In short
Microsoft 365 data backup means keeping a separate, restorable copy of each workload you rely on: Exchange Online mailboxes, OneDrive accounts, SharePoint sites, Teams and, ideally, Entra ID. Microsoft's built-in safety nets are time-limited, measured in days or weeks, and sit inside your own tenant. A backup keeps copies for as long as your policy says.
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Why each workload needs its own plan
Microsoft runs Microsoft 365 on resilient, replicated infrastructure, so a hardware failure in one of its datacentres does not cost you your mail. What it does not do is reverse changes made through your own tenant. Under the Microsoft 365 shared responsibility model, your data, accounts and configuration remain yours to protect, and Microsoft's Microsoft 365 Backup FAQ says its view of shared responsibility has not changed.
The complication is that "your data" is spread across services that behave differently. Mail sits in Exchange Online. Personal files sit in OneDrive, which is built on SharePoint. Team sites and their libraries sit in SharePoint. Teams stores messages in its own chat service, files in SharePoint and OneDrive, and its membership in a Microsoft 365 group. Users, groups and sign-in policies sit in Microsoft Entra ID. Each has its own recycle bin, its own deletion timer and its own gaps, so a plan that only protects mailboxes, or only files, leaves something exposed.
The table below sets out each workload side by side. Each row links to a page that goes into detail.
Microsoft 365 workloads compared: native protection and backup
| Workload | Native safety net and its limit | What a backup adds | Our platforms that cover it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Online | Deleted items recoverable for 14 days by default (30 at most); a soft-deleted mailbox for 30 days | Mail, calendars and contacts kept to your policy, including leavers and shared mailboxes | Acronis, Axcient x360Cloud, NinjaOne SaaS Backup, Redstor, Commvault |
| OneDrive | Recycle bins for 93 days in total; Files Restore for the last 30 days; a deleted user's OneDrive for 30 days by default, then 93 days in the recycle bin | Point-in-time copies that do not sync deletions or encryption, and leavers' files kept after the account is gone | Acronis, Axcient x360Cloud, NinjaOne SaaS Backup, Redstor, Commvault |
| SharePoint | Version history; recycle bins for 93 days in total; deleted sites restorable for 93 days | Sites, libraries and lists restorable after the windows close, and recovery from mass encryption | Acronis, Axcient x360Cloud, NinjaOne SaaS Backup, Redstor, Commvault |
| Teams | A deleted team comes back only by restoring its Microsoft 365 group, within 30 days | Channel files and, depending on the platform, channel messages and team structure | All five list Teams; message coverage differs, so check each |
| Entra ID | Soft delete for 30 days for some objects; Microsoft Entra Backup and Recovery keeps seven days of daily backups | A longer history of users, groups and policies, held outside the tenant | NinjaOne SaaS Backup + Entra, Redstor bundles, Acronis, Commvault (separate Active Directory product) |
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Exchange Online
Mailboxes are where most organisations feel data loss first: a director's deleted folder, a leaver whose mailbox has vanished, or a compromised account that deletes mail and sets up forwarding rules. Exchange Online keeps deleted items in a Recoverable Items folder for 14 days by default, which an administrator can raise to 30, and keeps a deleted mailbox for 30 days. Beyond that, only a hold or retention policy keeps anything, and those are compliance tools rather than restore tools.
A backup covers user, shared and group mailboxes, calendars and contacts, and on some platforms archive mailboxes and public folders. Exchange Online backup compares what each platform includes and how restores and exports work.
OneDrive and SharePoint
OneDrive and SharePoint share the same storage engine and similar safety nets: version history, a two-stage recycle bin that holds deleted items for 93 days in total, and OneDrive's Files Restore, which can roll a OneDrive back to any point in the last 30 days. They are good for everyday mistakes. They are weaker against events nobody notices for months, a deleted user's OneDrive passing through its retention period, and ransomware that encrypts thousands of files which then sync back as the "current" version.
OneDrive for Business backup explains why sync is not backup and what happens to leavers' files, and SharePoint Online backup covers sites, libraries, lists and metadata, and what each platform restores.
