Microsoft 365 is where a lot of business happens. Emails, documents, spreadsheets, Teams conversations and shared files can all sit within it.
So, it’s easy to assume Microsoft is backing all of that up for you, but does Microsoft 365 include backup in the way you might expect?
Microsoft 365 has some useful features for protecting and recovering your data, including recycle bins, version history and retention options. What it doesn’t necessarily give you is the same thing as having a separate Microsoft 365 backup.
If Microsoft 365 holds information your business couldn’t easily replace, it’s worth knowing the difference.
What backup and recovery does Microsoft 365 provide?
Microsoft 365 has built-in tools that can help when something goes wrong. Depending on the service and how your Microsoft 365 environment is set up, you may be able to recover deleted files, restore previous versions and retain certain information for a period of time.
All can be very useful, but it doesn’t automatically mean you have a complete Microsoft 365 backup in place. A better way to look at it is to think about what would happen if you actually needed something back.
If somebody deleted an important file, could you recover it? What if nobody noticed for several weeks? What happens if an account is compromised? And does anyone in the business actually know what to do if data needs restoring?
If you’re not sure, that’s probably worth finding out, ideally before you need to.
Is OneDrive backup enough?
This is where things can get a little confusing. OneDrive stores and syncs files across Microsoft 365 and your devices. It also includes useful features such as version history and file recovery.
But OneDrive backup isn’t quite the same as keeping a separate backup copy of your business data.
Syncing is there to keep your files up to date across different locations. That’s handy when everything is working as it should, but there can be situations where unwanted changes or deletions are synchronised too.
A separate backup gives you another copy to recover from rather than relying solely on the place where the original data is stored and used.
Where can the gaps appear?
Most businesses probably don’t spend much time thinking about Microsoft 365 recovery, until they need it. There are lots of scenarios that highlight the gaps!
Someone deletes something and only realises weeks later. An employee leaves and nobody is quite sure what happened to their files. An account is compromised, or you discover the version of a document you need isn’t as easy to recover as you thought.
None of this means Microsoft 365 isn’t doing its job, it just means storage, syncing, retention and backup are different things.
Knowing what you have in place, and what you could actually recover, gives you a much clearer picture of how well your business data is protected.
Does your small business need a separate Microsoft 365 backup?
There isn’t one answer for every business. We recommend starting with what you keep in Microsoft 365 and how much you rely on it.
Would losing a day’s worth of email cause a problem? What about a month-old version of an important document? Do you have customer, contractual or compliance requirements around keeping data? How much of your day-to-day work sits in Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint or Teams?
And here’s the big one: if something important disappeared tomorrow, would you know how to get it back? If the answer is not really, it’s definitely worth taking a closer look.
A separate Microsoft 365 backup can add another layer of protection and give you more options if you need to recover something.
What should cloud backup for small business cover?
The right cloud backup for small business depends on how you work.
For some businesses, email is the big one. For others, most important documents sit in SharePoint or OneDrive. Your team might also use Teams every day to share files and information. Rather than starting with a backup product and working backwards, start with your business.
Where does your important information live? Who needs access to it? How long do you need to keep it? And most importantly what would you need to get back quickly if something went wrong?
Once you know that, it’s much easier to work out what level of backup you actually need.
A few common questions about Microsoft 365 backup
Does Microsoft 365 include backup automatically?
Microsoft 365 includes a range of data protection, retention and recovery features. These aren’t necessarily the same as having a separate backup, and what you can recover will depend on the service, your configuration and what has happened.
Is OneDrive enough to back up my business files?
OneDrive gives you useful storage, synchronisation and recovery features. But OneDrive backup shouldn’t automatically be treated as a replacement for a separate backup of important business data.
Can Microsoft recover permanently deleted files?
It depends on where the information was stored, how it was deleted, your Microsoft 365 setup and how much time has passed. That’s why it’s much better to know your recovery options now rather than finding out after something has disappeared.
Do I need third-party backup for Microsoft 365?
It depends on what your business keeps in Microsoft 365 and how much control you need over recovery.
The important thing is knowing what protection you already have and whether it matches what your business actually needs.
How confident are you in your Microsoft 365 backup?
You don’t need another IT tool just because someone tells you that you do.
Ideally you should know what would happen if an important email, document or account disappeared tomorrow.
Supportwise can take a look at your Microsoft 365 setup, help you understand what’s already protected and point out any gaps that are worth addressing.
We can help you identify a clearer idea of what you have, what you need and what makes sense for your business.