In short
Microsoft 365 native backup (Microsoft 365 Backup) keeps restore points inside your tenant's Microsoft 365 boundary and is built for fast, large-scale rollback of OneDrive, SharePoint and mailboxes. A third-party backup keeps a separate copy with another provider, usually with wider coverage, longer retention and per-user pricing. Many organisations can use either, or both.
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What "native" Microsoft 365 backup means
People mean two different things by Microsoft 365 native backup:
- The built-in safety nets that come with every subscription: the Microsoft 365 recycle bin and Recoverable Items folder, version history, Files Restore in OneDrive and Microsoft 365 retention policies. These preserve or delay deletion for limited periods, but they are not a separate, restorable copy; see Microsoft 365 backup vs retention.
- Microsoft 365 Backup, Microsoft's paid backup service built on Microsoft 365 Backup Storage. This is a real backup with restore points and a recovery window, and it is what this comparison is about.
A third-party backup is a cloud-to-cloud service from another vendor that connects to your tenant through Microsoft's APIs, copies your data to its own cloud and lets you restore from there. The five platforms we supply, Acronis, Axcient x360Cloud, NinjaOne SaaS Backup, Redstor and Commvault, all work this way, and two of them can also use Microsoft 365 Backup Storage.
Native vs third-party backup side by side
| Question | Microsoft 365 Backup (native) | Third-party cloud-to-cloud backup |
|---|---|---|
| Where is the copy kept? | Inside the Microsoft 365 data trust boundary, in your tenant's geography | In the vendor's cloud, outside your tenant (some vendors let you choose the region) |
| Workloads | OneDrive accounts, SharePoint sites, Exchange user and shared mailboxes | Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams as standard; coverage of group mailboxes, Teams conversations and Entra ID varies by vendor |
| Teams conversations | No | Some vendors back up channel messages; private chat coverage is limited, so check it |
| Entra ID | No (separate Microsoft feature) | Available from several vendors, often as a bundle or separate product |
| Retention | Recovery window of 3, 6, 12 or 24 months | Set by policy; several vendors offer unlimited retention |
| Recovery points | 10-minute recovery point objective (with weekly points for OneDrive and SharePoint data older than two weeks) | Usually one or more backups a day, depending on the vendor |
| Restore granularity | Whole sites and accounts by rollback; selected files and folders from roughly daily points; mailbox items by search | Usually item-level, folder, mailbox or site, with search |
| Export (for example PST) | Not described in Microsoft's Backup documentation | Offered by several vendors, such as Axcient and Commvault |
| Billing | Pay-as-you-go per GiB to an Azure subscription; restores not charged, per Microsoft | Usually per user or seat, with storage included or pooled |
| Who can delete the backups? | The Backup admin, through offboarding, with a 90-day grace period | Controlled in the vendor's console, often with separate credentials and deletion delays |
| Restore speed at scale | Microsoft publishes median figures for fast in-place restores | Depends on the vendor and on copying data back into Microsoft 365 |
These are general patterns. Our Microsoft 365 backup comparison gives the vendor-by-vendor detail.
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Where Microsoft 365 Backup is strong
It would be wrong to treat Microsoft's own backup as a token effort. Its strengths are real:
- Speed at scale. Because restore points sit next to the live data, Microsoft can roll back large numbers of sites and mailboxes in place. Microsoft publishes median restore figures from its internal benchmarking, measured in terabytes per hour for large in-place restores using its "express" restore points.
- Short recovery points. Changes are captured at 10-minute intervals, so after an attack you can pick a point very close to when it started.
- Append-only storage. Existing restore points cannot be modified, which defeats malware that tries to corrupt older versions.
- Data residency. Backups stay within Microsoft 365 and honour your tenant's geographic residency, which simplifies some data protection questions.
- No extra vendor. It is billed through Azure and run from the Microsoft 365 admin centre, with no third-party access to your tenant.
If your main fear is a ransomware attack that encrypts thousands of files across OneDrive and SharePoint, those strengths line up well with the problem.
What a third-party backup adds
An independent backup is built around a different principle: keep a copy somewhere else, under separate control. That brings several things Microsoft 365 Backup does not:
- Separation from the tenant. If an attacker gains a privileged account in your tenant, a copy held by another provider, behind separate credentials, is harder to reach. The NCSC's principles for ransomware-resistant cloud backups ask that backups be resilient to destructive actions and that it should not be possible to deny all customer access to them. Microsoft meets part of this with append-only storage; vendors such as Axcient (AirGap), Commvault (air-gapped copies) and Acronis (optional immutable storage) describe their own approaches. See immutable Microsoft 365 backup.
- Wider coverage. Depending on the vendor: group mailboxes, public folders, Teams channel messages, OneNote and Entra ID.
- Longer retention. Several vendors offer unlimited retention, which helps when you keep leavers' data for years.
- Search, item restore and export. Find one email across every mailbox, restore it without rolling anything else back, or export a mailbox for a legal request.
- Predictable licensing. Most charge per user or seat, so the cost follows headcount rather than data growth.
