We love Microsoft 365 here at Advatek and it’s at the core of our productivity suite. Indeed, many companies across the UK have made the jump to the cloud-based productivity application and all the benefits it brings in terms.
However, one thing many companies take for granted in Microsoft 365 is backup.
Microsoft is protecting all data! Its easy to get back any lost data because it’s all backed up in the Cloud!
WRONG!
You may be surprised to hear that Microsoft 365 DOES NOT have the daily backup and archiving capability that may be needed after data is automatically removed and deleted from the recycle bin, or if, let’s say a user intentionally (or indeed unintentionally) deletes their data.
To see what Microsoft 365 does and does not do, lets take a look at some scenarios where data loss might occur and the ‘out-of-the-box’ features that O365 comes to mitigate this…
1. Cyber Threat Protection
Here, we’re talking about Ransomware and Malware protection. Now, it’s true that Microsoft does indeed have malware protection in place, but unfortunately it does not guarantee that a user does not corrupt their data if it becomes infected by a ransomware or malware attack. At this point you could call on the built-in data protection measures in Microsoft 365, but this could be very painful indeed as well as time-consuming, and in the end, there is no guarantee of recovery using the basic tools.
2. Data Deletion
Accidental, Purposeful or Malicious deletion of data can and does occur in many organisations – Users delete data – but how can you get it back if needs be? Microsoft 365 has a default of 14 days retention, which can be increased to 30 days. After That? It’s gone. Unrecoverable. The same applies if a user account is deleted. And of course, with GDPR, a data retention period of 30 days could be a problem. A big one.
Who’s Liability is it anyway?
There are very strict limits on liability when it comes to Microsoft 365 contracts, and Microsoft are liable for the infrastructure, NOT the data you own and control – that responsibility and liability rests entirely with you.
What this means
Well, quite simply, with Microsoft 365, it’s your data — you control it — and it is ultimately your responsibility to protect it.
Advatek can help you here. We have our own cloud-based secure Microsoft 365 Backup, which protects your entire Microsoft 365 stack of Exchange Online, One Drive for Business, Teams, and SharePoint Online, allowing you to recover individual mailboxes, messages or files from Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Teams, and One Drive for Business either back to the cloud or to another location.
