You send emails in Outlook, hold meetings in Teams, and store your files in OneDrive. For many companies, Microsoft 365 is the digital heart of the organization. But what happens if an employee accidentally deletes an entire folder, if ransomware encrypts your files, or if a former colleague’s account is cleaned out? That’s often when you realize there’s no real backup. In this article, you’ll learn why a separate backup of Microsoft 365 is so important and how you can easily set it up through Minty Hosting.
The biggest misconception: “Doesn’t Microsoft already make backups?”
Many organizations assume that their data in Microsoft 365 is automatically and fully backed up. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Microsoft ensures that the service remains available and protects the infrastructure against outages in its data centers. However, as an organization, you are responsible for the data itself. This is known as the shared responsibility model.
Although deleted emails and files are first moved to the Recycle Bin, the Recycle Bin only stores items for a limited time. Once that period has expired, or if the Recycle Bin is emptied, your data is permanently gone. Even if files are overwritten or encrypted, the Recycle Bin won’t help you.
How to Lose Data in Microsoft 365
Data loss happens more often than you might think, and it's usually not caused by a Microsoft outage. The most common causes:
- Human error: An employee accidentally deletes a folder containing emails, a Teams channel, or an important file.
- Ransomware and hacks: Malicious actors encrypt or tamper with files in OneDrive, and those changes are neatly synced.
- Employees who have left the company: If an account is deleted to free up a license, that employee's mailbox and files will also be deleted.
- Synchronization errors: An error during synchronization can cause files to be overwritten with an older or empty version.
- Record-keeping requirements and compliance: You must be able to produce certain data for many years, for example, to meet tax record-keeping requirements or in the event of a dispute.
In all these cases, the same rule applies: without a separate backup, you're at the mercy of the limited Recycle Bin, which is often already empty by the time you discover the problem.
What do we back up from your Microsoft 365?
With Minty Hosting's Microsoft 365 backups, you can protect the components you work with every day:
- Outlook (Exchange Online): all your emails, as well as calendars and contacts.
- Microsoft Teams: Your team's data, so conversations and shared files don't get lost.
- OneDrive: Your employees' personal files and folders.
- SharePoint: your organization's shared document libraries and sites.
Your data is stored separately from Microsoft. This way, you always have an independent copy, even if something goes wrong in your Microsoft 365 environment itself.
For your entire tenant or for a single account
Not every organization has the same needs. That's why at Minty Hosting, you can choose what you want to secure:
- The entire tenant: We protect all users and components of your Microsoft 365 environment. New employees are automatically included in the backup, so no one is left out.
- Individual accounts: Do you want to secure only specific mailboxes or users—for example, those of executive management, the finance department, or a former employee? In that case, we’ll back up only those accounts.
That way, you only pay for what you really need, and you can always scale up to the full tenant later.
How a Microsoft 365 Backup Works Through Minty Hosting
- Integration: We securely integrate the backup environment with your Microsoft 365 tenant. You don't need to install anything yourself.
- Automatic backup: Email, Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint are then automatically and regularly backed up.
- Quick recovery: Using the self-service portal, you can restore a single email, a file, or an entire account in just a few minutes.
The Benefits at a Glance
- 7-year data retention: Your Microsoft 365 data remains secure and accessible for up to 7 years.
- Unlimited storage: no limits, even as your organization grows.
- Recovery in minutes: down to a single email or file.
- Compliance: Comply with legal retention periods and demonstrate that your data is stored securely.
- Personal assistance: We'll set up the backup for you and help you if you need to restore anything.
Checklist: Is Your Microsoft 365 Data Secure?
Try answering these questions for your own organization:
- Can you recover an email that was deleted three months ago?
- If ransomware encrypts your OneDrive, do you have a clean copy of your files?
- Do you retain the mailboxes and files of former employees without maintaining their licenses?
- Is there a copy of your data outside your own Microsoft 365 environment?
If you answer “no” or “I don’t know” to one or more questions, it’s a good idea to set up a separate backup.
Don't have Microsoft 365 yet?
Don't use Microsoft 365 yet, or are you thinking of switching? At Minty Hosting, you can easily sign up for Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium, with personalized support. You can add backup right away, so your data is secure from day one.
Conclusion
Microsoft 365 is reliable, but it’s not a backup solution. A deleted folder, a ransomware attack, or a cleaned-out account can easily result in the loss of important emails, Teams conversations, or files. With a separate backup of Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive—whether for your entire tenant or for individual accounts—you can be sure you’ll always have a copy that you can restore in just a few minutes.
Wondering how much a backup solution would cost for your organization? Check out Microsoft 365 backups and request a no-obligation quote, or call us at 023 230 5815.
