Backup Policy a TL;DR

Having a backup policy is crucial for safeguarding vital company data. It acts as a safety net, ensuring important information is secure and easily accessible. In today's digital age, with abundant online data storage, a reliable backup plan is more essential than ever.

What is a backup policy?

A Backup Policy is a strategic plan to safeguard data from cyber-attacks, system failures, and accidental deletions. This policy outlines key data backup and recovery processes for business continuity and data integrity. It specifies important data to duplicate, backup frequency, and storage location. While crucial for data protection, a backup policy may not always be fail-safe due to unforeseen events like natural disasters or physical damage. Implementing a backup policy without regular testing and updates could lead to ineffective data recovery during emergencies.

What is the difference between backup and retention policy?

A backup policy safeguards data from various threats like corruption, hardware failure, or accidental deletion by making copies stored securely for potential restoration. Backups are done regularly, with multiple versions for recovery. In contrast, a retention policy dictates how long data must be kept meeting legal or business needs, including data classification for different retention periods.

The Anatomy of a Backup Policy

Data Selection: The initial stage in creating a Backup Policy involves determining which data requires safeguarding. Microsoft 365 allows for the backup of emails, OneDrive files, SharePoint sites, and Teams data. Identifying your business's most critical data types and prioritizing them in the backup policy is crucial.

The frequency of backups is a crucial factor determined by the organization's RPO (Recovery Point Objective). The backup frequency is based on data criticality and change levels, with different data types like email and SharePoint sites requiring different backup schedules.

Choosing where to keep backup copies is crucial. It is recommended that they be stored in a secure place to prevent data loss. Options include cloud storage, physical media like tapes or hard drives, or a mix of both.  

Retention Periods: A Backup Policy needs to establish the duration for which backup copies are kept. The retention periods are determined by the data type, regulatory mandates, and the organization's data lifecycle management guidelines.

Types of Backups

A Full Backup captures all specified data to allow for a complete restoration, though it is resource-intensive and done less often. Incremental Backups only save data that has changed since the previous backup, reducing backup time and storage needs. Differential Backup copies all changed data since the last full backup, balancing speed, and storage efficiency.

Many consider full backup the most thorough option, ensuring all data is backed up entirely. However, it can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, especially for organizations with substantial amounts of data. Incremental backup is faster and requires less storage space, as it only backs up changes since the last backup. Differential backup offers a compromise, backing up all changes since the last full backup, making it quicker than a full backup but more comprehensive than an incremental backup. The ideal backup approach will vary based on data amount, backup frequency, and organization resources.

Recovery Objectives

Recovery Point Objective (RPO): Indicates the maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time. Lower RPOs require more frequent backups.  

Recovery Time Objective (RTO): To resume normal operations, the target time data must be restored after a disaster. Shorter RTOs demand faster, more efficient recovery solutions.  

Why is a backup policy important: Threats to Microsoft 365 Data

Potential threats to Microsoft 365 Data include accidental deletion, data corruption, and ransomware attacks, leading to data loss. A backup policy can aid in recovering valuable information lost due to accidental deletion and prove crucial in handling data corruption caused by hardware failures or software bugs. Ransomware attacks, which encrypt data and demand ransom, are also on the rise, emphasizing the importance of having a backup policy to avoid potential data loss. Studies show that many organizations have experienced data loss in Microsoft 365, highlighting the need for preventive measures.

According to a recent study by Veeam, 64% of organizations have experienced data loss in Microsoft 365, and 44% were due to accidental deletion. In addition, the average cost of downtime due to data loss in Microsoft 365 is $21,000 per hour, according to a report by ESG.  

The need for a backup policy under Microsoft 365 becomes increasingly clear once you understand its limitations in terms of basic recovery features. For instance, if an employee accidentally deletes an important email or document within the suite, Microsoft can only retain deleted items for a maximum period, depending on its service agreement (usually between 14 and 30 days). After this period passes without any restoration attempts by the user or admin, that vital information will be forever lost.  

Exchange Online

A Backup Policy for Exchange Online ensures duplication and secure storage of emails, calendars, and contacts. Regular backup schedules protect against data loss incidents, specifying backup frequency and retention period to recover historical records and business continuity.

SharePoint Online

SharePoint Online

While SharePoint Online offers some native data retention features, a comprehensive backup policy is crucial for thorough protection of all items, document versions, and configuration settings. Learn more about the complexities of SharePoint Online backup and why native features might not be enough.

A robust backup policy safeguards against various risks and allows for precise restoration at specific points in time. For instance, a company might set up daily backups lasting for 90 days (about 3 months) to ensure data recovery and continuity of operations. However, this approach may still have limitations in terms of granularity and long-term retention.

OneDrive for Business

OneDrive for Business Backup Policy safeguards personal files from accidental deletions and ransomware, enabling employees to recover their work independently. This reduces downtime and enhances productivity by regularly backing individual files and folders. For example, a marketing team member can quickly restore a deleted presentation file within the 90-day retention period without disrupting workflow. This proactive strategy prevents errors and protects against cyber threats, ensuring continuous business operations.

How to Create a Backup Policy for Microsoft 365

The first step in creating a backup policy for Microsoft 365 is to identify the data that needs to be backed up. For example, emails, OneDrive files, SharePoint sites, and Teams data. Prioritize the most critical data to your business and ensure it is included in your backup policy.  

