Your business relies on emails, documents, shared files and cloud collaboration every day. Losing access to that information can disrupt employees and important operations.
Microsoft 365 Backup provides native backup and recovery capabilities for supported Exchange Online, SharePoint and OneDrive information.
IRON IT Group helps organisations assess Microsoft 365 backup requirements, plan protection policies, understand retention and licensing, and establish appropriate restoration and operational procedures.
Microsoft 365 supports many essential business activities, from email communication and file collaboration to team projects and document management.
Although Microsoft provides platform resilience and various built-in recovery features, these capabilities may not meet every organisation's backup and restoration requirements.
Accidental deletion, unwanted modifications, malicious activity and operational mistakes can create situations where an earlier version of business information is needed.
Microsoft 365 Backup provides additional recovery capabilities for supported Microsoft 365 data, helping organisations prepare for selected data-loss incidents.
A suitable protection approach should consider what information is important, who owns it, how long recovery points are required and which administrators can restore it.
Explore Microsoft 365 Data Protection →
The native Microsoft 365 Backup product supports three principal workloads. Appropriate policies determine which eligible accounts, mailboxes and sites are protected.
Protect supported Exchange Online user and shared mailboxes according to the configured policies.
Microsoft 365 Backup provides restoration options for supported mailbox content, including selected email, calendar, contact and task items.
Protect eligible SharePoint sites containing documents, project information and shared business content.
Restore supported sites to earlier states and use granular file or folder recovery for eligible recent restore points.
Protect eligible OneDrive accounts containing important employee-created and business-related files.
Explore full account restoration and supported granular file or folder recovery from recent protected restore points.
Microsoft Teams channel files stored in protected SharePoint sites may be covered through SharePoint backup. Native Microsoft 365 Backup does not currently back up Teams chat messages.
A Microsoft 365 backup project should consider how information is protected, how restoration works and who is responsible for the environment.
Review existing Microsoft 365 data, critical workloads, licensing and recovery requirements.
Define suitable protection scopes for supported SharePoint sites, OneDrive accounts and Exchange mailboxes.
Review available recovery points and how the selected backup policies affect recoverability.
Explore eligible individual mailbox items and recent SharePoint or OneDrive file and folder restoration.
Choose supported recovery windows based on business, legal and operational requirements.
Review appropriate administrative permissions, protection policies and security responsibilities.
Plan suitable test restorations and checks to validate backup and recovery procedures.
Review relevant activity, policy status, billing and future support requirements.
These screenshots are from Microsoft Learn documentation. They show examples of policy setup, management and restoration rather than fictional dashboards or customer environments.
Configure eligible workloads and establish appropriate protection policies.
View Microsoft Documentation →
Review protection policies, supported configuration options and operational status.
View Microsoft Documentation →
Select appropriate recovery points and evaluate the available restoration methods.
View Microsoft Documentation →Microsoft documentation screenshots are illustrative and may show earlier interface versions. Actual screens and features vary by tenant, permissions and current Microsoft releases.
A backup is useful only when the information it protects can be restored to a usable state.
Microsoft 365 Backup offers restoration options for supported Exchange Online, SharePoint and OneDrive workloads, including selecting an appropriate prior recovery point.
The restoration method matters. A full SharePoint site or OneDrive account rollback can replace changes made after the chosen recovery point.
Where supported, newer granular restoration features can help recover specific files or folders without restoring an entire site or account.
Restoration should therefore be carefully authorised and validated, particularly when information has changed since the selected recovery point.
A simplified decision process for restoring protected Microsoft 365 information.
Organisations have different needs for how far back they may need to restore business information.
Microsoft 365 Backup supports configurable recovery windows. As of October 2026, supported SharePoint and OneDrive windows can extend up to ten years, while Exchange Online offers shorter supported options.
Restore point frequency also varies according to the workload and the age of the information.
A longer recovery window does not automatically create historical restore points that were never captured or have already expired.
The chosen settings should reflect operational risks, applicable records requirements and Microsoft 365 Backup pricing.
Discuss Backup Retention →Data loss may result from everyday mistakes, unwanted file changes or deliberate malicious activity.
Microsoft 365 Backup is designed to support recovery from certain incidents involving supported Microsoft 365 information.
Microsoft describes append-only backup storage and associated measures intended to protect recovery data from unwanted modification.
However, a backup service is not a replacement for cyber security, identity protection, conditional access, incident response or wider business continuity planning.
Following a ransomware or account compromise incident, the organisation must consider containment, credential security and whether the selected restoration point is appropriate before returning information to production.
Your employees rely on access to business information to communicate with customers, complete projects and work together.
When important information is deleted or changed, restoring it can become an operational priority.
A practical recovery strategy should help IT teams understand which data is critical, what restoration options are available and how to minimise further disruption.
Explore Microsoft 365 Recovery Planning →Microsoft 365 Backup uses a consumption-based pricing model for protected data.
Microsoft's published US list price is $0.15 per GB per month for protected content. Actual billing depends on the applicable charge model, data volumes and commercial arrangements.
The service requires appropriate billing configuration, with an Azure subscription used for pay-as-you-go charges.
Organisations should assess the amount of information being protected, available retention options, included source licences and any additional implementation or support services.
Backup policies, employees, data volumes and organisational priorities change over time. Ongoing review helps maintain appropriate recovery readiness.
Review eligible sites, accounts and mailboxes against business priorities and configured protection policies.
Assess policy configuration and the impact of changes to Microsoft 365 services and data.
Maintain guidance for authorised recovery of supported Microsoft 365 information.