None of this makes a third-party backup automatically better. It answers different risks, and the restore of a very large tenant from an external copy can take longer than an in-place rollback.
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The hybrid option: third-party apps on Microsoft 365 Backup Storage
You do not have to choose one architecture. Two of the vendors we supply let you combine them:
- Commvault Cloud with Premium Microsoft 365 Backup Storage, generally available since 31 July 2024, uses Microsoft's platform for fast in-place restores, chosen per workload in the Commvault Cloud console, while Commvault's own service keeps a copy outside the tenant with its wider coverage and retention options. See Commvault.
- Acronis offers Microsoft 365 Backup Storage as an alternative storage location to Acronis Cloud, priced by consumption per GB with fixed one-year retention, managed from the same Acronis console. Acronis says this option covers Exchange user mailboxes, OneDrive accounts and SharePoint sites, with whole mailbox, account or site recovery rather than individual items, so it suits fast rollback rather than everyday restores. See Acronis.
Microsoft's FAQ notes that control of Microsoft 365 Backup can currently be transferred from Microsoft's application to a third-party application on the platform, but not easily back again, so it is worth settling on a console before you switch.
How to choose between native and third-party backup
Work through these questions with whoever owns IT risk in your organisation:
- What are you protecting against? Mass encryption, a careless click, a malicious insider, a compromised global admin, a departing employee? Rank them.
- Which workloads matter? List the shared mailboxes, group mailboxes, Teams, OneNote notebooks and Entra ID configuration you would need back, not only OneDrive and SharePoint.
- Must the copy sit outside Microsoft 365? Check your cyber insurance questionnaire, contracts and internal policy.
- How long must you keep it? Compare your retention needs, including leavers, with a 3 to 24 month recovery window.
- How will you restore? Decide whether you mostly need rollback of whole sites or item-level restores and exports.
- How do you want to pay? Per GB of protected data through Azure, or per user through a supplier.
- Who can delete backups? Map which accounts could remove or offboard them, and how you would be alerted.
Our Microsoft 365 backup best practices checklist covers the operational side, such as testing restores.
How Forever Systems helps
We supply the five third-party platforms on this site. Microsoft 365 Backup is billed by Microsoft, not by us, but we are happy to recommend it where it fits, or to help you design a hybrid. We can review your tenant and requirements, set out the options in writing, set up the chosen platform and run a test restore with you. Contact us to compare the options for your organisation.
How Forever Systems helps with Microsoft 365 backup
We are an independent UK IT and cyber security provider. We supply more than one Microsoft 365 backup product, so we can recommend what fits your tenant, your retention needs and your budget rather than one vendor's answer to everything.
- Review what you have: we look at your Microsoft 365 licences, retention policies and any existing backup before suggesting anything new
- Help you choose: we compare the backup products we supply against the workloads you need covered, such as Exchange Online, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams and Entra ID
- Set-up and onboarding: we can help connect the backup service to your tenant and agree what is protected and how long copies are kept
- Restore testing: we can help you plan and run test restores so you know how recovery works before you need it
- Licensing in one place: backup licences alongside your Microsoft 365 subscriptions, with terms confirmed at quote
We work with businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations. Contact us to talk it through.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft 365 native backup enough?
It can be, if you mainly need fast rollback of OneDrive, SharePoint and user or shared mailboxes within a 3 to 24 month window. If you need a copy outside Microsoft 365, Teams conversations, group mailboxes, Entra ID or longer retention, a third-party backup, or both, is usually a better fit.
Does Microsoft back up Microsoft 365 data?
Microsoft keeps resilient, replicated copies to keep the service running, and sells Microsoft 365 Backup as an optional extra. Its disaster recovery copies hold the current state only, so recovering deleted or damaged data from an earlier point is your responsibility under the shared responsibility model.
Where does third-party Microsoft 365 backup store data?
In the vendor's own cloud, outside your Microsoft 365 tenant. Some vendors let you choose the storage region; we confirm the location for the platform you choose at quote.
Can I use Microsoft 365 Backup and a third-party backup together?
Yes. Commvault and Acronis can both use Microsoft 365 Backup Storage as part of their own service, and some organisations run Microsoft's tool for fast rollback alongside a separate third-party copy.
Which is better for ransomware recovery?
They address different parts of the problem. Microsoft 365 Backup is built for fast in-place rollback after mass encryption. A third-party backup adds a separately controlled copy if the tenant itself is compromised. The right mix depends on your risks.
Still deciding?
Ask us and a member of our team will reply by email with a straight answer.
More Microsoft 365 backup guides
Microsoft 365 BackupMicrosoft's own backup for OneDrive, SharePoint and Exchange, explained.Compare backupThe five platforms we supply and Microsoft 365 Backup, side by side.Best practicesA practical checklist for Microsoft 365 backup, aligned with NCSC guidance.Immutable backupWhat immutable and append-only really mean, the NCSC's five principles and how each vendor approaches them.ProvidersThe five Microsoft 365 backup platforms we supply, and how we choose one with you.