October 06, 2023

Choosing the Right Backup Solution for Your Clients’ Microsoft 365 Data

By Sam Roguine

It’s a little-known reality that companies lose their SaaS data regularly, and most SaaS providers don’t offer on-demand data recovery capabilities to be initiated by the customer companies. As a result, SaaS data is particularly vulnerable to ransomware attacks. According to the recent Odaseva report, 51% of organizations experienced a ransomware attack that targeted their SaaS data — and 52% of those attacks were successful. Microsoft 365 is no exception.

Many organizations, and even some MSPs, mistakenly believe that Microsoft 365 data is automatically protected. However, that is only partially true. Microsoft does come with trusted security measures, ensuring you won’t lose data.

Like most SaaS providers, Microsoft operates on the “shared responsibility model.” Hence, when it comes to data loss or downtime incidents occurring due to human and/or programmatic errors, insider activities or cyberattacks, Microsoft won’t be responsible.

How data loss can happen in Microsoft 365

By now, it’s clear that Microsoft’s built-in protection isn’t foolproof. In fact, there are multiple ways your clients can lose their Microsoft 365 data.

  • Accidental deletion is the most common cause of Microsoft 365 data loss. Employees can delete a file/folder assuming it’s no longer needed, only to realize their mistake later. In other scenarios, users can click the wrong buttons without realizing it (especially for mobile devices).
  • Any misconfiguration in the migration process can lead to data loss. Manual migration of Microsoft 365 data from one account to another is error-prone due to its complex and time-consuming nature, leading to data being left behind or overwritten.
  • Bad integrations of third-party apps with Microsoft 365 can lead to data being deleted, overwritten or lost. Sometimes, it could be the user’s fault, and other times, the app itself could be faulty. The data lost, as a result, will be gone forever, unless there’s a backup.
  • Microsoft 365 data is highly susceptible to malware (particularly ransomware) attacks. Microsoft’s built-in protection against malware doesn’t guarantee detection of every infection.
  • Disgruntled employees can intentionally delete important files of an organization as an act of vengeance, making data recovery and restoration difficult.

For whatever reason customer data gets deleted, Microsoft has no way of knowing whether it was intentional or accidental. What’s scarier is that if a hacker made the request, Microsoft would interpret the action as coming from a customer. As a result, there will be no scope to hold extra copies for data restoration afterward.

A cloud-to-cloud backup solution is the need of the hour for dependable protection against the data loss scenarios mentioned above.

Choosing the right Microsoft 365 backup solution: Key considerations

Not every backup solution will be ideal for you and your clients. It’s important to look at the factors to consider when selecting the right Microsoft 365 backup solution for managed service providers (MSPs) like you. Download the checklist to learn more.

Reliable protection for your clients’ Microsoft 365 data

Built exclusively for MSPs, Datto’s SaaS Protection for Microsoft 365 ticks all the boxes mentioned above. It ensures that your clients’ Microsoft 365 data is safe and secure. The solution scans Microsoft 365 for cyberthreats and protects with 3x daily backups and flexible, fast recovery. So, be a hero of your clients’ Microsoft 365 data and offer them data peace of mind with Datto SaaS Protection.

Want to see firsthand how you can save your clients’ Microsoft 365 data with our comprehensive SaaS Protection? Schedule a demo today!

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