Read time: 6 minutes
There is no doubt that Microsoft Office 365 is one of the most popular productivity suites available today. Many companies are using it to improve collaboration, boost efficiency, and stay connected. But as with any cloud-based service, there is always the risk of data loss.
That is why a robust backup and recovery policy is so important. And it seems like Microsoft Office 365 backup and recovery policy is the buzz these days. Here, we will look at Microsoft O365 backup and recovery policies and answer some of those questions. We will also provide tips on creating an effective backup and recovery plan for your business. Let us get started!
Reasons Why There Should Be a Backup & Recovery Policy
There are several reasons why this topic is top of mind for so many businesses. First, the amount of data that is now being stored in the cloud has increased exponentially. This means that there is more at stake if something goes wrong.
Second, when your Office 365 plan expires without your knowledge. You will lose access to all your Office 365 data, which can be very costly and time-consuming to recover.
Third, there have been a number of outages of popular cloud-based services in recent years. This has caused many businesses to reevaluate their backup and recovery strategies.
Finally, the GDPR deadline is looming, and companies need to be sure that they are in compliance. This includes ensuring that they have a plan in place for backing up and recovering data.
So, if you are thinking about implementing or improving your Microsoft O365 backup & recovery policy, now is the time to do it.
This document outlines the backup and recovery policy for Microsoft Office 365. This policy applies to all customers using Office 365, including those who have purchased third-party backup solutions. This policy is to provide customers with guidance on how their data is protected and what options are available for restoring lost or deleted data.
Office 365 provides customers with multiple layers of protection for their data. The first layer of protection is given by the service itself, which is designed to be universally available and resistant to hardware failures. In the event of a service outage, Microsoft’s global network of data centers ensures that customer data remains accessible. The second layer of protection is provided by customer-owned backup solutions, which can be used to create copies of data that are stored outside of Office 365.
- Email and Calendar Data – Email and calendar data in Office 365 is protected by both the service itself and customer-owned backup solutions. By default, email messages and calendar items are stored in three copies across two different storage subsystems in each data center. This configuration provides protection against hardware failures, software bugs, and other types of outages.
- SharePoint Online Data – SharePoint Online (Office 365) is a cloud-based service that helps firms to share and manage files, documents, and information. SharePoint Online is designed to be available and resistant to hardware failures. Customers’ data is accessible even if a Microsoft data center fails.
- OneDrive for Business Data – OneDrive for Business gets affected in case of availability and hardware failures. Data center networks around the world ensure the availability of customer data during an outage. Additionally, Office 365 offers self-service features of data recovery & message tracking in Office 365 that fixes mail delivery issues in one go.
Office 365 automatically backs up data daily. This schedule can be adjusted by customers who have purchased third-party backup solutions.
By default, Office 365 retains email messages and calendar items for 14 days. SharePoint Online sites take backup daily, and customers can choose to retain data for up to 30 days. OneDrive for Business files also employs backup daily, and customers can choose to retain data for up to 30 days & can find old emails in Office 365 easily.
Different retention policies for deleted items folders are available in Office 365. The default Microsoft retention policy is to keep deleted items for 30 days. However, administrators can change this policy according to the specific needs of an account. To do this, an administrator needs to follow the below steps to modify the Default MRM policy in the Office 365 Admin Center.
- Open Office 365 Admin.
- Go to the Exchange admin center.
- From the menu bar, choose Compliance management.
- Select Edit retention policies.
In addition to changing the Default MRM policy, a company administrator can configure it to protect items for 7 days, 30 days, one year, or another period according to their company’s requirements.
To get the most out of your Recoverable Items folder, you must understand a few things:
- The default search period for deleted emails in MS Outlook is 14 days; however, an administrator of Exchange Online can extend it to 30 days.
- The Litigation Hold feature in Exchange Online allows you to store emails for as long as you like from your Office 365 account.
Emails Recoverable Items folder are deleted from this folder are permanently lost and cannot be recovered. So, be sure to contact your admin before taking any action to delete items from this folder.
Litigation hold is a feature in Exchange Online that allows you to place a mailbox on hold so that all new and existing mail is retained and cannot be deleted. This is useful in situations where you need to preserve email data for legal or compliance purposes.
When a mailbox is on litigation hold, all mail (including deleted items) is retained and cannot be purged by any retention policy or mailbox cleanup process. This ensures that no email data is lost even if the user deletes it from their mailbox.
To use litigation hold, you must first enable the feature for your organization. You can then put individual mailboxes on hold. Once a mailbox is on litigation hold, you can specify how long mail should be retained. Alternatively, you can use a retention policy to control how long mail is retained.
As the data is increasing, the requirements for its safety, security, and backup are also increasing. Amongst various technological platforms available, Microsoft has been providing some of the best tools to manage and backup Office 365 data. But even so, there is a scope of improvisation as not all users want their data to be stored on Microsoft’s terms only. Considering such users’ needs and requirements, Kernel Office 365 Backup and Restore has been designed.
Users can now easily backup their Office 365 mailbox items like emails, contacts, etc. by choosing a location for saving. They do not need to follow any retention policy or recovery terms; instead, they can access and manage their backed-up files anytime and anywhere they want just by following simple steps involved in the process. Here are some of the professional features of the tool:
- Export Office 365 data to PST, PDF, HTML, MSG, DOCX, or DOC format.
- Smart filters help you to quickly select the required data for backup.
- Supports modern authentication and takes backups of all plans of Office 365.
- Automated backup via an inbuilt CSV file.
Closing Notes
Office 365 backup and recovery is important for your organization’s data security. You must have a plan in place to protect your data from loss or corruption. Microsoft provides several options for your data backup, but you must be aware of the drawbacks of each option and choose the one that best meets your needs.
Moreover, we also mentioned a backup tool that makes data backup and recovery quick and easy. If you want to learn more about this tool, opt for the trial version today. Do not take chances with your business data – make sure you are protected by Kernel Apps!