Microsoft Teams Backup: Native vs Third-Party Tools
Microsoft Teams uses a complex data structure in the Microsoft 365 infrastructure, which makes it challenging to configure Microsoft Teams data backup. It is important to back up all related objects that are used by Microsoft Teams but are stored in and handled by other Microsoft 365 services.
This blog post explains how Microsoft Teams data is stored in Microsoft 365. Read on to discover the available methods to protect this type of data.
Understanding Microsoft Teams Data Types and Storage
Microsoft Teams involves various data types for communication, file sharing and collaboration. It is important to understand how each data type is handled and where it is stored in terms of data backup, recovery, management and compliance.
Messages and chats
Messages in Microsoft Teams include:
- Private chats, including one-to-one chats and group chats, are stored in Exchange Online mailboxes of users who are members of these chats. Chat messages are stored in a hidden folder of the user’s mailbox as part of Exchange Online data.
- Channel messages are stored in the corresponding SharePoint site associated with the team. Messages sent within a channel are part of the channel’s SharePoint Online infrastructure. The chat messages are stored in the team mailbox, which resides in Exchange Online.
The types of data in these messages can contain text, images, links and other media.
Retention policies set up in Microsoft 365 impact Microsoft Teams messages because they are subject to Microsoft 365 retention policies. These policies can ensure that messages are kept for a specific period or permanently deleted based on compliance requirements.
Shared files and attachments
Files and attachments shared in Microsoft Teams are critical for collaboration. They can be shared in private chats or channels.
- Files shared in private one-to-one chats or group chats are stored in the user’s OneDrive. Each participant in the chat has access to these files through a shared link.
- Channel files are the files shared within a channel and are stored in the associated SharePoint Online site under the team. Each channel has a dedicated folder in the SharePoint document library where all shared files are saved.
File retention and compliance settings are managed through OneDrive and SharePoint Online, aligned with the organization’s data retention policies.
Web pages and tabs
Users can add tabs within a Microsoft Teams channel, which can include web pages, documents or third-party apps. These tabs serve as quick access points to important resources.
- Web pages added as tabs are typically stored externally (on the web), and the tab simply provides a shortcut or embedded view of the page within Microsoft Teams.
- If an Office 365 document (like Word, Excel or PowerPoint) is added as a tab, the document is stored in the associated SharePoint Online document library for the channel.
- Tabs that integrate third-party apps may store their data externally (on the app provider’s platform) or within the team instance’s SharePoint Online or Exchange Online environments, depending on the app’s integration.
The data retention for tabs depends on the type of linked content. For example, if it’s an Office 365 document, it follows SharePoint Online retention rules, while web-based content follows the retention policies of the external service.
OneNote integration
Microsoft Teams are integrated with OneNote for note-taking and collaboration purposes. Users can create dedicated OneNote notebooks for a team or channel.
- Channel notebooks or OneNote notebooks associated with a channel are stored in the SharePoint Online site associated with that team. Each notebook is linked to a specific team or channel and can be accessed via a tab in the channel.
- If OneNote is used in private chats, the private notebook is stored in the user’s OneDrive for Business.
OneNote content is subject to the same retention policies as SharePoint Online and OneDrive, meaning the notes will be retained or deleted based on organizational policies set within Microsoft 365 compliance tools.
Group mailbox messages
The channels used by Microsoft Teams are connected to a Microsoft 365 group. This group includes a shared group mailbox for email communication. Group mailbox messages can still be used for notifications or group emails despite the fact that emails are not the primary communication method in Microsoft Teams.
The group mailbox and its messages are stored in Exchange Online. These mailboxes contain emails sent to the team and messages linked to team activities like meetings or notifications.
Emails within the group mailbox follow Exchange Online retention settings. Administrators can define how long these messages are kept based on compliance or operational needs.
Group mailbox calendars
Microsoft Teams channels are also linked to a shared calendar within the Microsoft 365 group. This calendar is used to schedule and manage meetings, events and appointments within the team.
The group calendar is stored as part of the group mailbox in Exchange Online. This is the same location where the group mailbox messages are stored.
Similar to group mailbox messages, the retention of group mailbox calendars is governed by Exchange Online retention settings. Calendar data can be archived or deleted based on the organization’s retention policies.
How Is Microsoft Teams Data Structured?
Microsoft Teams uses the Microsoft cloud infrastructure related to the Microsoft 365 ecosystem with structured data. This structure provides the ability to use services such as Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online. All these services are used to operate Microsoft Teams and provide capabilities for seamless collaboration across different services in a secure manner. This section explains how Microsoft Teams data is structured with a focus on key components like Microsoft 365 Groups, storage locations for attachments and files.
Microsoft 365 Groups and group mailboxes
Microsoft Groups are the main cross-application part of Microsoft Teams. Each team created in Microsoft Teams is automatically associated with a corresponding Microsoft 365 Group. This group ties together collaboration elements such as email, calendars, files and shared resources.
Every Microsoft 365 Group has an associated group mailbox in Exchange Online. This group mailbox is used to store the team’s email conversations and notifications related to the team. These items include meeting invitations, task notifications and other internal communications. The group mailboxes also store Microsoft Teams channel conversations as messages.
