Microsoft keeps Microsoft 365 running. It does not keep your data.
Deleted mail and files are gone for good after the retention window. A ransomware attack, a leaver's mailbox purge or a SharePoint site emptied by mistake is your problem, not Microsoft's. A separate backup costs £3 per licensed user per month, with shared mailboxes and SharePoint sites included at no charge, and takes an afternoon to set up.
Who this is for
Any business that would be hurt by losing six months of email or a shared drive. That is every business we have met. It matters most where there is client data, regulatory retention (CQC, FCA, SRA, ICO) or a cyber insurance policy that asks whether backups are separate from the live system.
What is included
Everything in Microsoft 365
Exchange mailboxes, calendars and contacts, OneDrive, SharePoint sites, Teams chats and files, backed up several times a day to storage that sits outside your tenant.
Retention you choose
Kept for seven years, in the UK. That covers HMRC, most regulators and most contracts without you having to think about it. Point-in-time restore, so you can go back to before the mistake, not just to last night.
Restores done by us
One mailbox, one file, a whole site or the whole tenant. You ask, we restore, usually within the hour. No portal to learn.
Tested every quarter
We restore something real from every client's backup each quarter and record it. A backup nobody has restored from is a hope, not a plan.
Leavers kept, licences freed
When someone leaves, their mailbox and files stay in the backup and the Microsoft licence is released. You stop paying Microsoft for people who have gone.
Monitoring
Failed backup jobs raise an alert to our helpdesk, not an email to an inbox nobody reads.
What is not included, and why
- Server and device backup. On-premises servers and individual laptops are covered by a separate service, quoted alongside this one where you have them.
- Microsoft's own retention. Microsoft's built-in retention and litigation hold policies are configured as part of managed IT support and are useful, but they live inside the tenant. If the tenant is compromised, so are they. This service is the copy outside.
What it costs
£3 per licensed user per month, excluding VAT, billed monthly with the rest of your services. Shared mailboxes and SharePoint sites are included at no charge, so you pay for people, not for the data they share. Storage is included; there is no separate charge per gigabyte.
How it starts
- 1Free IT Health CheckA short online check that benchmarks your security and business risk and tells you where you stand.
- 2Discovery callAn engineer, not a salesperson. What you have, what is broken, what it would cost to fix, in writing.
- 3OnboardingEverything moves across on a plan, with no gap in cover and nothing lost.
Questions people ask before signing
Does Office 365 need a backup?
Yes. Microsoft's service agreement covers keeping the service available, not recovering your data. Deleted items are recoverable for a limited window (30 to 93 days depending on the item) and then they are gone. Ransomware, a malicious leaver, a mistaken bulk delete and a compromised admin account all get past that window.
How much does Microsoft 365 backup cost?
£3 per licensed user per month, excluding VAT, including storage and restores. Shared mailboxes and SharePoint sites are backed up for free. It is usually the cheapest line on the invoice and the one people are most grateful for.
How long do you keep the data?
Seven years, in UK data centres. That is longer than HMRC and most regulators ask for, so a retention question from an auditor or insurer has a one-word answer.
How fast can you restore?
A single mailbox or file is usually back within the hour of you asking. A whole SharePoint site or tenant takes longer, depending on size, and we will give you a time when you ask.
Is this the same as Microsoft 365 Backup from Microsoft?
Microsoft now sells its own backup add-on. It is good for fast restores inside the tenant but it is still inside the tenant, billed per gigabyte, and administered by the same accounts an attacker would target. We use it where it fits and keep an external copy regardless.
Where is the data stored?
In UK data centres, outside your Microsoft tenant, encrypted in transit and at rest, and in an account separate from your Microsoft tenant so that a compromised Microsoft administrator cannot delete the backup.