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Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Does Microsoft 365 really include a backup of your data?
No. Standard plans (Business Basic, Standard, Premium, Microsoft 365 E3 or E5) do not include a backup in the sense of a dated copy, restorable to a chosen date and independent of the recycle bins. They include redundancy, recycle bins, versions and retention tools. Microsoft sells Microsoft 365 Backup separately: a genuine backup, hosted in the Microsoft cloud.
Key points
- Included in the licence: redundancy, recycle bins (14 to 30 days for Exchange, 93 days for SharePoint), versions, retention. No dated backup.
- Microsoft 365 Backup covers Exchange Online, OneDrive and SharePoint, billed on a pay-as-you-go basis according to the protected volume.
- According to Microsoft, its copies do not leave the Microsoft 365 boundary.
- A copy outside the tenant remains an additional choice, to be decided in writing.
What you have already paid for in the licence
| Feature | What it does | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Redundancy across Microsoft data centres | Keeps the service running if a Microsoft data centre goes down | Return your data to its state of a month ago |
| Exchange recoverable items | Recover a purged message: 14 days by default, 30 at most | Keep a 90-day history managed by you, outside the tenant |
| SharePoint and OneDrive recycle bins | Recover a deletion for 93 days; 14 more days via support | Restore a folder to a date of your choice beyond that |
| Restoring a deleted user | Bring back the account and its mailbox for 30 days | An account deleted two months ago |
| File versions | Return to an earlier version of a file that still exists | Rebuild a purged site |
| Retention, labels, litigation hold | Prevent or delay deletion for compliance purposes | Act as the company’s DRP |
| Exchange in-place archiving | Move old messages within the mailbox | Copy the mailbox to a third party |
These periods are those given in Microsoft’s documentation in October 2026. Some of them are configurable in the tenant: check them in the admin centre rather than assuming they are “unlimited”.
What Microsoft 365 Backup is
It is a paid offering, on top of the licence, billed on a pay-as-you-go basis according to the volume of protected data. It backs up three workloads: Exchange Online, OneDrive and SharePoint. According to Microsoft Learn:
- Restore points: every 10 minutes over 52 weeks for Exchange Online; every 10 minutes over the last two weeks, then weekly up to 52 weeks, for OneDrive and SharePoint.
- Retention: configurable to 3 months, 6 months, 1 year or 2 years.
- Location: data does not leave the Microsoft 365 trust boundary and stays within the tenant’s geographic region.
- Restores: not billed, designed to be fast, including at scale.
So it really is a backup, unlike redundancy. Its inherent limits:
- the data remains within the Microsoft boundary;
- it is billed separately, based on volume;
- a need for a copy held by another party (an internal requirement, distrust of a global admin account that could also reach this tool, a multi-vendor strategy) is not covered;
- Teams is not listed as a separate workload: its files are covered via SharePoint, while its conversations must be examined separately;
- servers, the NAS and Google Workspace are not part of this product.
Saying “Microsoft already backs up” when referring to the E3 licence is wrong. Saying “Microsoft offers a paid backup in its cloud” is correct.
Do you still need a copy elsewhere?
Yes, if you do not want an administrative error or a very extensive compromise of the tenant to hit the only place where your data lives. Yes, if the same console must also cover servers outside Microsoft. No, if you explicitly accept that Microsoft 365 Backup, properly configured and tested, is your only safety net for Exchange, OneDrive and SharePoint, and the rest of the information system is handled in another way.
| Criterion | Licence only | Microsoft 365 Backup | Backup outside the tenant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restore to a chosen date | No | Yes | Yes |
| Copy outside the Microsoft boundary | No | No | Yes |
| Also covers servers and workstations | No | No | Depending on the offer |
| Additional cost | None | Based on volume | Depending on the offer |
In either case, a restore test is part of the answer. A product ticked in a portal is not proof.
At WeDoBack
WeDoBack provides the copy outside the tenant: emails, calendars and contacts encrypted before they are sent, stored on servers dedicated to backup, separate from production and replicated across several European countries, with the key held by the customer, one agent per address plus storage, under SMART or INTEGRAL. It is not Microsoft 365 Backup, and it is not included in the Microsoft licence. The two can coexist. WeDoBack does not claim to replace compliance features (legal retention, eDiscovery): these remain in Microsoft. It covers rolling back mailboxes, SharePoint and OneDrive. Servers and workstations in the rest of the information system can be backed up under the same offer.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft 365 Backup included in E3 or E5?
No. It is a separate offering, billed on a pay-as-you-go basis according to the volume of protected data, on top of the licence. Microsoft presents it as distinct from per-user licences.
How long does Microsoft 365 Backup keep copies?
Retention can be set to 3 months, 6 months, 1 year or 2 years; Microsoft states one year by default for existing policies. For Exchange Online, restore points are 10 minutes apart over 52 weeks. For OneDrive and SharePoint, every 10 minutes over two weeks, then weekly up to 52 weeks.
Can Microsoft 365 Backup be combined with a third-party backup?
Yes. The first offers fast restores within the tenant. The second keeps a copy with another provider, out of reach of a compromised admin account in the tenant. It is a risk management decision, to be put in writing.
Further reading
Sources
Documents consulted in October 2026.
- Overview of Microsoft 365 Backup — Microsoft Learn
- Change how long permanently deleted items are kept for an Exchange Online mailbox — Microsoft Learn
- SharePoint data deletion in Microsoft 365 — Microsoft Learn
- Restore a user — Microsoft Learn
- Offers and prices — WeDoBack
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