Office 365 backup and archive are two terms often used interchangeably. As you align your data storage methodology goals, it is crucial that you first know and understand their difference.
Techopedia defines data archiving as the long terms process of data storage and retention. Archived data is not often in use now, but it is possible to restore it in the future when you need it.
On the other hand, data backup is the duplication of data for retrieval purposes in case of loss. It involves creating a second set of all your data such that in case of a cyber-attack or natural disaster, you can restore it. Data is valuable in any organization, and it is; therefore, backup is essential.
Office 365 Backup & Archiving
Email backup is crucial for compliance and recovery from a virus infection on different mailboxes. In the past, organizations struggled with recoverability when they needed to back up emails to the cloud.
However, you should not assume that that Microsoft takes care of everything. Maintaining the service's uptime is the primary Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for Microsoft to Office 365 clients. This ensures the customers get the data whenever they need it but only in the form they provided it. Therefore, in the case of data corruption, there would be serious problems.
You have to do a regular backup of your data; otherwise, it may not be secure due to terms of services, and the data will go away at some point.
Additionally, if there is an issue with your emails, it replicates to the entire Microsoft Office 365 environment. But backup alone is not sufficient. There is a need to archive data for numerous reasons, including compliance, environmental optimization, and legal exposure.
Let's look at some of the reasons why Office 365 backup & archiving is essential.
1. Storage Management
The corporate policy may require that you continue storing emails even after an employee leaves the company. Maintenance of that data means you continue paying for the mailbox.
2. Litigation Support
When you don't have an archiving solution, it is very tedious to provide e-discovery data in case of a lawsuit against your company. That is because the process includes email searching and file searching and can only be easier with archiving.
3. Compliance
Archiving is a requirement for an organization in sectors such as finance and healthcare. There are regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), HIPAA, and FINRA, which organizations in those areas have to comply with.
What Happens When you Fail to Backup Office 365?
There are serious consequences when you fail to backup office 365 data. First, you have limitations on the access and control of your data. Besides, there are retention policy gaps and threats of data loss. Without Office 365 backup, you face security susceptibilities and regulatory exposure.
Regardless of the company's size, it is critical to have solid data security in place. Nowadays, one mistake could damage the network or data for a whole organization. It could be phishing, spam, viruses, or even zero-day attacks.
With all those threats, there is an increased need for vigilance at all times. Most organizations are responsible for guarding the sensitive data entrusted to them, whether through encryption, which secures the data in transit or using Data Loss Prevention Policies, which stop the data from being sent.
Most organizations today have migrated their company's' emails to office 365. They are not stopping at that but are going beyond to search for the best office backup. That is backing up their office 365 environments either in the cloud or on-premises.
Take Action
The windows of the opportunity offered by Microsoft for recovery of deleted data are very narrow. If you are unlucky to realize the error on time, the data recovery process is inefficient, and you end up frustrated.
Office 365 back up facilitates operations such as the development of backup sets, data restoration, or retention policies. We can help you down the road to data safety. Contact us today; we are more than willing to assist.
