Microsoft 365 backup options that help you recover when data goes missing
Microsoft 365 is brilliant, but it is not a complete backup plan. Emails, files, folders, SharePoint sites and Teams data can still be deleted, encrypted, overwritten or lost through account compromise and human error.
We help schools, SMEs and professional firms understand their Microsoft 365 backup options and choose a sensible way to protect the data they rely on every day.
Whether you need simple cloud backup, stronger recovery options, compliance evidence or support for cyber insurance conversations, we can help you compare Redstor, Axcient x360Cloud and ConnectWise Cloud Backup in plain English.
Compare Microsoft 365 backup options for real recovery
Black Swan Cyber Security Solutions helps schools, SMEs and professional firms compare Microsoft 365 backup solutions for Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, Entra ID, recovery needs, compliance questions and budget.
We support Redstor, Axcient x360Cloud and ConnectWise Cloud Backup. That means we can recommend the right Microsoft 365 backup service instead of forcing every organisation into one platform.
Glitch & Black Swan explain
The folder has gone. How do you get it back?
An accidental deletion, an overwritten file or a compromised account can leave you looking for work you thought was safely stored. A backup plan starts with knowing what you need to recover and how you will recover it.
Glitch
Tidying up a little too enthusiastically
“You weren’t still using that folder, were you?”
The shared folder disappeared weeks ago. Nobody noticed until the next project meeting. Glitch is hoping the version you need is no longer available when somebody finally asks for it.
Black Swan Cyber
Your security partner
“Let’s check what we can restore, and from when.”
We help you choose backup coverage for the mailboxes, files and other Microsoft 365 data your organisation relies on. We agree how long copies need keeping, help check backup results and test restores, and support recovery alongside your IT team. The aim is to get useful data back where you need it.
Microsoft 365 has recovery tools. Your backup plan needs to match your recovery needs.
Recycle bins, version history and retention settings can help, but their scope and limits matter. Separate backup adds recovery options based on the service and retention you choose. Coverage varies between platforms, so we check the details with you.
Does Microsoft 365 need separate backup?
Yes, if the data matters to your organisation. Microsoft keeps the service running, but your organisation still needs a clear way to recover from accidental deletion, malicious changes, account compromise, ransomware, sync problems and admin mistakes.
Microsoft 365 is not a full backup plan
Retention, recycle bins and version history can help, but they are not the same as an independent backup and recovery service.
Cloud data can still be lost
Emails, files, folders, Teams data and shared documents can be deleted, changed, encrypted or damaged.
Recovery needs to be proven
A backup product is only useful if someone knows what is protected, how to restore it and how long recovery may take.
What is Microsoft 365 backup?
Microsoft 365 backup is an independent copy of your cloud data that gives you a clearer way to recover if emails, files, folders, Teams data or SharePoint documents are deleted, overwritten, encrypted or damaged.
It is sometimes described as Microsoft 365 cloud backup, Microsoft 365 data backup or Microsoft 365 backup and recovery. The goal is the same: protect the data your organisation relies on every day and make restoration possible when Microsoft 365 retention, recycle bins or version history are not enough.
Backup
A separate, recoverable copy of Microsoft 365 data such as email, OneDrive files, SharePoint sites and Teams content.
Recovery
The ability to restore missing, changed or damaged data back to where it belongs, or to another safe location when needed.
Evidence
Useful proof for leadership teams, governors, auditors and cyber insurers that key cloud data is protected and recoverable.
Does Microsoft 365 include backup?
Microsoft 365 includes useful resilience, retention and recovery features, but that does not automatically mean your organisation has a complete independent backup plan. Microsoft keeps the Microsoft 365 platform running. You are still responsible for deciding how your organisation protects and restores its own data.
What Microsoft provides
Service availability, platform resilience, recycle bins, version history and retention features depending on your licensing and configuration.
What separate backup adds
An independent recovery route for accidental deletion, malicious deletion, ransomware, account compromise, sync problems and admin mistakes.
Microsoft 365 backup pricing and cost
As a rough guide, Microsoft 365 backup starts from £4 per licensed mailbox, per month ex VAT. In practical terms, if you pay Microsoft for a licence for that account, you should normally assume it needs a backup licence too.
Shared mailboxes are usually included at no extra backup licence cost. We can also choose to back up individual users rather than every account, so the final cost depends on who and what you need to protect.
The cheapest Microsoft 365 backup tool is not always the safest choice. The real question is whether you can recover the right data quickly enough when something goes wrong.