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Teams
Teams is the workload people most often assume is covered and most often is not, at least not completely. Channel files live in the team's SharePoint site and files shared in chats live in the sender's OneDrive, so backing up SharePoint and OneDrive protects them. Messages are a different matter: Teams keeps them in its own chat service, with compliance copies in hidden mailbox folders that are not designed for restores. Microsoft 365 Backup does not cover Teams chats, and the third-party platforms differ on channel messages and private chats.
Microsoft Teams backup sets out what each option covers and how to restore a deleted team.
Entra ID
Entra ID is not data in the usual sense, but every other workload depends on it. If a script wipes group memberships or someone deletes a Conditional Access policy, people lose access or protection even though their files are intact. Microsoft gives you 30 days to restore soft-deleted users, groups, app registrations and service principals, and Microsoft Entra Backup and Recovery keeps up to seven days of daily backups of supported objects in tenants with Entra ID P1 or P2.
Entra ID backup explains those limits and the third-party options we supply, from NinjaOne SaaS Backup + Entra and Redstor's bundles to Acronis and Commvault.
OneNote and other Microsoft 365 data
OneNote notebooks are files stored in OneDrive, SharePoint or a team's site, so they are only as safe as the location they sit in. Two of our platforms call OneNote out specifically: Acronis offers optional OneNote backup alongside OneDrive, and Redstor lists OneNote, including the Class and Staff Notebooks schools use, among the workloads it protects.
If your organisation relies on another Microsoft 365 app, tell us what it is and we will check what each vendor currently documents before you choose. We would rather say "not covered" at the start than find out during a restore.
Where Microsoft 365 Backup fits
Microsoft's own paid service, Microsoft 365 Backup, covers three of the five workloads: OneDrive accounts, SharePoint sites, and Exchange Online user and shared mailboxes. It does not cover group or room mailboxes, Teams chats or Entra ID, and its backups stay inside the Microsoft 365 data boundary rather than in a separate copy elsewhere. For fast, large-scale rollback of OneDrive and SharePoint it is a serious option, and two of the platforms we supply, Acronis and Commvault, can use the Microsoft 365 Backup Storage behind it.
Microsoft 365 native backup compares it fairly with third-party backup, and the Microsoft 365 backup comparison lines up all six options by workload.
How we help
Forever Systems supplies five Microsoft 365 backup platforms, so we can start from what you need to protect rather than from a product:
- List the workloads: users, shared and group mailboxes, leavers you need to keep, SharePoint sites, teams and how much you rely on Entra ID configuration
- Map the gaps: we show where Microsoft's native protection stops for each one and which gaps matter to you
- Recommend a platform: one that covers the workloads you care about, with retention and storage that fit, from the Microsoft 365 backup providers we supply
- Set it up and test: we can connect the platform, help you agree who can restore, and run test restores from each workload with you
For how each option is charged, see Microsoft 365 backup pricing; for figures, ask us for a quote. Contact us to talk through which of your Microsoft 365 data needs protecting first.
Explore What to back up
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
What data should I back up in Microsoft 365?
At minimum, Exchange Online mailboxes (including shared mailboxes), OneDrive accounts, SharePoint sites and Teams channel files. Add Teams messages where your platform supports them, and Entra ID users, groups and Conditional Access policies if losing them would stop people working or remove protections.
Does Microsoft 365 back up my data automatically?
Microsoft keeps replicated copies so the service survives hardware failures, and it gives you recycle bins, deleted item retention and version history. Those are time-limited and live in your tenant. Microsoft also sells Microsoft 365 Backup as a separate paid service. Under the shared responsibility model, recovering your data is your responsibility.
Which Microsoft 365 backup covers Teams and Entra ID?
All five platforms we supply list Teams, but coverage of channel messages and private chats differs, so check the detail. For Entra ID, NinjaOne SaaS Backup + Entra, Redstor's Restore and Comply bundles, Acronis (supported Entra ID data) and Commvault's separate Active Directory product all offer protection. Microsoft 365 Backup covers neither Teams chats nor Entra ID.
Is OneDrive sync a backup?
No. Sync copies changes everywhere, including deletions and files encrypted by ransomware. A backup keeps earlier versions separately, so you can go back to a point before the change.
Do shared mailboxes and leavers count towards backup licences?
It depends on the platform. Most third-party backups are licensed per user or seat, and vendors treat shared mailboxes and departed users' data differently. We count them with you and confirm how they are licensed at quote.
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