“94% of companies that fail to recover from a major data loss do not survive.”
In today’s business world where every operation is shifting online, Microsoft 365 is a very important tool for all businesses. Business data is stored in Microsoft tools like email, PowerPoint, word, excel, teams, etc. These are very important for all day-to-day business activities. These tools have transformed the way businesses operate. The tools have increased the reliability and convenience of cloud services, but organizations often forget data backups.
Microsoft 365 provides security features, but it’s important to understand that Microsoft 365 backup solutions are very necessary in case of a cyberattack. Microsoft recommends that businesses implement a dedicated backup solution to protect their data as your data isn’t safe with the security measures of Microsoft. You need to back up your Microsoft 365. We’ll discuss that in this blog. We’ll also understand how Office 365 backup solution can help protect your data.
The Myth: Microsoft 365 Backup is Automatically Done of Your Data
Here’s the common myth: Microsoft 365 includes data backup services. This means that users don’t need to worry about losing data. However, this is not the case. Microsoft ensures the infrastructure’s availability and security.
Microsoft provides built-in protection features. The features are replication across data centers, basic retention policies, and disaster recovery for outages. These features are not a replacement for a full Microsoft 365 backup. They mainly protect the service from infrastructure failure and outages. It does not protect your data from accidental deletion, corruption, or malicious attacks such as ransomware.
Here’s where a dedicated Microsoft Office 365 backup solution comes in frame. Businesses should invest in a third-party backup solution. This ensures that the business data is fully protected and restored quickly in case of any cyberattack.
Why You Need a Microsoft 365 Backup Solution
Microsoft recommends having an independent Microsoft Office 365 backup solution for your Microsoft data. The reasons for the need for a Microsoft Office 365 backup solution are mentioned below:
1. Protection Against Accidental Deletion
Accidental deletion leads to data loss. There are fewer chances that it can be restored if businesses don’t have a backup of their data. The employee might have deleted an important email or entire folders being wiped out. These errors lead to huge disruptions if you aren’t able to get back those files or folders.
Microsoft 365 offers some options for recovering deleted files or emails, but these are limited by time. For example, files deleted from SharePoint or OneDrive remain recoverable for 93 days. After 93 days they are permanently deleted.
With a Microsoft 365 backup solution, you can recover data anytime you want, even after these native retention periods have expired. This ensures that you always have access to important files, emails, and documents.
2. Legal and Compliance Requirements
Many industries have strict compliance regulations. These are for data retention. These are GDPR, HIPAA, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In such cases, having control over your data is a legal necessity.
3. Protection Against Cyber Threats
Microsoft offers security measures. These security measures cannot protect data against cyber threats. These days cybercriminals have targeted cloud services, encrypting or deleting data and demanding payment to get the decryption key. Relying only on Microsoft 365 is not enough. You must have a Microsoft Office 365 backup solution that protects your business data and prevents the data from any loss.
M365 backup ensures that even if your cloud data is compromised in an attack, you can quickly restore files and avoid paying a ransom. If you have a M365 backup you can recover your data quickly. As your data is protected and restored quickly this ensures your business runs smoothly without much downtime.
4. Retention Policy Gaps and Data Ownership
The “shared responsibility model” means that the responsibility of protecting data is shared. This means that the responsibility of protecting the business data is in the hands of the organization and not Microsoft.
Let us consider an example. If an employee leaves the company. The associated data will be permanently erased after 30 days automatically. But if you’ve properly set retention policies this wouldn’t be the case. A Microsoft Office 365 backup solution helps bridge the gap. It allows users to customize retention policies that fulfill the specific needs of the business. This ensures your data security is always under your control.
5. Recovering from Internal Threats
Not all threats come from external sources. Internal threats such as malicious deletions by employees, can be very damaging. The level of damage caused by internal threats may be the same as that caused by external threats. Employees with access to sensitive information may intentionally or accidentally delete critical data. This may lead to significant data losses. To reduce the risk of data loss make sure you have the backup of your data.
An Office 365 backup solution protects your data from these internal threats. You can restore files, emails, and entire user accounts to their previous state if you have a backup of the data. This minimizes the impact of data loss and ensures business continuity.
Implementing a Microsoft 365 Backup Solution
Choosing the right Microsoft Office 365 backup solution depends on your organization’s specific needs, such as compliance requirements, data storage preferences, and the level of protection necessary for your business. Here are a few key features to consider when selecting a Microsoft 365 backup solution:
- Automated Backups: Check whether the solution provides automated, scheduled backups for all Microsoft 365 applications or not for Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams.
- Cloud Integration: Choose a solution that integrates with your cloud environment. This secures offsite storage.
- Compliance: Ensure the backup solution meets industry-specific requirements and allows extended retention periods to comply with legal obligations.
- Scalability: Select a backup solution that can scale with your organization’s growth and evolving data needs, ensuring long-term protection.
Conclusion: Don’t Rely on Microsoft Alone for Data Protection
Businesses need to protect their data with a Microsoft 365 backup solution. Data has to be stored in an external source to ensure fast recovery in case of any data loss. Businesses should not solely rely on Microsoft for data protection.
DataGalaxy provides advanced M365 backup solutions designed to protect your critical business data. We help to protect your data from accidental deletion, cyber threats, or compliance risks. we offer scalable solutions to ensure business continuity.
Contact DataGalaxy today to learn more about our Office 365 backup solutions and how we can help protect your Microsoft 365 data.