Why the Need for Microsoft 365 Enterprise Backup Is on the Way Up

Data protection is increasingly becoming essential for organizations using the Microsoft Office 365 suite. But where has the need for data protection come from?

Businesses using Office 365 rely on the suite for communication, productivity, and business continuity. The suite has become an extension of the company, and that’s partly why a Microsoft 365 Enterprise Backup solution is a must-have.

There are other data protection reasons why every business should consider an external backup data service. This guide will go over the reasons and tell you exactly why every business must employ a reliable backup solution for protecting critical data.

So with all that said, let’s get into the reasons.

Reason 1: Protection From Internal and External Threats

Data backups are integral for business continuity. Part of the reason is the increasing dangers from internal and external threats. These threats can be anything from hackers to disgruntled employees and natural disasters.

Backups exist to protect data and prevent data loss. An enterprise backup solution performs several roles. Not only does this solution offer multiple data backup options (automated backups, cloud backup, etc) but it offers more ways to manage backups.

The most common data backup strategy is to store backups locally. However, local storage is a massive data security risk, especially if you don’t have another data storage location. You could be content with keeping your backup data storage local, but in case of natural disasters, you’re risking your backups from being destroyed.

Microsoft 365 enterprise backup solutions mitigate these risks by storing your backups on secure servers and in multiple locations, essentially proving more ways to restore data in case of an emergency.

Reason 2: Microsoft 365 Doesn’t Offer Enough

Microsoft offers native features for data protection of important applications and services such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, etc.

Unfortunately, Microsoft’s native data protection and backup features aren’t enough when it comes to protecting your digital environment. Microsoft clearly emphasizes the “shared responsibility” model. This model states that Microsoft is responsible for the availability of its applications and services, but you’re responsible for the data on the Office 365 suite.

That leaves you with a particular conundrum. Do you solely rely on the native Office 365 backup features, or do you go with an enterprise solution? The answer is always the latter. A Microsoft enterprise data backup and recovery solution promises rapid recovery of data backup files stored on external servers.

These solutions also take into account the human error factor, giving you more ways to prepare for disaster recovery. In addition, third-party managed service providers offer recovery support, unlimited storage for backups, and a centralized management console where you can manage SharePoint backups, OneDrive backups, MS Teams backups, etc.

Simply put, an enterprise backup solution is a comprehensive backup solution for all backup jobs, including automatic backups, scheduled backups, and more.

Reason 3: Legal and Compliance Requirements

Keeping backups of important company data isn’t only for data loss prevention. In many cases, these solutions allow for recovering data for legal and compliance requirements. Legal and compliance regulations require businesses and organizations to store data in case of litigation.

Microsoft’s native feature, eDiscovery, is intended for that. However, it’s not as fleshed out as enterprise solutions. Third-party MS Office enterprise tools store data on their global private cloud, essentially ensuring that accidentally deleted files can always be retrieved in just a few clicks.

Reason 4: Retention Policy Gaps

Retention policies are not backups. A retention policy helps businesses and organizations comply with regulations, laws, and internal policies regarding data. These policies state under which circumstances data can be deleted safely.

Unfortunately, Microsoft’s native retention policies are difficult to keep up and manage. Creating these policies can be a confusing matter. Third-party backup tools, on the other hand, allow you to create the ideal retention period and fill up gaps in your existing policies. In addition, these tools offer a centralized management console where you can manage all content policies.

Reason 5: Email Continuity

Email is the most important communication channel in modern business. Companies rely on email for all internal and external communications. Unfortunately, email is also the preferred medium for cybercriminals.

So how does an enterprise backup solution ensure email continuity? Third-party tools protect data from the entire Office 365 suite, which also includes mailbox data and teams. The solution can help you back up your Outlook mailboxes and ensure threat actors have a difficult time gaining access to your mailboxes.

This is all due to spam and malware protection, email signature and disclaimer, and email encryption features. All of these features ensure email continuity, which in turn ensures business continuity.

Conclusion

The need to protect your digital work environment becomes more important than ever. Microsoft’s native data protection and recovery features aren’t perfect. As a matter of fact, Microsoft recommends using third-party enterprise solutions for all of your data protection, backup, and recovery needs.

Therefore, why risk business continuity when you can protect data from the Office suite and have a reliable and rapid recovery solution on-premise to protect you?