Review appropriate permissions and the responsibilities of backup and recovery administrators.
Monitor relevant billing information and the effect of changing protected-data volumes.
Plan suitable testing, documentation reviews and improvements to business recovery procedures.
Ongoing monitoring, restoration assistance and support hours must be defined in the agreed service scope.
A Microsoft 365 backup engagement should establish protection requirements, the appropriate technical configuration and clear recovery responsibilities.
Review critical Microsoft 365 workloads, important data and existing recovery arrangements.
Evaluate licensing, protected-data scope, recovery windows, security and costs.
Set up agreed backup policies and appropriate administrator permissions.
Confirm protection coverage and assess suitable restoration testing.
Maintain recovery guidance and reassess policies as requirements change.
Answers to common questions about Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, restoration, security, retention and pricing.
Microsoft 365 Backup is Microsoft's native backup and recovery product for supported Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business information. It provides backup policies and restoration capabilities managed through supported Microsoft 365 administration experiences.
It provides additional recovery options for important Microsoft 365 information following supported incidents such as accidental deletion, unwanted modifications and certain malicious activities.
The native service protects eligible Exchange Online mailboxes, SharePoint sites and OneDrive accounts. Protection depends on supported workloads, configured policies and applicable requirements.
Not as a complete Teams backup. Channel files stored in SharePoint may be protected when the relevant SharePoint site is included. Teams chat messages and other Teams-only content are not currently covered by the native Microsoft 365 Backup product.
Yes. The service provides supported Exchange Online restoration options, including granular recovery of relevant mailbox items. Available results depend on protection coverage, restore points and service constraints.
Yes. Granular recovery for eligible SharePoint and OneDrive files and folders became generally available in September 2026. It applies to supported recovery points within the most recent 14 days.
Yes. Supported full-site recovery can return a protected SharePoint site to an earlier state. Depending on the chosen method, restoring in place may replace content and changes made after the selected recovery point.
Yes. Microsoft 365 Backup provides supported OneDrive account restoration, along with granular file and folder recovery for eligible recent restore points.
Microsoft documents approximately ten-minute recovery-point intervals for full SharePoint site and OneDrive account restoration during the preceding 14 days, with weekly recovery points further back. Exchange Online has ten-minute recovery-point frequency across its supported recovery window. Granular file and folder recovery has separate limitations.
SharePoint and OneDrive policies support three months, six months, or whole-year windows from one through ten years. Exchange Online supports three months, six months, one year or two years. The default remains one year, and changing a policy does not recreate expired or previously nonexistent recovery points.
No. Native Microsoft 365 Backup is a separate pay-as-you-go service. Eligible source workloads still require appropriate Microsoft 365 or Exchange/SharePoint entitlements.
Microsoft's published US list price is $0.15 per GB per month of protected content. Actual charges depend on the billing model and protected-data measurements. Implementation, administration or third-party services may have additional costs.
Microsoft 365 Backup uses pay-as-you-go billing linked to an appropriate Azure subscription. Billing configuration and required administrator permissions should be checked against Microsoft's current setup guidance.
The native Microsoft 365 Backup service uses Microsoft's backup infrastructure and administrative experience. Separate partner solutions built on Microsoft 365 Backup Storage are also available, with their own features and commercial terms.
Microsoft 365 Backup Storage is the platform and API foundation that powers native Microsoft 365 Backup and compatible third-party backup applications. It is distinct from the Microsoft 365 Backup administration product.
It provides recovery capabilities for relevant protected data and uses backup storage measures designed to resist unwanted modification. However, it does not prevent all ransomware incidents or replace endpoint security, identity controls and incident response planning.
Microsoft documents geographically redundant storage within the Microsoft 365 service's applicable data residency requirements. Organisations should verify the specific residency arrangements for their tenant and obligations.
Yes. Supported protection policies can cover selected eligible mailboxes, OneDrive accounts and SharePoint sites. Additional workload-wide policy capabilities are available, with some features subject to preview status and eligibility.
Certain restoration options support alternate locations, depending on the workload and restore type. The administrator should review the effects on access, existing content and recovered information before proceeding.
No. Backup and recovery address different requirements from legal retention, records management and eDiscovery. Microsoft Purview or other relevant services may still be required for applicable governance obligations.
Microsoft provides performance expectations for supported large-scale restores, but actual recovery time varies according to workload, data volume, item counts, restore method and service conditions. Specific restoration times are not guaranteed by this page.
Yes. Supported policy settings can be managed through the relevant Microsoft 365 administration tools. Some changes, especially shortening a recovery window, can affect older recovery points and require careful review.
A Microsoft 365 backup review can be scoped to examine supported workloads, policy configuration, retention, recovery procedures, security and cost. Available implementation and support responsibilities should be agreed before work begins.
Support availability, incident response and restoration assistance depend on the agreed service contract. The presence of automated backup technology does not automatically imply continuous human support.
Timing depends on tenant readiness, permissions, billing setup, protected-data scope, policy complexity and required validation activities.
Explore related services for business continuity, Microsoft Azure and information governance.
Explore recovery planning, business impact assessments, cloud protection and disaster recovery testing.
Explore Disaster Recovery →Explore Azure infrastructure, backup services, virtual machines, security and cloud management.
Explore Microsoft Azure →Explore classification, data protection, retention, information governance and compliance-related capabilities.
Explore Microsoft Purview →Talk to IRON IT Group about Exchange Online, SharePoint and OneDrive backup, restoration, data protection policies, retention, security and business continuity.