Choose a backup method: There are several backup methods available for Microsoft 365, including native Microsoft tools, third-party backup solutions, and manual backups. Choose a backup method that meets your business needs, budget, and technical requirements.  

Choose a storage location: Once you have chosen a backup method, you must select a storage location for your backups.

Set a backup schedule: The next step is to set a backup schedule that meets your business needs. That may include daily, weekly, or monthly backups, depending on the criticality of the data and the level of data changes. Set a backup schedule that is frequent enough to minimize data loss but not so frequent that it impacts system performance.  

Establish roles and tasks: Assign individuals or teams to manage backups, monitor logs, and perform recovery. Make sure they are trained and have the correct permissions.  For more efficient management of backup policies across your organization, consider leveraging Microsoft 365 Dynamic Groups.

Determine retention periods: Decide how long backups should be kept based on business needs, legalities, and compliance.

Define recovery procedures: In the event of data loss, have clear recovery procedures in place. For instance, you are restoring data from backups, verifying data integrity, and testing recovery procedures regularly.  

Set recovery objectives: Recovery objectives define the target time and point in time for data recovery.

Test and maintain the backup policy: Once you have created it, it is essential to test it regularly to ensure its effectiveness. It may include restoring data from backups, checking backup logs, and verifying that backups are being performed as scheduled. Maintain your backup policy by updating it to reflect changes in your business needs, data types, or backup methods.  

What is an example of a backup policy?

Picture managing a medium-sized online retail company with frequent transactions and customer updates. Your backup plan might involve daily automatic backups during off-peak times to prevent disruptions. The backup frequency is determined by data changes and importance, setting when and where they will be stored - typically in secure on-site and offsite locations. On-site storage enables quick recovery, while offsite storage safeguards against physical disasters, ensuring a secure copy is always available.

Furthermore, the backup policy might incorporate regular testing procedures to ensure the accuracy and reliability of backed-up data and specify who manages these backups - whether an internal team member or an outsourced IT service provider. Details about what specific files need to be backed up (like transaction records), how long they should be retained (based upon regulatory requirements and business needs), encryption standards for maintaining security during transmission/storage, and procedures for restoring from a backup would also form part of this comprehensive plan.  

What are some best practices for backup policies specifically for Microsoft 365?

Create a detailed inventory of your data: Knowing what information you hold will allow you to prioritize your backups based on importance and sensitivity levels. For instance, critical customer information might need more frequent backups than general administrative files.  

Choosing the correct type of backup: Full backups involve regularly making copies of all data but can be space-consuming and time-intensive. Incremental backups only copy changes made since the last backup - saving storage space and time - but require all subsequent backups for complete restoration. Differential backups are a compromise between these two types as they back up all changes made since the last full backup, requiring less storage space than full backups while ensuring quicker restore times than incremental ones.  

Selective backup policies: Not all data requires the same level of protection. Classify data based on its criticality and adjust your backup frequency and retention policies accordingly. This targeted approach helps manage large data volumes by focusing resources on the most critical data.  

Utilizing modern backup solutions: Despite having backup and recovery features, third-party backup solutions for Microsoft 365 can offer extra protection, functionality, granular control over backups, faster recovery times, and enhanced security features.

Cloud storage utilizes cost-effective, scalable backup options, such as Azure Blob Storage, which are provided by cloud storage solutions. These services offer tiered storage solutions to help manage data criticality by balancing access speed and cost.

Regularly test backups: It is crucial to test your backups regularly to verify their functionality and ensure data recovery in case of loss. Regularly testing backups helps detect and resolve any potential issues before they escalate.  

Regular audits and reviews: Stay on top of compliance requirements by regularly auditing your backup policies and procedures. That ensures alignment with industry regulations and internal standards, adjusting policies as necessary to meet evolving compliance landscapes.  

Use versioning: Versioning allows us to keep multiple versions of a file or document to recover previous versions if needed.  

Ensure backups are secure by utilizing robust encryption for data stored and in motion and other security protocols to safeguard sensitive data and comply with data protection regulations. Microsoft 365 provides integrated security capabilities that can be utilized to strengthen the confidentiality and reliability of your backups.  

How Alcion Can Help

Alcion is here to ensure that your Microsoft 365 data—emails, documents, contacts, and more—is comprehensively backed up, protected against unforeseen data loss, and compliant with regulatory standards.  

Set it and forget it. Alcion automates the backup process, ensuring your data is regularly backed up without manual intervention. This feature guarantees that all recent changes to your documents, emails, and other critical data are safely stored, reflecting the most current state of your work.  

Easy restoration. In the event of data loss or corruption, Alcion provides a straightforward and rapid data restoration process.  

Secure storage. Security is our top priority. Alcion employs advanced encryption protocols for both in-transit and at-rest data, ensuring that your backups are impervious to unauthorized access.  

Ransomware protection. Alcion is equipped with innovative technology to detect and protect against ransomware attacks.  

Compliance. Alcion assists in meeting compliance requirements for a broad spectrum of regulatory frameworks. Our software supports your efforts to comply with GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC-2 regulations by providing comprehensive data protection and retention capabilities.  

Scalability. Alcion seamlessly scales to accommodate an increasing volume of data and users.  

Alcion offers a straightforward, efficient Microsoft 365 backup solution that aligns with modern IT infrastructures and user needs. Learn more by joining our Discord community and why not check it out for yourself, you can try Alcion for free (no credit card is needed)!