Microsoft 365 backup: what your subscription doesn't cover

There's a widespread assumption that because Microsoft 365 (or Google Workspace) is "in the cloud", your data is automatically backed up. It isn't.

What Microsoft provides is high availability, multiple copies of your live data across multiple data centres, so the service stays up if a server, disk or even a region fails. That protects you from infrastructure failure. It does not protect you from the most common causes of data loss.

What you lose without backup

• Accidental deletion beyond the retention window. Deleted emails and files go to a recycle bin, then a second-stage recycle bin, then they're gone, typically within 30–90 days depending on the licence.
• Malicious deletion by a departing or compromised user. If they empty their mailbox or wipe shared folders, those items disappear on the same schedule.
• Ransomware encryption that syncs into OneDrive and SharePoint. Version history helps for a while, but a sustained attack can outlast it.
• Account deletion. Delete a user account to save a licence, wait too long, and their entire mailbox and OneDrive are unrecoverable.
• Configuration loss. SharePoint structure, Teams settings, permission models, none of this is part of Microsoft's retention promise.

Microsoft's own service agreement is explicit: it's your responsibility to back up your data.

What a proper backup looks like

A real third-party backup of Microsoft 365 should:

• Take an independent copy of your mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams.
• Store it outside Microsoft's environment, so an account compromise doesn't reach it.
• Retain it for 90 days as standard, not weeks.
• Let you restore individual items, a single email, a folder, a deleted user's whole mailbox, without restoring everything else.
• Run automatically and be monitored.

The same logic applies to Google Workspace, with its own equivalents.

What it costs

Per-user Microsoft 365 backup is usually around £4–£8 per user per month. For most small organisations that's an obvious yes, the first time you need to restore a deleted mailbox, it has already paid for itself many times over.

If you'd like me to set this up for your organisation, get in touch.