A common and costly assumption: “Our email and files are in Microsoft 365, so they’re backed up.” Microsoft keeps the service running with great reliability — but keeping a recoverable copy of your data is your responsibility, not theirs.
What Microsoft keeps
Microsoft keeps the platform available and durable against their own failures. When you delete an email or a file, it goes to a recycle bin or retention holding area — but only for a limited time. After that window passes, it’s gone. The same applies to data that is overwritten, or encrypted by ransomware.
What it doesn’t
Microsoft 365’s built-in retention is not a backup. It won’t reliably bring back an email deleted months ago, a file a departing employee wiped, or a mailbox hit by ransomware once the retention window has lapsed. There is no independent, long-term copy under your control.
Why a separate backup matters
A dedicated Microsoft 365 backup keeps a separate copy of your data, so it can be restored after it’s deleted, overwritten or encrypted — long after Microsoft’s own window closes. Here it comes in two levels: Email only, or the Full suite covering Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams, priced per user. It includes unlimited storage and retention, and can be added to any plan.
If you rely on Microsoft 365 — and most offices do — this is the gap most people don’t know they have. Talk to our team to close it.
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