How to Backup and Restore Microsoft Teams: A Complete Guide for Microsoft 365 Admins

As Microsoft Teams becomes a core part of daily collaboration for businesses, ensuring that your data is securely backed up and easily recoverable is more critical than ever. But how do you backup and restore Microsoft Teams effectively, given its complex data structure spread across multiple Microsoft 365 services?  

In this article, we'll explore the intricacies of Microsoft Teams data, including its diverse storage locations and data types. We'll also dive into the built-in retention and recovery options provided by Microsoft 365, highlighting their limitations. Finally, we'll discuss third-party solutions, like Alcion, that offer more comprehensive protection for your Teams environment, ensuring your organization's critical information remains safe and recoverable.  

By the end of this post, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to backup and restore Microsoft Teams and the best tools to get the job done.

Understanding Microsoft Teams Data Structure and Storage Locations

Microsoft Teams is a complex application with data spread across various Microsoft 365 services. To effectively back up Teams, we must understand its components and where they're stored.

Channel Messages

Microsoft Teams offers three channels: public, private, and shared. Each type stores messages differently, impacting how you back them up.  Public channel messages are stored within the Teams chat service and are accessible to all members of the team. Private channel messages, however, are stored differently, with access restricted to specific members based on their roles.  

Shared channel messages are replicated and stored within the tenant of each participating team. That ensures data privacy and control for each team involved in the shared channel.

Files and Documents

MS Teams stores files in two primary locations. Channel Files live in the team's SharePoint site, mirroring the channel structure. Chat Files shared in chats, however, are stored in the OneDrive of the user who shared them. This dual storage system requires your backup solution to cover SharePoint and OneDrive.

Team Structure and Settings

The backbone of MS Teams - its structure and settings - is spread across multiple services. Team membership lists and roles are in Azure Active Directory (AAD). The Channel Structure, which includes team names, channel names, and their organization, is stored within the Teams service, specifically in an Azure chat service. Permissions and access controls are distributed between Teams and SharePoint.  Actions within Teams (such as creating channels or editing messages) are managed by Teams-specific permissions, while access to and modifications of files in linked SharePoint sites (for channel files) are controlled by SharePoint permissions.

Chat History

Teams stores both 1:1 and group chats in its Azure-based chat service. Although this centralized storage simplifies backup processes, the sheer volume of chat data—especially in larger organizations—demands careful planning around data retention policies

Associated SharePoint Sites

When you create a team in Teams, an associated SharePoint site is automatically created. This site acts as the central repository for all files uploaded to channels within the team. The folder structure within the SharePoint site mirrors the channel structure in Teams, making it easy to navigate and find channel-specific files. Unlike public channels that store files in the main team's SharePoint site, private channels add complexity by creating separate SharePoint sites isolated from the primary team site.  

Group mailbox messages

Group mailbox messages in Microsoft Teams are not directly stored within the Teams application or its associated SharePoint site. Instead, they are stored in Exchange Online. Since group mailbox messages reside in Exchange Online, a backup solution focused solely on Teams data will not capture them.

Teams-specific Data

Microsoft Teams includes several unique data types that require special attention in your backup plan. Wiki content is stored as .mht files on the SharePoint site. MHT files are a webpage archive format that can encapsulate text, formatting, and embedded objects from the original wiki page. OneNote notebooks live in the Site Assets library of the connected SharePoint site. Tabs in Teams can include various third-party applications and services. The data storage for these tabs depends on the specific app or service and might reside within Teams, SharePoint, or the app's cloud storage. Finally, tasks created within Planner boards in Teams are stored within the Microsoft Planner service and have their storage mechanisms.  

Here is a summary of the Teams data types and their location within Microsoft 365

Native Microsoft 365 Teams Data Recovery Options

Microsoft 365 offers two main approaches to Teams data backup and recovery, but their availability and capabilities differ.  

The first method, built-in retention and recovery, is available with all Microsoft 365 subscriptions and uses existing features from Exchange Online and SharePoint Online. The second method, Compliance Center Retention, is part of higher-tier Microsoft 365 subscriptions like E3 and E5.

Built-in Microsoft Teams Retention & Recovery

Microsoft 365 includes standard built-in retention and recovery features for Teams across all subscription levels. These native options leverage existing functionalities within Exchange Online and SharePoint Online, providing a basic level of data protection.  

• Exchange Online is crucial in storing team mailboxes for calendar events, user mailboxes with meeting invites, and some message data for compliance.  
• SharePoint Online is the primary storage for Teams files associated with public channels, wikis, and OneNote notebooks.

