Everything you need to know about backing up Office 365

Posted by Philip Bindley

1. Is Office 365 already backed up?
   Put simply, no. As a platform, Office 365 is secure, but your data is not backed up in a way that most organisations require.

   Typically, there’s only a 30-day retention period inbuilt into Office 365, and Microsoft SharePoint Online is only backed up every 12 hours, with just a 14-day retention period. It’s no use relying on the recycle bins, either – there are no true backups here, meaning that once data is gone, it’s gone.

2. Why do I need to back up Office 365?

   Ultimately, it’s up to you, the user, to safeguard data. Many companies don’t realise that Microsoft is not responsible for the protection and retention of user’s data – and this can have serious consequences.

   Just imagine if you lost access to all the information in your Office 365 environment. With so much data distributed amongst Office 365 programmes – whether that’s spreadsheets, Word documents, emails and even calendar details – backing everything up is vital.

3. How do I back up Office 365?
   With many solutions available, backing up Office 365 is easy, as long as you choose the solution that works best for you. With functionality such as automatic backups, backing up is simple, and many solutions offer the fast recovery of applications and data.
4. How does backing up help my business to become compliant?
   If you’re wary of losing access to crucial data, you’re not alone – compliance is one of the key reasons behind the adoption of Office 365 backup for many organisations.

   Many Office 365 backup solutions are incredibly flexible, meaning that you can keep your email data for as long as you need, and tailor it to meet the compliance needs of your business. Ensuring the constant availability of data is also key to meeting the requirements of many compliance standards, including GDPR.

5. How easy is it to install Office 365 backup?
   Installing Office 365 backup is now a straightforward task. Many solutions can be implemented within minutes, and without disrupting day-to-day operations.
6. Will all of my data be covered if I back up Office 365?
   Fortunately, Office 365 backup solutions can safeguard all information on the platform – from large attachments to calendar dates. The best solutions on the market, such as Veeam backup for Microsoft Office 365, also supports Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive for Business – meaning that you can rest assured in the knowledge that all of your data is available whenever you need it.
7. Is it easy for me to recover data with an Office 365 backup solution?
   The best Office 365 backup solutions make it simple to find and restore specific data sets.

   Many solutions offer tools to enable the quick search and recovery of items, whether that’s entire mailboxes, folders, messages or tasks, in both existing or archived mailboxes, making it far easier to access data whenever this is required.

8. Will backing up make using Office 365 more difficult?
   Definitely not – backups run in the background and don’t impact how you use the platform. However, they do act as a safety net and mean you’ll have peace of mind that you’ll be able to access and restore any data that has been accidentally deleted, changed or stolen.
9. How often should I back up my data?
   It’s advisable to backup data regularly, but what this means in real time might depend on which compliance mandates you need to adhere to, the kind of data you hold, and what you use this data for.

   Most solutions have different options for how often backups are carried out, and many are carried out automatically, so that you won’t even have to think about it.

10. How flexible is Office 365 backup?
    Most backup solutions are easily scalable, and can grow along with needs of your business.

    What’s more, you can often restore information directly to the form that you require, whether that’s an Office 365 mailbox, an on-premises Exchange mailbox, a PST file, or an email attachment, making it easy to access data wherever and whenever you need it.