In short: Microsoft 365 backup software copies Exchange Online mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint sites and Teams data to separate storage outside your Microsoft tenant, on a schedule, so you can restore individual items or whole accounts after deletion, ransomware or account compromise. It is usually licensed per user, often with unlimited storage and retention options.
Why back up Microsoft 365?
Microsoft runs a highly resilient service, but resilience is not the same as backup. Microsoft's responsibility is keeping the platform available; protecting your data from deletion, malicious change and long-term loss is largely yours. The built-in tools help, but they have limits:
- Recycle bins and deleted item retention are time-limited, after which content is gone
- Retention policies preserve content for compliance but are not designed for quick, granular restores
- Ransomware and compromised accounts can encrypt or delete files that then sync across devices
- Leavers: when a user's licence is removed, their mailbox and OneDrive are deleted after a grace period unless you act
Independent backup keeps copies outside your tenant, under a separate set of credentials, so a problem in Microsoft 365, whether a mistake or an attack, does not also reach your backups. It also lets you keep data for leavers without paying for a full Microsoft 365 licence.
Microsoft 365 backup: vendors and products we supply
- Acronis: Backup, disaster recovery, EDR, email security, RMM and protected servers on one platform.
- Acronis Email Archiving: Immutable Microsoft 365 email archive with legal hold and eDiscovery.
- Acronis Microsoft 365 Backup: Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams and Entra ID backup, per seat or per GB.
- Acronis Protected 365: Seven Microsoft 365 protection capabilities from one Acronis console.
- Axcient: x360Recover BCDR, x360Cloud Microsoft 365 backup and x360Sync file sync.
- Axcient x360Cloud: Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup with SmartSearch.
- Commvault: Commvault Cloud backup and recovery for SaaS, cloud and on-premises data.
- Commvault Cloud platform: Backup, replication and cyber recovery packages for hybrid workloads.
- Dropsuite: Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup, Entra ID protection and email archiving.
- Dropsuite Email archiving: Journaling email archive with eDiscovery and legal hold, plus SaaS backup.
- Dropsuite Entra ID backup: Point-in-time backup of Entra ID users, groups, roles and policies.
- Dropsuite SaaS Backup: Per-user backup for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace with point-in-time restores.
- Hornetsecurity: Microsoft 365 email security, archiving, backup and compliance, per user.
- Hornetsecurity 365 Total Backup: Microsoft 365 backup with unlimited storage and self-service restores, per user.
- Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection: Plans 1 to 4: Microsoft 365 email security, archiving, backup and compliance.
- Keepit: Independent, immutable backup for Microsoft 365, Entra ID and other SaaS apps.
- Keepit Entra ID backup: Backup for Entra ID objects, Conditional Access and Intune policies.
- Keepit Microsoft 365 backup: Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams backup with unlimited storage.
- Redstor: Hardware-free cloud backup for Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Azure and Xero.
- Redstor Microsoft 365 backup: Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams backup with InstantData recovery.
What to look for
- Coverage: Exchange Online mail, calendars and contacts, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams conversations and files, and Planner or groups if you use them
- Backup frequency: several times a day is typical
- Granular and bulk restore: a single email, a folder, or an entire site, back to the original location or exported
- Storage location: UK data centres if you need data kept in the UK
- Immutability and separate admin access for the backup console
- Search and eDiscovery across backed-up data, useful for subject access requests under UK GDPR
- Automatic protection of new users
- Teams coverage detail: channel messages, files and private chats are handled differently by different products, so check exactly what is protected
How Microsoft 365 backup is licensed
Microsoft 365 backup is nearly always licensed per protected user, usually with unlimited storage. Shared mailboxes and SharePoint sites are counted differently by different vendors, so check how your estate will be measured. Monthly and annual terms are both available. Products include Dropsuite (also sold as NinjaOne SaaS Backup), Hornetsecurity 365 Total Backup, Acronis and Axcient.
We do not sell Microsoft 365 licences on this site. For those, see Microsoft licensing from Forever Group.
Ask too whether the price includes storage for leavers' data, since keeping it for years can matter more than the number of current users.
How to choose
- Decide which workloads you need: mail only, or OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams too.
- Choose retention, including how long to keep leavers' data.
- Check where backups are stored and how the vendor counts shared mailboxes.
- Confirm the restore experience with a trial: restore a mailbox folder and a SharePoint library.
- Secure the backup console with MFA and separate admin accounts.
- Document who can restore what, and how a restore request is approved, so a single compromised account cannot both delete data and remove the backups.
For protecting Microsoft 365 from attacks in the first place, see email security software and Microsoft 365 security.
How we help
We set up Microsoft 365 backup with the right retention, protect new users automatically and help you restore when needed. Licences sit on your Forever Systems account. Contact us for a quote.
How Forever Systems supplies your software licences
Forever Systems Ltd supplies business software subscriptions to UK organisations from one account, with one monthly invoice and a UK team who know the products.
- The right edition first time: we check what you need before you buy, so you are not paying for features you will never use
- Monthly or annual terms where the vendor offers them, and help timing renewals and commitments
- Licence changes handled for you: add or remove users, upgrade editions and true-up without starting a new contract
- Deployment and support from engineers who run these products every day, not just a reseller account
- Consolidated billing and renewal reminders so nothing lapses unexpectedly
We work with businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations of all sizes.
Need a licence quote or a second opinion on your renewal?
Tell Forever Systems what you need and we will come back to you by email with options, not a hard sell.
Contact usFrequently asked questions
Does Microsoft back up my Microsoft 365 data?
Microsoft replicates data to keep the service available and provides recycle bins and retention features, but these are time-limited and are not an independent backup you control. Third-party backup fills that gap.
Can I back up a leaver's mailbox without a Microsoft licence?
Yes. Most Microsoft 365 backup products keep the backed-up data after the user is removed, so you can retain it for as long as your retention setting allows.
Is Microsoft 365 backup licensed per user?
Usually, yes, often with unlimited storage. Check how each vendor counts shared mailboxes, SharePoint sites and Teams.
Where is my backup data stored?
That depends on the vendor and plan. Many offer UK data centres; we confirm the location when we quote.