Microsoft 365 BackupMicrosoft keeps Microsoft 365 running. It does not keep your data.
Our Microsoft 365 backup service, still often called Office 365 backup, copies Exchange Online mail, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams to UK storage outside Microsoft up to six times a day, and we do the restores. Without it, 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 is priced 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
Microsoft keeps it running. You keep the data.
The service agreement covers availability, not recovery. Everything on the right is your problem unless a copy exists outside the tenant.
Microsoft looks after
- The service stays up and the data centres run
- Deleted items recoverable for 30 to 93 days, then gone
- Retention and litigation hold, inside the tenant
Your problem, not Microsoft's
- Ransomware encrypting mail and files
- A leaver's mailbox purged, a site emptied by mistake
- A compromised admin deleting what they like
- Anything older than the recycle bin window
The separate copy we keep
Exchange mail, calendars, contacts
Up to six times a day
Teams channels, posts and files
Up to six times a day
OneDrive and SharePoint
Up to four times a day
- UK data centres
- Kept seven years
- Outside your tenant, separate account
Everything that matters in Microsoft 365
Exchange mailboxes (including shared mailboxes), calendars and contacts up to six times a day; Teams channels, posts and files up to six times a day; OneDrive and SharePoint files and site structure up to four times a day. All held in storage 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.
- On Google Workspace instead? Gmail, Drive, Calendar and Contacts are backed up the same way; see our Google Workspace backup page.
- 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.
- A few things Microsoft's backup interfaces do not expose. Public folders, SharePoint lists and pages, Loop pages, OneNote notebooks, Teams one-to-one chats and files protected by rights management are not backed up, and file backups keep the current version at each backup rather than every version in between. We check your tenant during setup and tell you if any of these matter to you.
What it costs
Priced per licensed user per month, so it moves with your headcount, and 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. We quote after a short discovery call, once we know your setup.
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.
Free, no sales call needed
Two free checks. Know where you stand.
Domain email check
Can someone send email pretending to be you? Is your real email landing in junk? Type your domain and find out in under a minute.
IT Health Check
A short set of questions that scores your security and business risk, and tells you what to fix first. 15 to 20 minutes on your own.
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?
It is priced per licensed user per month, including storage and restores, so the figure depends on how many people you have. Shared mailboxes and SharePoint sites are backed up for free. We quote after a short discovery call, once we know your setup.
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 during backup, and in an account separate from your Microsoft tenant so that a compromised Microsoft administrator cannot delete the backup.
Do you back up Exchange Online?
Yes. Every Exchange Online mailbox, including shared mailboxes, with calendars and contacts, is backed up up to six times a day to UK storage outside Microsoft. A single deleted email, a whole mailbox or a leaver's mailbox from years ago can be restored.
Do you offer a SharePoint backup service?
Yes. SharePoint sites, document libraries and their structure are backed up up to four times a day, and SharePoint sites are included at no extra charge. One file, a folder or a whole site can be put back to an earlier point, which is what you need when a sync or a bulk delete empties a library.
Do you back up OneDrive for Business?
Yes. Every user's OneDrive is backed up up to four times a day, and it stays in the backup after the person leaves, so their files are not lost when the Microsoft licence is released.
How often is it backed up?
Exchange mail, calendars and contacts and Teams up to six times a day; OneDrive and SharePoint up to four times a day.
Read before you call
- Microsoft 365 backup: what Microsoft keeps, what it does not
- A Microsoft 365 account has been compromised: what to do
- Joiners and leavers: closing accounts without losing the data
- Where should your files live? OneDrive, SharePoint or a server
- Google Workspace backup
- Server and device backup and disaster recovery