Licensed users and mailboxes
Microsoft 365 backup starts from £4 per licensed mailbox, per month ex VAT. Shared mailboxes are usually included free, and individual users can be selected for backup.
Data and workloads
Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, Google Workspace and Entra ID can all affect the right product choice.
Management and restore support
Some organisations want software only. Others need a managed Microsoft 365 backup service with restore help and evidence.
What can Microsoft 365 backup protect?
Microsoft 365 backup should be considered across the places your staff actually work. For many organisations, that is no longer just email. It is also OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams and the identity settings that control access.
Exchange and Outlook email
Recover deleted mailboxes, missing emails, folders and business correspondence.
OneDrive backup
Protect user files from accidental deletion, sync mistakes, overwrites and account compromise.
SharePoint backup
Protect shared files, document libraries, sites and collaboration spaces used across the organisation.
Teams backup
Protect Teams-related files and collaboration data that often becomes the organisation’s working filing cabinet.
Mailbox backup
Recover important mailbox data for active users, leavers, shared mailboxes and historic business records.
Entra ID backup
Where needed, protect users, groups, roles, access settings and identity configuration from mistakes or compromise.
Google Workspace backup
Useful if your organisation uses Google Workspace as well as, or instead of, Microsoft 365.
Recovery evidence
Support internal reviews, cyber insurance questions, school governance and audit conversations.
Microsoft 365 backup and recovery: what are you recovering from?
Good backup planning starts with the recovery scenario. A restore needed after a simple deletion is very different from recovery after account compromise, ransomware or a SharePoint clean-up mistake.
Accidental deletion
A user deletes an email, folder or file and only realises it mattered weeks or months later.
Malicious deletion
A compromised account or unhappy leaver removes important data before anyone notices.
Ransomware or encryption
Files are encrypted, damaged or synchronised back into cloud storage after a device compromise.
Overwritten files
A good version of a document is overwritten and the built-in recovery route is not enough.
SharePoint or Teams mistakes
A site, channel, library or folder structure is changed or cleaned up without realising the impact.
Account compromise
An attacker accesses email, files or cloud data and causes damage that needs investigation and recovery.
Microsoft 365 backup service vs backup software
Some organisations only want Microsoft 365 backup software. Others need a managed Microsoft 365 backup service, where someone helps choose the right product, set it up, monitor it, support restores and explain the evidence when asked.
Backup software or tool
You get the platform, but your team still needs to configure it, check it, test it and know how to restore data under pressure.
Managed backup service
Black Swan helps with product choice, setup, management, restore support and practical evidence for leadership, governors, auditors or insurers.
Compare Microsoft 365 backup options
Each option has a slightly different strength. The right choice depends on what you need to protect, how quickly you need to recover, whether Google Workspace is involved, and whether identity recovery matters.
Redstor Microsoft 365 Backup
A strong fit for Microsoft 365 backup where identity resilience also matters. Useful when you want protection for Microsoft 365 data and the option to back up Entra ID settings.
- Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams and OneNote backup.
- Good fit where Entra ID recovery is part of the risk.
- Useful for professional firms, schools and regulated organisations.
- Strong cyber resilience and recovery positioning.
Axcient x360Cloud Backup
A strong fit where you need backup, search, restore and audit across Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or both.
- Protects Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace data.
- Useful search and restore features.
- Good fit for mixed Microsoft and Google environments.
- Useful where audit evidence and reporting matter.
ConnectWise Cloud Backup
A good fit for organisations that want straightforward, managed Microsoft 365 backup without overcomplicating the decision.
- Backup for core Microsoft 365 data.
- Simple, predictable managed service.
- Good fit for smaller organisations and schools.
- Works well alongside email, identity and endpoint protection.
Which backup option is right for you?
This is a plain-English guide. We will still check your Microsoft 365 setup before recommending anything.
Redstor
Microsoft 365 environments where identity recovery matters.
Microsoft 365 backup plus Entra ID resilience.
Schools, financial firms, insurance brokers, professional services and organisations with stricter recovery requirements.
You want Microsoft 365 backup and also need to think about users, groups, roles, access policies and identity recovery.
Axcient x360Cloud
Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or mixed cloud environments.
Backup, search, restore and audit.
Organisations that need to find and restore email, files, Google Drive data, Shared Drives or cloud records.
You need Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup, or stronger search and restore features across cloud data.
ConnectWise Cloud Backup
Organisations that want simple managed Microsoft 365 backup.
Straightforward Microsoft 365 backup and recovery support.
