Govern and Secure Your Data using Microsoft 365 Archive and Backup

You need to govern and secure your group’s data to succeed in today’s digital world. Microsoft 365 Archive and Backup provide you with tools to keep information safe and comply with regulations. New studies show that digital transformation brings increased cybersecurity risks, making information governance even more critical in healthcare and government sectors. These areas face privacy challenges and frequent cyberattacks. Understanding the differences between archiving and backup is essential to govern and secure data effectively while optimizing costs.

Key Takeaways

• Microsoft 365 Archive keeps old or unused data safe. It does this at a low cost. This helps your main systems work faster. It also helps you follow legal rules.

• Microsoft 365 Backup saves copies of your data every day. You can get your files back fast if they are lost or attacked.

• Make clear rules and retention policies for your data. These rules control who can see data and how long to keep it. This helps stop mistakes and lowers risks.

• Archiving and backup do different jobs. But they work best when used together. They help protect data, save money, and follow laws.

• Test your backups often and train your team. Teach them to spot threats and handle data safely. This keeps your business safe and trusted.

Overview

Archive

Microsoft 365 Archive lets you handle old or unused data. You put information you do not use often in a safe and cheap spot. This helps your main systems work faster. Here is what Archive does:

1. You move unused or rule-bound data from your main database to Archive.

2. Archive keeps your data in managed data lakes. These lakes are safe and easy to search.

3. You can look up and study archived data without moving it back.

4. Archive lets you keep data for many years to follow laws or business rules.

5. The system keeps your data locked and safe. This helps you pass audits and meet rules.

6. You save money by storing old data in a cheaper way. Sometimes you can cut costs by up to 90%.

7. Archive works with Microsoft Fabric and Synapse Link. You can use your data for reports and analytics.

Tip: Use Archive to help your business run well and follow rules. You do not have to spend too much on storage.

Backup

Microsoft 365 Backup keeps your data safe from loss or harm. You use it to make copies of files, emails, and other things. If something bad happens, you can get your data back fast. Backup gives you these features:

• Daily backups happen automatically. You get unlimited storage and retention.

• It works with Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Stream, Teams, and Yammer.

• Backups are quick. You can restore single files or older versions.

• Role-based access control keeps things secure and fair.

• Blockchain-based encryption protects data while moving and when stored.

• Data is saved in two regional centers for disaster recovery.

• You get full audit trails to track changes and access.

Backup helps you fix mistakes, fight cyberattacks, or recover deleted data. You meet legal and compliance needs by keeping good copies. You also keep your business safe from fines and downtime.

Note: Use Backup so you can always get your data back, even if something goes wrong.

Govern and Secure Data

Risks and Compliance

It can be hard to govern and secure your data in Microsoft 365. You may not know who owns the data. Sometimes, data is spread out in many places. Data quality can be poor. It is tough to control who can see or use the data. Unstructured files are hard to manage. It is not easy to use the same rules for all cloud tools. These problems make it harder to keep data safe and follow laws.

Tip: Make clear rules for who owns and handles data. Use Microsoft 365 tools to set up these rules. This helps you make fewer mistakes.

You also need to follow strict rules from governments and industries. Microsoft 365 Archive and Backup help you meet standards like SEC Rule 17a-4, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, NIST, and GDPR. These tools keep data locked and track who looks at it. No one can change or delete it before the right time. This helps you pass audits and avoid fines.

If you do not govern and secure your data, you could get big fines. You might face lawsuits or lose trust. Amazon once paid $877 million for breaking GDPR rules. IBM says bad data management costs businesses trillions each year. One data breach can cost over $4 million. You can avoid these problems with Microsoft 365 Archive and Backup. Set up strong retention policies, automate audits, and control who can see or change your data.

Note: Check your rules often and train your team. This helps everyone know the latest rules and threats.

Cybersecurity

Cyber threats go after Microsoft 365 every day. Attackers want to steal data or break into accounts. Some try to spread harmful software. You need to govern and secure your system to stop these attacks.

