Does Office 365 Backup Your Data? Get Your Answers Here

The answer to this question is, Does Office 365 Backup Your Data? This is a general question that looms in the mind of the users. Microsoft’s ‘Shared Responsibility model states that businesses are equally responsible for any accidental deletion or data loss due to hacking, ransomware, or malicious insiders. Microsoft itself recommends its users use third-party software to back up their data.

Does this mean that Microsoft does not protect the users’ data?

No, Microsoft is taking full responsibility for any loss of service caused by hardware failure, natural disaster, or administrative error.

In addition to recovering lost data, several Microsoft services allow you to restore data for specific periods.

• Items deleted in SharePoint Online remain in the recycle bin and can be retrieved for up to 93 days before removal.
• You can recover Individual emails from Exchange Online for up to 30 days.

However, if a ransomware assault infiltrates an employee’s Microsoft 365 data and the data gets encrypted, all of Microsoft’s redundant versions of the data will reflect this encryption.

Even if Microsoft completely restores a library or mailbox, all data from the time of the breach to the present are erased. This can be useful in the case of a ransomware assault, but you cannot use it to restore individual files. You can avoid these kinds of losses by having a backup done for them.

Redundancy And Backups In Microsoft.

Microsoft has built redundancy and backups into all of its data centres and has its data copied in at least two different locations. These backups, however, are just for internal data centre recovery.

This is done to ensure that Microsoft’s services remain operational in case of hardware or software failure, but this data is not available to users for data restoration.

Microsoft copies your data and stores it in various locations to ensure it is still available to you if there is a problem with its system. However, the same applies to all your copied data if you accidentally delete anything or if it is maliciously targeted, encrypted, or destroyed.

It is also irreversible. As a result, Microsoft does not back up Microsoft 365 as you require.

Why Should You Backup Office 365 Data Locally?

1. Data loss can occur due to a power outage or an internet outage caused by hardware or software failure. It is critical to keep a backup of the data in local storage in case of unforeseen events.
2. When employers delete an ex-employee Office 365 account, they also delete all associated data. This can help save money on licenses.
3. Office 365 allows you to recover deleted items, but the recovery tools have limited capabilities.
4. If the data from the recoverable items folders is not retrieved within 30 days of being deleted (soft deletion) or permanently deleted (hard deletion). You must recover the data.

What Are Some Of The Ways to Backup Office 365 Data?

1. Using a professional tool to back up your Office 365 data.

The Office 365 Cloud Backup & Restore Tool allows you to back up your data from various Office 365 accounts, including emails, calendars, contacts, and documents.

It keeps all the data’s meta characteristics and data integrity after backup.

The program has an intriguing feature called the ‘Date-Filter option,’ allowing you to download only the data that falls inside the selected period.

You may also Love to Read: How to Export Office 365 User List?

Steps to Backup Office 365 Data Using Reliable software:

Step 1. Download and activate the tool on your machine.

Step 2. After clicking the Setup tab, choose the backup’s Source and Destination.

Step 3. Under the workload section, select the categories from Office 365 that you intend to back up.

Step 4. Insert your Office 365 login details and then press the Next button.

Step 5. Browse where you want to store the PST files, and then click Next.

Step 6. Add the users who must be checked from the source account to backup Office 365 data locally.

Step 7. Hit Validate to confirm the accounts, and then press OK.

Step 8. Next, select the start backup button from the ribbon bar to initiate the backup process.

Step 9. If you wish to rerun the backup, choose the Rerun Backup option.

Manual way to backup the Office 365 data. To create a manual backup of your Office 365 data, follow these steps:

1. MS Outlook has been downloaded and installed on your computer. You can now use it to manage your email and calendar.
2.  To add an Office 365 account, go to File > Add Account and sign in using your credentials.
3.  The Outlook PST file automatically produced following Outlook synchronization is a backup file for Office 365 mailboxes.
4.  The default path for Outlook files is C:/users/username/Documents/Outlook/File.
5.  The PST file may be a backup file to keep things secure.
6.  Open the email, print it as a PDF, and then save it to the chosen area on your desktop if you wish to save a backup as a PDF file.

Problems with the Manual Solution to Backup Office 365 Data

1. There is no way to back up Calendars, Notes, and Journals manually.
2.  Backing up Outlook manually is time-consuming and labour-intensive, requiring constant attention. Minor errors can cause the procedure to be repeated and may even corrupt the Outlook data file.
3.  With this method, you may back up just one account mailbox.

Wrapping Up

This article must have made it apparent that Office 365 does not provide its users with a backup solution. As a result, users are solely responsible for safeguarding their data. To save you time and effort, we’ve provided a link to an expert-recommended program for simply backing up your data.