SMEs, schools and local organisations that want clear protection without making backup more complicated than it needs to be.
You want a simple managed Microsoft 365 backup service that sits neatly alongside wider cyber security support.
Who needs Microsoft 365 backup?
If Microsoft 365 holds your working data, backup should be part of your resilience plan.
Schools and MATs
Protect staff mailboxes, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, OneNote and admin data used for everyday school operations.
Accountants and IFAs
Client emails, files, evidence trails and shared documents need to be recoverable if something is deleted or damaged.
Insurance brokers
Policy documents, client correspondence and portal-related information often sit inside Microsoft 365.
Care providers
Policies, HR files, rotas, shared documents and email need protection from deletion, compromise and disruption.
Small businesses
Quotes, invoices, contracts, customer emails and internal documents often live in Outlook, OneDrive, Teams and SharePoint.
Charities and parish councils
Minutes, finance documents, resident emails, governance records and shared files need a practical recovery route.
How Black Swan helps you choose
We are not here to throw another licence into Microsoft 365. We help you understand what you have, what is missing and what recovery would look like on a bad day.
1. Review
We check how your Microsoft 365 data is currently protected and where the obvious recovery gaps are.
2. Prioritise
We identify the mailboxes, SharePoint sites, Teams data, OneDrive folders and identity settings that matter most.
3. Recommend
We recommend Redstor, Axcient x360Cloud or ConnectWise Cloud Backup based on fit, not guesswork.
4. Support
We help with setup, management, restore support and evidence for insurance, governors or internal reviews.
Not sure which Microsoft 365 backup option is right for you?
We can look at your current setup and explain the best-fit option in plain English.
Common Microsoft 365 backup gaps
These are the issues we usually find when organisations assume Microsoft 365 is already “backed up enough”.
“We thought Microsoft handled that”
Microsoft provides the platform. You still need to think about your data, retention, recovery and evidence.
Deleted data is noticed too late
A missing email or file often becomes important weeks or months after it was removed.
Teams has become the filing cabinet
Teams now holds conversations, files, decisions and project records. It should be part of the backup conversation.
Identity is ignored
Entra ID settings, groups, roles and access policies can affect whether people can get back into systems after a mistake or incident.
Microsoft 365 backup FAQs
Microsoft 365 backup is an independent copy of cloud data such as Exchange email, OneDrive files, SharePoint sites and Teams content. It gives your organisation a clearer way to recover if data is deleted, changed, encrypted or damaged.
Microsoft 365 includes retention, recycle bin and platform resilience features, but those are not the same as a separate backup and recovery service. Your organisation is still responsible for protecting and recovering its own data.
As a rough guide, Microsoft 365 backup starts from £4 per licensed mailbox, per month ex VAT. Shared mailboxes are usually included at no extra backup licence cost. If you pay Microsoft for a licence for that account, you should normally assume it needs a backup licence too, although we can select individual users for backup.
Depending on the product, Microsoft 365 backup can protect Exchange, Outlook email, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, shared mailboxes and, in some cases, Entra ID settings.
Microsoft 365 backup and recovery means having a protected copy of your cloud data and a practical way to restore it after accidental deletion, malicious deletion, ransomware, sync problems or account compromise.
It depends on your setup. Redstor is a strong fit where Microsoft 365 and Entra ID resilience matter. Axcient x360Cloud is useful where Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, search, restore and audit are important. ConnectWise Cloud Backup is a good fit for straightforward managed Microsoft 365 backup.
Retention policies can help, but they are not the same as independent backup. Backup gives you a clearer recovery route when data is deleted, damaged, changed or affected by account compromise.
Yes, it can help you give clearer answers about backup, recovery, ransomware resilience and restore evidence. It is not the only control insurers care about, but it is often an important one.
Yes. Black Swan can help with advice, setup, monitoring, restore support and practical evidence for leadership teams, governors, auditors or insurers.
Yes. Axcient x360Cloud is the option we would usually discuss where Google Workspace backup is needed alongside or instead of Microsoft 365 backup.
Explore the three backup options
Each page goes into more detail about where that product fits.
Redstor Microsoft 365 Backup
Best suited to Microsoft 365 backup where Entra ID and identity resilience also matter.
Axcient x360Cloud Backup
Best suited to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup with search, restore and audit needs.
ConnectWise Cloud Backup
Best suited to straightforward managed Microsoft 365 backup for smaller organisations.
Choose Microsoft 365 backup with a bit more confidence
You do not need to become a backup expert. You need to know what matters, what is protected and who can help you recover when something goes wrong.