Is it necessary to make backups of Exchange Online?

It is a big change for multiple reasons to move from on-premises Exchange to Exchange Online. It is a completely different system that requires different management techniques.

An administrator has many reasons to consider moving to cloud services such as Office 365, since many of the tedious and difficult tasks are being handled for them. Microsoft and other cloud service providers will build new servers, check hard drives for sufficient space, replace hardware that failed, patch systems, and make backups for your company. The only area that you need to pay attention to is the Exchange Online backup.

In the same way we make backups for on-premise systems, wouldn’t the same be true for cloud services as well? There are multiple answers to this question, depending on who you ask.

These third-party vendors tend to overstate the reasons for their actions. It’s important to market your backup product to potential customers if you sell Exchange Online backups. It is possible that something could go wrong with your Exchange Online data.

It is possible to do anything. If you don’t keep traditional backups, you will lose valuable information. You are responsible as the Exchange Online administrator for understanding the built-in recovery options provided by Microsoft and making sure those features are sufficient to meet your needs.

With their Exchange Online backup products, how come I never hear from these third-parties about this? Restorations.

Backups for Exchange Online: frequently asked questions

Almost every customer has unique requirements for compliance or legal reasons. I’ve published a few answers to some frequently asked questions about Exchange Online backups to help guide your final decision.

Would it be possible to set up a backup strategy similar to that of on-premises Exchange in a Fortune 500 company? What steps would you need to follow for that?

Due to the differences between Exchange Online and Exchange on-premises, it must be approached differently. The reason Exchange Online functions differently than Exchange Server in the data center is that much of what it does is outside your direct control. Therefore, you cannot do things the same way you could with the on-premises product.


As much as you can, take advantage of Exchange NDP features, then find ways to fill in any gaps that your organization may have.

What are your recommendations for backup vendors for Exchange Online?

A vendor’s product is never the same as another’s. Different features of the Mimecast, Veeam, Carbonite and Quest products are available at different prices. Which areas do you need to protect specifically? After you have this list, you will need to match the product to your requirements.

Mimecast offers a feature through its website that lets a person access their email even when Exchange Online is unavailable. The Veeam backup software supports multiple Office 365 workloads (including hosted and on-premises environments) and stores data in the cloud and on your own infrastructure. Although Carbonite’s Office 365 backup solution is easy to use and set up, it doesn’t have all the features offered by competitors. Questek’s offering is feature-rich, but it can be difficult to set up and maintain compared to other alternatives.

Your organization will determine what you need. My experience has been that some companies only want data to be retained in the cloud for a short period — typically not more than three years. Having backups could lead to unwanted legal issues for your company if this is the case.
Find ways to meet your organization’s needs under different disaster scenarios after understanding your organization’s needs.

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