However, these built-in features have significant limitations.  

• The retention period for deleted Teams data is typically short, usually around 93 days or less. After this period, data may be permanently deleted and unrecoverable.  
• Deleted items are initially moved to a Recycle Bin within their respective service (SharePoint or OneDrive) for the retention period of 93 days. While users with appropriate permissions can restore items during this time, anything beyond that window will be purged unless an administrator intervenes. Similarly, deleted Exchange Online data (emails and calendars) typically have a total recovery window of 60 days.
• Restoring entire chat message histories or specific messages from private channels might not be possible.
• Administrators cannot customize data retention policies specifically for Teams data, as service settings predetermine retention periods.

What can be Recovered:

The standard built-in features allow you to recover some deleted Teams data, including:

• Emails: Deleted emails from team mailboxes.
• Files: Deleted files from the associated SharePoint site (channel files and potentially some chat files uploaded by users with editing permissions on the site).
• Limited Chat History: There's also limited recovery for recently deleted chat messages, though this comes with restrictions on time and message type.  

For a deeper dive into Microsoft's native retention policies and their limitations, refer to our Microsoft 365 retention policies article. To understand why these limitations often necessitate third-party backup solutions, check out our post on reasons to back up Microsoft 365.

Compliance Center Retention Policies

For organizations with Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 subscriptions, the Compliance Center offers more robust data retention options for Teams.

The Compliance Center enables organizations to implement comprehensive retention policies for various Teams data types. You can set specific rules for chat messages, channel files, and private channel content. This granular control is a significant step from the one-size-fits-all approach of standard retention features.

One significant advantage is the ability to extend retention periods far beyond the standard 93-day limit of the built-in recycle bin. This is crucial for organizations facing strict regulatory compliance requirements or those needing to retain data for extended periods. The Compliance Center also facilitates legal hold capabilities, allowing you to preserve specific data indefinitely, regardless of other retention policies.

It’s important to note that these policies aren't a complete backup solution. While they can significantly extend your recovery window, they don't create separate backup copies of your Teams data.  

The focus here is on retention, not comprehensive backup and restore functionality.

Configuring and managing these retention policies can be more complex than using standard features. Organizations with limited IT resources might find this challenging. It's also worth noting that these advanced features are only available in E3 and E5 plans, which may impact your licensing decisions.

Limitations of Native Options

While Microsoft’s native options offer some protection, the short retention periods for basic features may not be sufficient for your organization. Although helpful for compliance, the advanced retention policies lack user-friendly recovery options

Additionally, they do not offer point-in-time recovery, making restoring Teams to a specific state challenging. They also don't protect against all data loss scenarios, such as accidental deletion of entire teams or channels.

Most importantly, Microsoft's shared responsibility model means that while they protect the infrastructure, you are responsible for your data. Their native options don't provide the comprehensive, easy-to-manage backup and recovery solution many organizations require for proper data protection and peace of mind.

Third-Party Microsoft Teams Backup Solutions

To overcome the limitations of Microsoft’s native backup options, many third-party vendors offer specialized solutions for MS Teams backup. Key Features to Consider in Third-Party Backup Solutions:

• Ease of use: crucial for efficient management, especially for organizations with limited IT resources.
• Comprehensive Coverage: Prioritize solutions that protect all components of Microsoft 365.
• Granular Recovery Options: Advanced solutions can restore specific items, conversations, or teams without overwriting newer data.
• Extended Retention Periods: Unlike native options, third-party solutions often provide longer, customizable retention periods to meet various compliance needs.
• Security Enhancements: Many solutions offer advanced security features like malware scanning, ransomware detection, and encryption for backed-up data.
• Automated and Intelligent Scheduling: Some solutions use AI and machine learning to optimize backup timing based on user activity and data change patterns.
• Scalability: As Teams usage grows, backup solutions should scale effortlessly to accommodate increasing data volumes and user numbers.
• Ensure Compliance: Look for features that help meet specific regulatory requirements, such as GDPR or HIPAA.

For a more detailed comparison of these solutions and guidance on choosing the right one for your organization, refer to our comprehensive guide on Best Microsoft 365 Backup Solutions.

Alcion's Microsoft 365 Backup

When it comes to protecting your Microsoft 365 data, Alcion stands out by offering more than just basic backup. With a focus on security and simplicity, Alcion delivers a smarter, more effective solution for safeguarding your Teams, Exchange, OneDrive, and SharePoint data.

Ready to transform your Microsoft 365 backup process? Your first backup is just a few clicks away! Get started with a 14-day free trial.

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