Microsoft 365 Backup – Why you need a third party Backup Solution
In this blog, we summarise the responsibilities of Microsoft and the customer when using the Microsoft 365 service. Many are not aware of the shared responsibilities and the responsibilities for data which the customer must take care off.
One of the most common questions we receive, is “Why do we need to backup Microsoft 365, is this not taken care of by Microsoft ?”
Microsoft offers a basic level of protection for a short period of time using data retention policies and for things like mailboxes you only have 30 days of protection. The following article by Microsoft “An Exchange Online mailbox is configured to retain deleted items for 14 days, by default. You can change this setting to a maximum of 30 days.
There is no ability available through the Microsoft 365 product to create a point in time recovery and you only have a maximum of 30 days basic data coverage, 14 days by default.
If we take a look at the three specific core services Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business data, these components are typically critical to your business. Using a third-party tool will protect from any outages, data loss and point in time recovery for all three services.
The following extract from the Microsoft Service agreement states that “We recommend that you regularly backup your Content and Data that you store on services or store using Third-Party Apps and Services” What this means, is Microsoft recommend that you use third-party backup products to protect your data. These solutions can offer a point in time recovery, as well as recovery points that can go back years whereas Microsoft can only offer 30 days.
In conclusion
We recommend that you utilize many (if not all) of these world-class security and availability services provided by Microsoft. They are excellent when used for their intended purposes! But it’s also important to recognize there’s no substitute for a real backup of your data, stored in an independent place of your choosing, of which you are in control. We design software solutions that make data protection simple and easy, so that you can get back to doing your day-to-day job and propel your businesses forward.
