Do you have control of your Microsoft 365 data? Can you access all the items you need, when you need to? The typical reaction is a nod, followed by “Of course I do,” or “Yep, Microsoft does it all”.
But how sure are you? Microsoft takes care of a lot, primarily providing a great service for their customer. But, this means their main focus is on Microsoft 365 underlying infrastructure and maintaining application uptime, not on protecting your data.
It’s a common misconception that Microsoft fully backs up your data on your behalf, and this leaves your organisation exposed to data loss when that data is left unattended. It’s the customer’s responsibility to manage and protect their vital business data, according to Microsoft’s Division of Responsibility Model. It’s also worth noting that while many of the built-in features within Microsoft 365 can feel like backups, none of them adheres to the common definition of a backup, which is a separate copy of data that is stored in a separate location where data can quickly and easily be recovered from when disaster strikes.
The Microsoft Division of Responsibility Model illustrates the areas of responsibility between you and Microsoft. It’s clear that you own your data and identities. You are responsible for protecting the security of your data and identities, on-premises resources, and the cloud components you control (which varies by service type). Regardless of the type of deployment, the following responsibilities are always retained by you: Data, Endpoints, Account, and Access Management.
While Microsoft offers several built-in tools to protect your data and help you recover when disaster strikes, the questions you should ask yourself are:
- Does this do enough?
- What recovery times and recovery points are available?
- What will it cost us if the data is lost or in time spent waiting for recovery?
Although mailbox data in Office 365 is secure, it also does not mean it is protected from deletion. Users, either by accident or on purpose, can remove their emails from the Inbox and Deleted Items folders or even purge them from the Recoverable Items folder. These are the most common causes of email data loss. Note, the following conditions with native Office 365:
- Permanently deleted emails can be recovered from Recoverable Items within 14 days (by default) or 30 days (option for Exchange Online mailboxes – you need to remember to set up the 30-day retention first). After that time, emails can’t be recovered.
- Emails purged from the Recoverable Items folder can’t be recovered.
A third-party backup solution is the only way to protect and recover in these scenarios.
If you’ve already made the smart business decision to deploy Microsoft Office 365, you now need to find a backup solution that offers you both complete access and complete control of your Microsoft 365 data and avoids the unnecessary risks of data loss.
With Comtec CleanCloud 365 Security Essentials, you can rest easy knowing that we protect your Microsoft 365 data from security threats and retention policy gaps. We back up your Office 365 data three times a day and can quickly restore it with industry-leading recovery flexibility. To find out more on how we can help your organisation protect its business-critical information, call our experts on 0800 008 7599.