has default retention periods that vary by service. If data is deleted by an admin or user and the recycle bin retention period expires, it cannot be recovered. Without flexible and granular retention policies, important data can be lost.

Rapid restores

Your disaster recovery speed depends on two factors: Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO). Reducing RTO requires the ability to precisely target what you need to recover, while RPO depends on how often you back up your data. Flexible recovery options and backup scheduling are essential features of a strong backup solution.

Legal compliance and retention policy gaps

Organisations often need to retain data for business, compliance, or legal reasons. However, Microsoft’s native data protection might not meet all industry requirements. While Microsoft’s default retention is 30 or 90 days, some industries, like healthcare, finance, and legal services, need to keep data for years or even decades.

If your business can’t manage data properly, gaps can occur. These gaps can result from not backing up former employees’ data, inadequate Microsoft 365 backup rules, or data loss during migrations. If you are required to comply with specific data retention policies or regulations or produce documents from long-term archives, its wise to consider a third-party backup solution for Microsoft 365 that supports long-term retention and recall.

Cloud syncing is not the same as backing up your data

Many Microsoft 365 users think OneDrive is a backup solution, but it’s actually a file-syncing tool for sharing and collaboration. Changes to local files, including deletions or malware infections, are automatically synced to the cloud. In Microsoft 365, file versions are not separate recovery points. If a file is deleted, all its versions are deleted too. Once permanently deleted, there are no recovery options.

Ultimately, Microsoft makes it clear in their Shared Responsibility Model that they are not responsible for your data, only for the infrastructure they maintain to deliver their services. 

Considering third-party backups?

If you’re considering a third-party backup solution reach out to us on 0818 987 900 or email us at hello@intuity.ie and our IT experts will be happy to help you improve your data backup strategy.

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