The most common attacks are:

• Privilege escalation, where someone tries to get more access.

• Phishing emails that trick people into giving passwords.

• Brute force and password spraying, where attackers guess passwords.

• Data exfiltration, which means stealing secret files.

• Malicious macros in documents that run bad code.

You can protect your data with Microsoft 365 Archive and Backup. These tools help you:

• Restore files fast if hackers or ransomware delete them.

• Keep backups safe in Microsoft data centers.

• Use role-based access control to limit who can see or change data.

• Track every action with audit trails to spot anything odd.

Alert: Always turn on multi-factor authentication and check user permissions often. This stops many attacks before they start.

Real stories show these steps work. A food company saved hours each week by using archiving and backup. They got files back fast without waiting for IT. A government group protected over 130 TB of data. They lowered risks from guest users and met strict rules with Microsoft 365 Archive and Backup.

You can govern and secure your data by doing these things:

1. Make clear rules for who owns and can use data.

2. Use Microsoft 365 Archive to store old or unused data.

3. Schedule backups and test if you can restore them.

4. Use retention policies that fit your industry’s rules.

5. Teach your team to spot phishing and use good security habits.

By doing these steps, you protect your business from legal trouble, money loss, and cyber threats. You also help your customers and partners trust you.

Archive vs. Backup

Differences

It is important to know how archiving and backup are not the same in Microsoft 365. Both tools help you manage your data, but they do different jobs. Look at the table below to see how they are not alike:

Tip: Use backup if you need to get your files back fast. Use archive to keep old data safe and follow the rules.

Benefits

Using both archiving and backup helps your business in many ways. Backups let you get your files back quickly if you lose them or get hacked. Archives let you keep old or unused data for a long time without filling up your main storage. This makes your systems work better and helps you follow the law.

Here are some main benefits:

• You follow legal and industry rules by keeping data as long as needed.

• You save money by putting old data in cheaper storage.

• You do not have to buy or fix expensive hardware.

• You can fix mistakes, stop hackers, or recover from disasters with little downtime.

• You know what you will pay and can grow easily with Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

A big company once got an 800% return on investment after moving archives to Microsoft 365. You can also spend less by not needing server hardware, power, or repairs. Most archived data is not used much, so you pay less for storage and moving data.

Note: Use both backup and archive to keep your data safe, save money, and make your business stronger.

Implementation

Setup

You can start to govern and secure your data by getting Microsoft 365 Archive and Backup ready. First, check your computers. Make sure they have enough memory and disk space. Use new processors and at least 16 GB of RAM. Install the right operating system, like Windows Server 2019 or Windows 11. Set up Microsoft .NET and PowerShell. Prepare a PostgreSQL database to store backup details. Open the firewall ports you need. Check that your backup account has admin rights.

Here are steps to set up archiving and backup for your group:

1. Turn on archive mailboxes for each user in Exchange Admin Center.

2. Make retention tags. These tags decide when emails move to archive or get deleted.

3. Put retention tags together in a retention policy. Give this policy to user mailboxes.

4. Use the retention policy. PowerShell can help you do this faster.

5. Set up backup jobs for each Microsoft 365 service, like Exchange Online, SharePoint, and OneDrive.

6. Split backup jobs to balance the work and make restores quicker.

7. Plan your storage well. Archiving and backing up mailboxes may double storage needs for some items.

8. Pick backup tools that support incremental backups and different export formats.

Tip: Check your hardware and software before you begin. This helps you avoid problems later.

Policies

You need strong policies to govern and secure your data. Policies help you control how long you keep data, who can see it, and when you delete it. Microsoft protects the system, but you must protect your own data.

