It's one of the most common — and most dangerous — misconceptions we encounter: "Our data is in Microsoft 365, so it's automatically backed up." Unfortunately, that's not how it works, and the gap catches businesses off guard every week.
What Microsoft actually guarantees
Microsoft guarantees the availability of its service — that the platform stays online. Under their shared-responsibility model, protecting your data is your responsibility. Microsoft is not going to restore files your team deleted three months ago, or recover a mailbox wiped by ransomware after the retention window closes.
How you can lose 365 data
- Accidental or malicious deletion by an employee
- A departing staff member's mailbox being removed
- Ransomware encrypting files that sync to the cloud
- A compromised account deleting data on purpose
The fix: third-party 365 backup
The solution is a dedicated, third-party backup of your Microsoft 365 environment — email, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams — with long retention and fast restore. It's inexpensive insurance against an expensive mistake, and it's a standard part of our cloud services and backup offerings.
Not sure whether your 365 data is actually protected? We'll check for free.
Need help putting this into practice? Kalre is a Northland-based Kansas City managed service provider serving businesses across the metro. Book a free IT consultation or call 816-648-1910.