So part one of the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 discusses the shared responsibility model and outlines both Microsoft and Customer responsibilities. I also took at why you need to backup briefly but will dive more into this for part two. You can find resource links and part one here - Part 1

When it comes to backing up your Microsoft 365 data, there are seven reasons why you NEED to back it up -

1. Accidental deletion: This is actually the most common cause of data loss in Microsoft  65. If you delete a user, whether you meant to or not, that deletion will then be replicated across the netw rk. A backup could restore that user, either to on-premises Exchange or Microsoft 365.
2. Retention policy gaps and confusion: Retention policies in Microsoft 365 are designed to help organizations comply with regulations, laws and internal policies that require that they retain or delete content; they are not back ps. But even if you do rely on your retention policy in place of a backup, these retention policies are hard to keep up with, let alone man ge. A backup provides longer and more accessible retention that’s all protected and stored in one place for easy recovery.
3. Internal security threats: When we think of threats to our business, we usually think in terms of protecting against external for es. However, many businesses also experience threats from the inside, and these issues happen more often than you th nk. Having a high-grade recovery solution mitigates the risk of critical data being lost or destroyed.
4. External security threats: Ransomware is becoming more and more sophisticated, and criminals are finding more ways to reach our users and deceive them into clicking a link that encrypts the entire organization’s data for ran om. A backup can easily restore data to an instance before the attack.
5. Legal and compliance requirements: There are eDiscovery capabilities built into Microsoft 365, but a third-party backup solution is purpose-built to easily search within a backup and quickly bring back data to meet any regulatory compliance needs.
6. Managing hybrid email deployments and migrations to Microsoft 365: Whether you are migrating to Microsoft 365 or have a blend of on-premises Exchange and Microsoft 365 users, the exchange data should be managed and protected the same way, which makes the source location irrelevant.
7. Teams’ data structure: The Microsoft Teams backend is much more complex than many real ze. Teams is not a self-contained application, meaning the data generated in Teams resides in other applications like Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDr ve. With this added layer of complexity, ensuring that data is adequately protected is paramount.

Reference - 7 Reasons Why Microsoft 365 Backup is Critical

The above reasons are the most common for Microsoft 365 backups, and the article referenced is a good read if you want further information.

So again - Why back up Microsoft 365?  Microsoft provides a wide array of powerful services within Microsoft 365, but a comprehensive backup of your Office 365 data is not one of them. The data residing in Microsoft 365 is your responsibility, and you need a backup to ensure you have total access, control and protection of your Office 365 data.  It cannot be stated enough that you need to backup up the Microsoft 365 data in your organization even if you are using On-Premise Exchange.

So when it comes to a solution Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 is the one to look at whether directly from Veeam or via a Service Provider that might offer that along with storage too.  Be sure to follow the 3-2-1-1-0 rule as well with your Microsoft 365 data so you ensure that you have multiple copies of it and offsite as well for DR recovery.

Along with Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 being able to back up your data they also have 45 ways to restore it as well.  It works with:

Exchange Online & Exchange On-Premise

OneDrive for Business

Microsoft Teams

SharePoint Online & SharePoint On-Premise

Depicted below is the many ways Veeam can restore your data and also in the referenced link below is further information:

So again it bears repeating that you need to BACK UP your Microsoft 365 data to ensure it is protected from things like Ransomware, Malicious actors, etc.  In part three of the series will start to get in to the workings of the actual Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 product and things to consider when deploying, configuration, and other best practices.  For now you can reference some other great links mentioned in this blog below.

Great resource links for more on Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 -

Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365

45 Microsoft 365 recovery options with Veeam

Until Part 3.......