Here are best ways to make backup and archiving policies:

1. Pick a backup solution with good security features. Look for anomaly detection and backups that cannot be changed.

2. Back up all Microsoft 365 services, even new ones like Teams and Loop.

3. Set retention times that fit your business and legal needs.

4. Test your backups often. Run recovery drills to make sure you can restore data.

5. Use the 3-2-1 backup rule. Keep three copies of your data, use two types of storage, and store one copy offsite.

6. Encrypt your backups. Protect data when moving and storing it.

7. Watch backup activities. Use audit logs to track changes and find problems.

8. Train your team. Teach everyone why backups matter and how to use them.

Retention policies help you govern and secure your data by managing its lifecycle. You can keep important files for years or delete old ones to save space. Archiving moves inactive data to cheaper storage. Backup makes safe copies for quick recovery.

Note: Check your policies often. Update them when laws or business needs change.

You can save money by using automated backup tools. These tools lower labor costs and make storage better. Pay-as-you-go pricing makes planning easy.

Restore

Restoring data is a key part of your plan to govern and secure your business. If someone deletes a file by mistake or a cyberattack happens, you need to get your data back fast.

Here are steps to restore data in Microsoft 365:

1. Find out what kind of data you lost. Was it an email, a file, or a user account?

2. For emails, look in the Deleted Items folder first. If you do not see it, check the Recoverable Items folder.

3. Use eDiscovery to search for data under Litigation Hold. Export the data if you need to.

4. Restore files from backup or archive. For OneDrive, you can restore to the original or a new spot.

5. Get back deleted users by restoring their accounts in the admin center. This lets you access their data again.

6. For SharePoint and Teams, follow the restore steps for sites and channels.

7. Use restore points to get data from a certain time. You can pick from 10-minute intervals within your retention period.

8. For big restores, expect it to take several minutes. Bulk restores may take longer, but Microsoft 365 tries for a recovery window of about 15 minutes.

Alert: Always test your restore process. Practice recovery drills so you know what to do in an emergency.

Keep a record of restore actions. Check session history to track what you restored and when. This helps you meet compliance rules and keeps your data safe.

Ongoing Governance, Security, and Compliance

You must govern and secure your data every day, not just during setup. Set clear goals for security and compliance. Write detailed policies and steps. Give roles to IT staff, compliance officers, and department heads. Train your workers so they know the rules. Watch your Microsoft 365 usage with analytics and reporting tools. Change your policies as risks and rules change.

Use Microsoft 365 features like Purview, Compliance Manager, and Data Loss Prevention. These tools help you sort data, automate retention, and find threats. Get executive leaders involved to show governance matters. Make governance a regular process.

Tip: Regular training and policy checks help you stay ahead of new threats and rules.

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You can keep your data safe with Microsoft 365 Archive and Backup. These tools help you make rules for how long to keep data. They also protect your files from danger and help you follow the law. Knowing how archiving and backup are different helps you pick the best one for each job.

Check your data plans every year. Make a group to change rules and test if you can get your data back. Use automation so you make fewer mistakes and keep your business safe.

FAQ

How do you start using Microsoft 365 Archive?

You open the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. You select users or sites to archive. You set retention tags and policies. You move old data to the archive. You check the archive status in the dashboard.

Tip: Review your archive settings every month.

What steps help you restore deleted files with Microsoft 365 Backup?

You go to the Backup dashboard. You search for the file or email. You choose the restore option. You pick the time and version. You confirm the restore. You check if the file appears in its original place.

How can you set up a retention policy for your data?

You log in to Compliance Center. You create a new retention policy. You select data types and users. You set how long to keep data. You apply the policy. You monitor policy results in the reports.

What should you do if you need to estimate storage costs?

You check your current storage usage in the Admin Center. You review pricing tables. You multiply your data size by the cost per GB. You add any extra fees for reactivation or retrieval.

Can you automate backups for all Microsoft 365 services?

Yes, you can. You use the Backup settings to schedule automatic backups. You select services like Exchange, SharePoint, and OneDrive. You set backup frequency. You check backup logs to confirm success.

Note: Test your backups often to make sure they work.