Microsoft doesn't back up your Microsoft 365. We do.
Everybody assumes Microsoft or Google is backing up their mailboxes and OneDrive. They're not — their shared-responsibility model puts data recovery on you. When an intern accidentally deletes a shared folder or a departing employee's mailbox rolls off retention, you need a real backup you control. That's what we build.
You're on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace and haven't thought about backup because 'it's in the cloud, right?' Then somebody sends a support ticket at 4pm on Thursday: 'I deleted a folder from SharePoint by accident, can we get it back?' Microsoft's retention window covered it if you catch it in 30 days. After that: gone. Same for Google.
Meanwhile ransomware in 2025 isn't targeting your file server — it's targeting your OneDrive sync, mailbox, and SharePoint site. If your only 'backup' is Microsoft's native retention, one bad ransomware sync-up encrypts what version history you had.
Cloud backup — a real one, immutable, tenant-separated, and restore-tested — is a $3-8/user/month problem to fix. And usually a career-ending one to skip.
HOW WE FIX IT
01
Right vendor for the workload
For M365 and Google Workspace: Datto SaaS Protection, Barracuda Backup for M365, or Afi.ai — depending on your tenant size, retention needs, and integration preferences. For endpoint backup: Datto Endpoint Backup or CrashPlan Enterprise. For on-prem server replication: Veeam to S3/Wasabi/B2, or native cloud replication for anything already VM-shaped.
02
Immutable + tenant-isolated
Backups written to object storage with immutability enabled (S3 Object Lock, Azure Immutable Blob, Wasabi Object Lock). Backup vendor tenant separated from your production directory — an attacker who compromises your Entra ID admin can't also delete your backup history. Encryption keys under your control where possible.
03
Retention that matches your reality
Not 'forever' — that's expensive and rarely needed. Usually: 7 years for financial/regulated data, 3 years for standard business docs, 90 days for chat logs, indefinite for legal hold. We write the policy first, apply it in the tool second.
04
Test-restore quarterly, per workload type
Every quarter: a real restore of a real mailbox to a staging tenant, a shared drive item to a scratch folder, a server VM to a sandbox. Timed, reported, filed. The point is you know your actual RTO before you need it, not after.
WHAT YOU GET
●Vendor evaluation + selection (no kickbacks)
●Deployment + tenant integration
●Retention policy design + configuration
●Immutable storage backend (S3 Object Lock or equivalent)
●Cross-tenant credential isolation
●Restore runbooks (per workload type)
●Quarterly test-restore with written report
●Backup monitoring + alert routing
●Optional: legal-hold and eDiscovery integration
HOW THE ENGAGEMENT WORKS
Project + monthly
Design + deployment: project. Ongoing monitoring, quarterly restores, and vendor management: monthly retainer or included in a full managed plan.
Timeline
M365 or Google Workspace tenant backup: 1-2 weeks from kickoff to first full backup. Endpoint backup: 2-3 weeks depending on fleet size. Server replication to cloud: 2-4 weeks depending on data volume (bandwidth is often the bottleneck for initial seeding).
Rough cost
Backup vendor licensing: $3-8/user/month for M365/Google. Endpoint backup: $6-15/device/month. Server-to-cloud: variable, mostly cloud-storage cost. Our deployment fee: $3-8k depending on scope. Ongoing management: included in managed plan or $300-600/month standalone.
QUESTIONS WE GET
Isn't Microsoft's built-in retention enough?
For accidental single-file deletions caught within 30 days, usually yes. For anything longer than that, ransomware scenarios, mass deletion, tenant compromise, or legal-hold requirements — no. Microsoft's own documentation is clear about the shared responsibility split.
Which vendor is the best?
Depends on tenant size and integration needs. For small M365 tenants (under 50 users): Afi.ai is cost-effective. For mid-size with growing retention: Datto SaaS Protection. For enterprise-adjacent with eDiscovery needs: Barracuda or Veeam. We evaluate against your specific workload, not against a preferred partner discount.
How much data can you back up?
No practical cap on M365/Google backup (per-user, scales linearly). For server replication to cloud: 10TB-500TB is common; beyond that we architect differently.
What about compliance / legal hold?
Most backup vendors have legal-hold features. We configure them and document the retention policy so it maps to your record-retention policy or audit requirements.
Encryption — who holds the keys?
By default, the vendor. For higher-security tenants (financial, healthcare), we can configure customer-managed keys in KMS/Key Vault. Slight operational overhead, meaningful security improvement.