Key Microsoft 365 Backup Strategies for Small Businesses
Since Microsoft 365 is popular among organizations of all sizes, it is important to back up the data of users who work with Microsoft 365 services. There are differences between data protection strategies for large enterprises and small businesses.
This blog post focuses on Microsoft Office 365 backup for small businesses and explains how to make this process efficient and reliable.
The Value of Microsoft 365 Backup for Small Business
Small businesses often use Microsoft Exchange Online and Outlook as email services, OneDrive as file storage for file exchange, SharePoint Online and Microsoft Teams for other types of communication and collaboration. These services operate with multiple data types and all of them should be backed up. In this case, the Microsoft 365 cloud acts as a central repository for the organization’s data.
Accidental deletions, software errors, cyberattacks and insider threats can lead to data loss. Using an Office 365 business backup solution allows organizations to restore data quickly and avoid downtime.
Ransomware is one of the most dangerous types of cyberattacks. It can corrupt and modify data when the data is stored in the cloud but is synchronized with the local storage. First of all, this is applicable for files stored in OneDrive for Business. However, there are ways to get access to other Microsoft 365 cloud services and encrypt data stored there. A Microsoft 365 backup allows organizations to safely restore data after a ransomware attack.
Business continuity is critical for organizations using Microsoft 365. If a disaster strikes and data is lost, a backup allows to mitigate issues and reduce downtime. As a result, organizations can save costs and prevent reputational damage.
Enhancing data resilience and security
When Microsoft 365 backup is part of small business data backup strategies, resilience and security are improved. The main points that you should focus on are data encryption and redundancy.
Data encryption is one of the main options when backing up Microsoft 365 for small businesses since it improves the security posture. Encrypting backups when transferring them over the network and when storing them reduces the risk of unauthorized access by third parties, including attackers.
Data redundancy is another factor that improves data resilience. Having a backup means that the organization’s data is redundant. Having backups and backup copies significantly improves the data protection level and increases the probability of restoring data in case of a disaster, accidental deletion, ransomware attack and hardware failure. Configuring a backup and following the 3-2-1 backup rule should be the main parts of small business data backup strategies, including Office 365 backup strategies.
Supporting compliance and data accessibility
Native Microsoft 365 retention settings might not be enough even for small organizations. Let’s overview the main aspects of data compliance and accessibility when considering Microsoft 365 backups for small businesses.
Organizations of any size must meet regulatory requirements, including data retention requirements. The common examples of regulation are GDPR and other industry-specific regulatory acts (for healthcare and bank industries, for instance). These regulations require organizations to retain data for specified periods. If the retention period requires retaining data for a longer time than the maximum retention time available in native Microsoft 365 settings, then the organization must implement a Microsoft 365 backup solution and set custom retention policies. This approach allows organizations to stay compliant with regulatory requirements and avoid penalties.
Another side of compliance and regulation requirements is that data integrity must be preserved from being altered, deleted or overwritten. This integrity is critical for audits or legal reviews to ensure that records are accurate and unmodified since their creation. Backup immutability is a feature that helps organizations keep data in a consistent state by preventing modifications. Immutability is a feature in most of today’s Microsoft 365 backup solutions.
Audit and legal holds require the data to be accessible on demand. Having an Office 365 business backup allows organizations to access the needed data easily by using backups with configurable retention settings in case of investigations or legal holds.
Reducing risks with Backup as a Service (BaaS)
Backup as a Service (BaaS) is an alternative to traditional backup solutions installed on-premises in the local infrastructure of an organization. If an organization doesn’t have enough resources or equipment in the local infrastructure to deploy a backup server and configure a backup solution, then it can opt for BaaS provided by a managed service provider (MSP).
BaaS solutions typically simplify backup management with centralized dashboards, reporting and alerts. This ease of use reduces the need for dedicated IT resources in small businesses, ensuring that backups are monitored and managed effectively without additional strain.
Using a BaaS solution for Microsoft 365 backup could be effective for some small businesses because there is no need for large initial investments in the infrastructure to start backing up Microsoft 365 data. A BaaS provider is responsible for continuous maintenance and management of the backup system.
Choosing the Best Microsoft 365 Backup Solution for Small Businesses
Organizations should take into account a few principles when choosing a Microsoft 365 backup solution. A backup solution must meet the business needs and regulatory requirements while being affordable at the same time.
- Coverage of Microsoft 365 services. The backup solution should cover all core Microsoft 365 applications, such as Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive and Microsoft Teams. All needed data types should be protected – emails, files, chat messages and calendars. Ensure that all these data types are backed up and that the entire Microsoft 365 environment is protected.
- Backup management and ease of use. The user interface of the backup application should be user-friendly to allow administrators and users to configure all needed tasks. Configuration should be simple because not all small businesses have specialists and dedicated IT support teams to make complex configurations with products that can be configured only by experts. Minimum setup requirements and an intuitive interface are recommended.
- Scalability and flexibility. The Microsoft 365 backup solution should be scalable as the amount of data usually grows. This means that the solution should support adding more accounts and data objects to protect as well as expand backup storage to store all needed data. Flexible storage options are preferred – local storage on-premises and cloud storage platforms should be supported for better protection.
- Recovery options. Full recovery and granular recovery should be supported. Granular recovery allows organizations to reduce recovery time if only a few objects were lost, for example, after accidental deletion of files in OneDrive. Full recovery is used in case of major data loss incidents.
- Automation, scheduling and retention. The backup solution should support backup scheduling to automate Microsoft 365 backup jobs. This approach allows you to ensure that you don’t miss backing up data and that data is consistently protected. Retention settings are important for small businesses to recover data from recent or old backups. Moreover, configuring long-term retention policies is required to meet regulation and compliance requirements. Once the retention period has expired, data can be deleted automatically.
