| Status | DECIDED |
| Owner | Gautier Todeschini |
| Stakeholders | Li Lian Tan, Eric Triffaux |
Decision: Option 1: M365 Native Backup - decision was made due to the satisfactory level of backup natively provided by M365, and the fact that additionnal costs for backup would not fit in the 2026 budgets.
Decision made by: Li Lian Tan, Eric Triffaux
Date:
Online Meeting: M365 - Build Deep Dive Session - Backup
Issue
The decision concerns choosing between the native Microsoft 365 backup and an option extended by a third-party tool.
Recommendation
Option 1: M365 Native backup
Background & Context
During the backup workshops in the first phase of the project (September 2025), the topic of what backup system would be available in M365 after the migration from GWS was discussed.
The decision was to be made during the second phase of the project.
A reassessment was provided by the Hosting/Backup team early 2026, with a comparison of the functionalities of Veeam and the native M365 backup. The results are below.
Assumptions
- If there will be any additional budget for secondary Backup, new project has to be assigned to implement,
Constraints
- No secured budget to implement 3rd party backup tool.
Impacts
- Less configuration flexibility (retention period, target storage)
- Veeam brings more granularity when it comes to restoration (Object level)
Options considered
Option 1: M365 Native Backup
Option 2: 3rd Party Backup (Veeam)
Evaluation
Option 1: M365 Native Backup
| Feature | OneDrive | SharePoint | Exchange Online |
| Retention period | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year |
| Recovery points | - Every 10 minutes for the past 2 weeks - Weekly snapshots for weeks 2–52 prior | - Every 10 minutes for the past 2 weeks - Weekly snapshots for weeks 2–52 prior | - Every 10 minutes for the past 52 weeks |
| Backup granularity | OneDrive account | SharePoint site | Exchange user account |
| Restore granularity | - OneDrive accounts - Files restorable via versions (coming soon) | - SharePoint sites - Files restorable via versions (coming soon) | - Mail/Contacts/Calendar/Task items |
| Restore options | - Location: Same or new URL - OneDrive restore: Rolls back to the state at the prior point in time, overwriting all content and metadata since then - File version restore: Rolls forward the file to the prior state, but retains prior versions | - Location: Same or new URL - Full site restore: Rolls back to the state at the prior point in time, overwriting all content and metadata since then - File version restore: Rolls forward the file to the prior state, but retains prior versions | - Location: Same or new folder within user’s mailbox - Full and item-level mailbox restores: Only modified/deleted items from prior point in time |
| Restore speeds (RTO) | Up to 1,000 average-sized OneDrive accounts at a rate of up to 1–3 TB per hour | Up to 1,000 average-sized sites at a rate of up to 1–3 TB per hour | Up to 1,000 average-sized mailboxes at a rate of up to 1–3 TB per hour |
| Auditability | Actions fully auditable | Actions fully auditable | Actions fully auditable |
| Geographic residency | Physically redundant & geographically replicated Honors tenant’s geographic residency requirements | Physically redundant & geographically replicated Honors tenant’s geographic residency requirements | Physically redundant & geographically replicated Honors tenant’s geographic residency requirements |
Option 2: 3rd Party Backup (Veeam)
Feature | OneDrive (Veeam) | SharePoint (Veeam) | Exchange Online (Veeam) |
| Retention period | Customizable (unlimited, as defined by your policy and storage) | Customizable (unlimited, as defined by your policy and storage) | Customizable (unlimited, as defined by your policy and storage) |
| Recovery points | As often as every 5 minutes (configurable) | As often as every 5 minutes (configurable) | As often as every 5 minutes (configurable) |
| Backup granularity | Per user, per file, per folder, or entire OneDrive account | Per site, per library, per document, or entire SharePoint site | Per mailbox, per folder, per item, or entire mailbox |
| Restore granularity | Individual files, folders, or entire OneDrive account | Individual documents, libraries, sites, or entire SharePoint site | Individual emails, contacts, calendar items, tasks, folders, or entire mailbox |
| Restore options | - Restore to original or alternate OneDrive - Download files - Export as ZIP - Advanced search/eDiscovery | - Restore to original or alternate SharePoint site - Download documents - Export as ZIP - Advanced search/eDiscovery | - Restore to original or alternate mailbox/folder - Export as PST, MSG, EML - Advanced search/eDiscovery |
| Restore speeds (RTO) | Fast, scalable, and dependent on your infrastructure; supports bulk and item-level restores | Fast, scalable, and dependent on your infrastructure; supports bulk and item-level restores | Fast, scalable, and dependent on your infrastructure; supports bulk and item-level restores |
| Auditability | All backup and restore actions fully auditable; detailed logs and reporting | All backup and restore actions fully auditable; detailed logs and reporting | All backup and restore actions fully auditable; detailed logs and reporting |
| Geographic residency | Data stored in your chosen location (on-premises, cloud, or hybrid); supports compliance requirements | Data stored in your chosen location (on-premises, cloud, or hybrid); supports compliance requirements | Data stored in your chosen location (on-premises, cloud, or hybrid); supports compliance requirements |
See also
The following section describes relevant documentation:
Description | Repository | ||