As for the role in the team structure, Microsoft 365 Groups enable access control for Microsoft Teams. Group members automatically gain access to all related resources such as shared files, calendar and email. When users are added or removed from a team, their access to these resources is adjusted accordingly.
We can compare the Microsoft 365 group to a hub that manages permissions and ensures that the required data types remain connected across the different Microsoft 365 services used by Microsoft Teams.
Storage locations for Microsoft Teams attachments and files
Teams for Microsoft 365 are integrated with both SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business to handle file storage, depending on the context in which the files are shared.
Files shared in Microsoft Teams channels are stored in the SharePoint Online document library that is associated with the corresponding Microsoft 365 Group. Each team has a dedicated SharePoint site, and within this site, each channel has its own folder in the document library. This approach ensures that all files shared within a channel are stored in one location and can be accessed by all team members.
Files shared in private chats (either 1:1 or group chats) are stored in OneDrive for Business. The files are uploaded to the sender’s OneDrive and a link to the file is shared with other participants in the chat. This means that private chat files are stored in personal OneDrive accounts rather than in SharePoint Online.
Attachments shared within team messages or chats follow the same storage logic – files shared in private chats go to OneDrive for Business, and files shared in channels are stored in SharePoint Online.
These storage locations are tightly integrated with the Microsoft Teams interface. When users share files, they remain unaware of whether the file is stored in SharePoint or OneDrive, as Microsoft Teams abstracts this complexity. However, understanding these underlying storage locations is critical for ensuring proper compliance, data governance and, most importantly, data protection.
The overall structure and location of Microsoft Teams data
Let’s summarize the complex Microsoft Teams 365 structure and corresponding data location.
- Microsoft 365 Groups are used as the main part of Microsoft Teams. This is the foundation for Microsoft Teams, managing access to shared resources, including mailboxes, calendars and SharePoint sites.
- Messages and chats are stored in Exchange Online mailboxes (user mailboxes for private chats, group mailboxes for channel conversations).
- Files and attachments are stored in either OneDrive for Business (for private chats) or SharePoint Online (for channel conversations).
- Other content like OneNote, tabs and calendars are stored in SharePoint Online or Exchange Online, depending on the context.
- User profiles are stored in Azure Active Directory.
- Team settings and configuration are stored in Microsoft 365 Groups.
The summary of storage locations used by Microsoft Teams can be found in the table below:
| Exchange Online | OneDrive for Business | SharePoint Online |
| Messages and chats | Shared files and attachments (Private chats) | Shared files and attachments (channels) |
| Group mailbox messages | OneNote personal notebooks | OneNote for teams |
| Group mailbox calendars | Office 365 documents, tabs |
Native Microsoft Teams Backup Options
Microsoft released a native Microsoft 365 backup solution called Microsoft 365 Backup. This solution provides backup for Exchange Online, OneDrive and SharePoint Online (as of the moment of writing this article). Microsoft 365 Backup Storage Platform is used to store these backups. Microsoft Teams backup is not available yet. The native options that are available for Microsoft Teams data protection are limited for now:
- Retention policies. System administrators can configure retention policies in the Admin Center, in compliance settings. Configuring these settings allows organizations to retain Microsoft Teams data for a period specified in the retention settings.
- Legal holds. This is another option based on data preservation settings that safeguard data indefinitely. This setting has higher priority and overwrites other retention rules. Legal holds are usually used with eDiscovery and for legal investigations.
Retention policies and legal holds cannot be considered as a true backup but can be used for data protection purposes. Data backup and archiving are two different approaches.
Backup and Recovery with Third-Party Tools
The complex structure of Microsoft Teams data and the fact that data is scattered across multiple Microsoft 365 services makes Microsoft Teams backup challenging. Dedicated backup solutions that support Microsoft 365 backup and Microsoft Teams backup provide advanced options in terms of flexibility and overall data protection.
NAKIVO Backup & Replication supports Microsoft 365 backup, including Microsoft Teams, Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online. The NAKIVO solution supports:
- Wide backup and recovery options: Incremental backups, full recovery and granular recovery of specific Microsoft 365 objects.
- Multiplatform support for data protection: The NAKIVO solution supports backups for VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Proxmox VE, Nutanix, physical machines, Amazon EC2 and file shares, in addition to Microsoft 365.
- Support for various storage types: With NAKIVO, it is possible to back up Microsoft 365 data to cloud storage (Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage, etc.) and to local storage, such as disks on a backup server or NAS.
- Automation and scheduling: You can configure multiple schedules and implement even a complex retention scheme with flexible settings without strict limits.
- Security and encryption: Data encryption is supported and can be enabled at the source side, at rest and in transit. As a result, encrypted backups are secured on local storage (on-premises) and in the public cloud. You can also enable immutability for Microsoft 365 backups stored locally or in the cloud to prevent deletion or modification by ransomware.
Learn more about NAKIVO Backup for Microsoft 365 in this video:
Conclusion
Different types of Microsoft Teams data are stored in Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online. Due to this architecture, configuring a backup of Microsoft Teams is not an easy task. This is important to consider when choosing a Microsoft Teams backup solution since some solutions that support Microsoft 365 backup might not support Microsoft Teams backup. Use NAKIVO Backup & Replication to back up Microsoft Teams and other Microsoft 365 services, as well as protect items in physical, virtual and cloud environments.
