Introduction to Microsoft 365 Backup
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Avoid data loss with a brand new and powerful Microsoft 365 online backup solution.
Good news for security conscious M365 users, Microsoft 365 Backup is an application for enhanced restore coverage for M365 content. It will be available in public preview in Q4 of 2023 and, essentially, will provide recovery of users’ OneDrive, SharePoint, and Exchange data at very high speeds.
It will be available as both a Microsoft provided application in the Microsoft 365 admin centre and as an API platform for third-party ISV partners (useful if you have a preferred partner or if you have non-Microsoft 365 data you also want to back up). M365 Backup’s key capabilities include backing-up content at service-defined frequencies; browsing or searching for content using the application’s discovery tools; restoring content from backups; and monitoring or auditing storage controls.
The benefits of Microsoft 365 Backup
M365 Backup is ideal for the large volumes of data most organisations store and share these days and will be a great option because the service is kept within the trusted Microsoft 365 security and compliance boundary, offering additional peace of mind.
Of course, one large benefit of using this application is the sheer speed of the backup and restore process. This is because, using M365, data can be restored in hours rather than weeks and months. This means organisations can get back to the job at hand quickly in the event data or sensitive information is lost.
M365 Backup also helps organisations meet their regulatory requirements by ensuring content is safeguarded securely and efficiently backed up. This would help meet, for example, the integrity and confidentiality principle described in the GDPR or Data Protection Act 2018.
Additionally, users of M365 will be glad to have access to a backup solution that can be managed all from one place. This would save time and money by offering the ability to monitor and manage status, backups, and recoveries for Microsoft 365 all from the one admin centre.
The importance of backing up M365
Microsoft 365 is undeniably one of the world’s most popular and most used business suites – in fact, it’s highly likely you’re using M365 today, reading this article.
This means so much of our important data and content, including emails, spreadsheets, presentations, and all sorts of Word documents are stored in the cloud, easily accessible and sharable throughout the company.
However, while your data is managed by Microsoft and stored in their huge and – it’s worth adding – very safe data centres, the company cannot guarantee that it will always be 100%, unconditionally, safe. Indeed, many security-related matters still need to be managed by your organisation’s in-house administrators.
M365 Backup changes this, allowing organisations to cost-effectively keep data in Microsoft 365 (and with all the existing security, compliance, and search benefits Microsoft 365 has to offer), but with new, more powerful, lifecycle capabilities.
Using M365 Backup, then, organisations will be able to:
Prevent data loss M365 Backup will protect users from accidental and malicious data deletion. Without proper backup in place, such data could be permanently lost. Offer native recovery and retention M365 Backup suite will allow users to back up and recover data according to their own schedule and restore at desired granularity. Adhere to regulatory compliance A lot of businesses that work with personal data must meet strict compliances, such as HIPAA or GDPR. These regulations stipulate that users’ data is managed with extreme care, archived for certain periods, and deleted upon request. Adhering to these controls is made easy inside M365 Backup, which has content discovery tools and offers users the ability to select what and when to restore. Access data in the event of service outages Although they are a rare issue, data outages still happen with Microsoft services. Moreover, according to Microsoft themselves, outages have been happening more often in recent years. A proper backup solution will allow you to at least access the data that you need in the event of an unforeseen issue with the service. Microsoft 365 Backup will offer users unprecedented speed and scale to back up and restore mission-critical business. This will enable organisations to cost-effectively protect M365 data whilst still benefiting from the existing security, compliance, and search benefits Microsoft 365 has to offer. To find out more about how Microsoft 365 Backup, or any of the Microsoft technology stack, might benefit your organisation, please get in touch with our Microsoft experts using the green ‘get in touch’ button on this page.
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