5 Reasons Why It’s Critical To Backup Office 365

Posted: 26th January 2024

There’s a big misconception that Office 365 data backups happen automatically. But in fact, you are responsible for your data and if you don’t have a backup solution in place, you’re at risk of damaging repercussions.

Why the confusion

Office 365 offers geo-redundancy. This protects against your users in the event of an infrastructure outage, enabling them to remain productive and protecting your business from costly downtime. This is quite different to backing up your data of course.

“With Office 365, it’s your data. You own it. You control it.”
– The Office 365 Trust Centre.

Why Office 365 backups are so critical

Microsoft Office 365 is a robust SaaS platform and you probably use it for most of your business needs. This also means it holds a lot of your business data. Business data which lies open to these vulnerabilities:

Accidental deletion

When you delete a user, the removal of the data is replicated across the network including SharePoint and OneDrive data. If this data needs to be restored, your window of opportunity without Office 365 backup is limited if not immediately lost forever.

But with a backup solution, you can rewind time. You can pull from short-term backups, long-term archives, or even restore from a specific point in time.

Retention policy changes

As technology evolves and cybercrime risks increase, retention policies continually change. You may feel comfortable with the limited backup and data retention Office 365 offers but would you know if their policies changed? Whilst the recycle bin might give you some reassurance, it’s far from a robust backup solution. Microsoft gives no assurances against data loss.

Internal security threats

It’s not just hackers that can threaten your cyber security, more businesses experience threats from their own employees than you might expect. From removing incriminating emails to a disgruntled employee deleting critical business files, the gift of being able to call on backups could be invaluable.

External security threats

Malware and viruses, like ransomware, are one of the biggest threats to businesses around the world. These threats put your business and customer data at risk and your entire reputation.

Whilst you should always train your teams with cyber security awareness, these threats can still sneak through. With a robust backup solution, you have the peace of mind that a copy of your data before infection can be quickly recovered.

Legal and compliance requirements

Never rule out the possibility of needing to retrieve emails or files your business no longer holds. Being able to provide data from beyond the archive could clear you of fines and penalties or play a significant role in resolving a legal dispute. Office 365 backups can give you that peace of mind.

Jupiter IT Is More Than IT Support – It’s IT Consultancy

If you’re feeling unsure about what’s right for your business, we’re on hand to give you independent advice with no obligation. We have a wealth of expertise and will work with you to keep your business moving in the right direction.

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