The Top 5 Reasons You Need Backup and Data Recovery for Office 365

Today, Microsoft Office 365 can only be described as ubiquitous. In fact, Microsoft recently reported that Office 365 now has more than 200 million active commercial users. Many of those users probably assume that their Office 365 data is securely backed up in the cloud and easily recoverable. They’d be wrong. While there’s no denying that Office 365 offers a great suite of products, it is designed for productivity. And, although Microsoft guarantees 99.9 percent uptime for its products, plenty of disasters occur where the issue isn’t uptime, it’s the integrity of your data. Doesn’t Microsoft back up my Office 365 files, you ask? The answer is yes. But if you dig down, you’ll encounter five critical reasons you still need an effective outside backup and recovery solution. Any one of these reasons should give you plenty of motivation to add a backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solution so you can mitigate the data disasters we describe below. Let’s take a look at them one by one:

1. People make mistakes

Who hasn’t saved a file only to realize they’ve accidentally overwritten still desperately needed data? Are there any organizations that haven’t had files deleted in error? Unfortunately, most of the time Microsoft can’t help, because Office 365 doesn’t allow you to go back more than thirty days to recover previous versions of files. That’s why you need a BDR solution that creates multiple, incremental, automated daily backups. Storing frequent backups makes it possible for you to go back to the day of your choosing and recover all or part of your lost data. A solution with advanced search and browse features will make it even easier to locate and restore specific backed-up files. Then everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.

2. Hackers sometimes win

The trend is clear: Your organization will likely be hit by ransomware, a virus, or another form of attack at some point. If successful, it can only mean trouble. While Microsoft does back up your data, it makes no guarantees that it can recover your impacted files. Even if Microsoft can help, it will be on its schedule, not yours. Here’s where a cloud-based BDR solution saves the day. Your backups are always encrypted and safely stored, and with a BDR solution that delivers instant remediation, you will be up and running in no time after an attack.

3. Employees move on

Organizations typically deactivate an employee’s Office 365 account when they part ways. But what happens if you discover you need to find an old email or file in that person’s account? If it has been less than 30 days, no problem. If it has been more than 30 days, big problem—once an account is deleted, Microsoft stores those files for only that long. With a BDR solution that creates frequent, multiple backups, Office 365 data is always available and accessible, whether you need that data days or years down the road. And a cloud-based BDR solution really adds value because you’ll never run out of backup storage space. Also, consider a solution that lets you set up, monitor, and manage all client accounts from a single portal, without having to log into and out of each account. That will save you tons of admin time as people come and go and your organization evolves.

4. Employees get even

Not everyone who is part of an organization is necessarily a happy camper. In fact, some can get downright malicious. So, what happens when you discover that a former team member deleted all kinds of critical Office 365 files before they left the organization? Microsoft doesn’t guarantee you can recover those files, and if the company can, it will likely take a painful amount of time. Although it’s just about impossible to prevent a disgruntled employee from deleting files, choosing a solution that creates backups that can never be deleted or changed should be on your list of must-haves. That way, no matter how much damage is done, it can just as quickly be undone.

5. Apps can wreak havoc

Organizations use all kinds of third-party apps today to fuel Office 365 productivity and support operations. Sometimes app integrations go awry, though, and the app itself overwrites critical data. How do you recover those files? And there still aren’t any guarantees you’ll get your data back, even if it’s within that 30-day window. Once more, the right solution will save the day—with frequent cloud backups, it’s easy to quickly restore overwritten data, no matter what. Office 365 is hugely popular for good reasons. Unfortunately, backup and disaster recovery isn’t one of them. Complementing your Office 365 with an outside BDR solution that addresses each of the issues we’ve talked about reduces your risks, all without limiting the benefits that Office 365 delivers.   Keep critical information always safe, accessible, and optimized with StorageCraft’s data protection, data management, and business continuity solutions. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our Cloud Backup for Office 365 and other solutions.