Most companies use Microsoft Office 365 daily as a primary communication tool and document repository. However, more than 76% of Office 365 users aren’t backing up their data. When O365 data isn’t backed up, companies are at an increased risk of losing their vital information and files. “Microsoft has made it clear that they’re not a backup service. That data is your data,” says Eric Dougherty, Technical Partner Manager at Veeam Software. Several risk factors exist when businesses don’t regularly back up their O365 data. Companies may encounter both internal and external threats, loss of critical data, legal compliance violations, and reputation damage.

Here are 6 reasons why you should backup your O365 data: 

• Accidental deletion: Although O365 provides some protection against data loss, it’s very minimal. For example, unintentional deletion of a Microsoft Office user results in a deletion across the entire network, which simultaneously removes information stored in personal SharePoint and OneDrive.
• Retention policy gaps and confusion: O365 has a limited backup and retention policy which makes recovering lost data a significant challenge. Those limitations can lead to a complete loss of critical data.
• Internal security threats: Companies can ensure sensitive emails and files stay intact. For instance, if incriminated emails suddenly get deleted, the information can be quickly recovered.
• External security threats: Ransomware attacks have detrimental effects on a company’s reputation. Regular backups ensure an uninfected copy remains available.
• Legal and compliance requirements: With a backup solution, users have all the information they may need access to for legal and regulatory requirements.
• Managing hybrid email deployments and migrations to Office 365: Companies can conveniently handle hybrid email deployments.