- Security, encryption and immutability. Data encryption in transit and at rest is crucial for small businesses to prevent access by third parties, including cyber criminals. Data immutability also improves security by preventing backup modification by ransomware and other threats.
- Disaster recovery capabilities. Recovery of objects to the source location or to another location is needed in case of disaster recovery. For example, an organization may need to recover Microsoft 365 users and related objects to another Microsoft 365 account. Disaster recovery automation features in a backup solution can make recovery operations smoother and faster.
- Cost efficiency and customer support. The optimal Microsoft 365 backup solution for small businesses should be available at an affordable price. Pricing factors include licensing costs. Ensure that the backup vendor has reliable customer support that can help if issues occur when using the backup tool.
Implementing an Effective Microsoft 365 Backup Strategy
Microsoft 365 data backup strategy for small businesses involves a structured approach, that is a combination of planning, configuration and monitoring. Reviewing results regularly is needed to ensure that continuous data protection is working as expected. Take into account the following recommendations to implement an effective backup strategy:
- Assess business requirements and risks. Define which Microsoft 365 data to back up.
- Define how often to back up Microsoft 365 data and how long backups must be retained. Set backup and retention policies.
- Configure backup scheduling for automated Microsoft 365 backups.
- Implement security measures such as encryption and immutability.
- Ensure compliance with data protection and privacy laws.
- Establish a disaster recovery and business continuity plan.
- Test backups to ensure that your data is recoverable.
- Review and optimize the Microsoft 365 backup strategy regularly to adapt with business changes.
Best Practices for Data Security and Compliance in Small Businesses
When configuring Microsoft 365 backup, small businesses must consider security and compliance to protect sensitive data and meet regulatory requirements. When organizations implement security and compliance measures, they build customer trust. Small businesses should follow the Microsoft backup best practices listed below.
- Use role-based access control to ensure that only authorized users can access the needed data. It is recommended that only administrators have administrative access to Microsoft 365 admin centers, backup applications and backup storage. Each user must have access to the data that is necessary for their respective tasks. This approach reduces the risk of spreading viruses and ransomware that cause data corruption. Two-factor authentication can also increase the security level and prevent account theft.
- Perform regular backups and create a disaster recovery plan. With these measures you can ensure fast data recovery after a disaster or data loss incident. Use a Microsoft 365 backup solution that supports backup automation and backup testing. Backup testing allows you to ensure that backup data is consistent and estimate the recovery time that it can take to recover data following a disruption. Testing also allows you to identify issues and fix them before a real disaster occurs.
- Enable backup encryption. Encrypting data in transit and at rest helps protect it against theft. If an attacker gets access to encrypted data, this data cannot be read without the decryption key. Backup encryption is critical for compliance with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA because these regulations necessitates the protection of personal and sensitive data.
- Train users. Conduct regular employee training to make them aware of cyber threats. It is better when users know about the main attack vectors and tactics. Users should know what to do if there are suspicious signs that can point to a cyber-attack. If employees notice suspicious activities, they should report them to system administrators.
- Configure retention. Set up retention policies to ensure that you can recover data from Microsoft 365 backups made at different time points. If an organization must meet regulatory requirements, the retention policy must adapt to these requirements (avoid storing unnecessary data, keep the backup data for the required period, etc.).
- Conduct audit and monitoring. Monitor your infrastructure to identify potential issues. Automatic alerts and notifications make this process more effective. Regular audits can help find vulnerabilities and fix them before a disaster strikes to avoid data loss.
Benefits of Choosing NAKIVO for Small Business Microsoft 365 Backup
NAKIVO Backup & Replication is a comprehensive data protection solution that supports Microsoft 365 backup and is optimal for small businesses. The NAKIVO solution contains a list of useful features that provide a wide range of benefits:
- Wide Microsoft 365 coverage. Microsoft Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online and Microsoft Teams are supported for backup and recovery.
- Granular recovery. You can recover specific objects to a custom location, such as emails, calendars, contacts, files, folders, lists, channels, chat messages and more.
- Advanced scheduling and retention settings. With the NAKIVO solution, you can schedule backups with ease and implement complex scheduling and retention policies.
- Backup encryption. Source backup encryption can be used to encrypt backup data before transferring it over the network to a backup repository. Additionally, you can configure network encryption separately or encrypt the entire backup repository.
- Immutability. Immutable Microsoft 365 backups are protected against ransomware. Immutable backups can be configured in multiple locations, such as a local backup repository and in the cloud.
- Wide backup storage support. The NAKIVO solution supports a variety of backup storage, including local storage and public cloud storage. You can store Microsoft 365 backups and backup copies in different locations and use the most cost-effective storage for your organization. Local disks on servers, NAS devices, SMB and NFS shares, tape, Azure Blob Storage, Amazon S3 and S3-compatible storage are also supported.
NAKIVO Backup & Replication supports multi-tenancy and can be used by managed service providers (MSPs) to provide Backup as a Service (BaaS). Small businesses can find an MSP providing BaaS with the NAKIVO solution as an alternative option to deploying the solution in their own infrastructure. You can see the full list of features on the NAKIVO feature page.
Conclusion
Microsoft 365 backup is necessary for enterprises and small organizations to ensure data protection. To implement an effective Microsoft 365 data backup strategy for small businesses, organizations should follow the best practices and use a modern data protection solution that supports all the needed Microsoft 365 services. Use NAKIVO Backup & Replication to efficiently protect Microsoft 365 data at an affordable price.
