Veeam Backup Deployment options for Microsoft 365 Data

Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform offering productivity tools like Exchange Online, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, and Office apps etc. In this article, we shall discuss “VDC and VDP (VB365) Veeam Backup deployment options for Microsoft 365 Data”. Please see how to Fix MDT accidental OS deletion, Upgrade Veeam Backup and Replication to version 12.2, and how to Set up Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure. M365 provides a cloud-based alternative to traditional on-premises solutions like Exchange Server. Below are some advantages of using Microsoft 365 over its predecessors

Unlike Exchange Server, Microsoft 365 eliminates the need for patch management, server maintenance, and on-premises hardware costs. Therefore, there is no maintenance overhead.
M365 is designed for businesses of all sizes, providing secure, anywhere access to data and applications.

While Microsoft 365 simplifies operations, it does not offer comprehensive backup and many organisations still don’t realise that it’s their responsibility to back up Microsoft 365 data. Microsoft provides backup of your data at a separate cost charged per GB.

This limitation makes third-party backup solutions essential for data protection, compliance, and recovery. We have discuss this topic in the past, Why should you use Veeam to protect your Microsoft 365 Data. But will like to introduce a new product which is Veeam Data Cloud which we will be discussing very shortly.

Misconceptions About Microsoft’s Built-in M365 Protection

Here is an article discussing “Microsoft 365 Backup: Why is it imperative to protect M365?“. As you are aware, many organisations assume Microsoft 365 includes full backup capabilities. Veeam did a good job to raise this awareness some years back. The image below shows a shared responsiblity model and I urge you to take a look at the referenced link for more information.

SRC: Veeam “M365 Shared Responsibility Model”

Below are some arguments and reasons to backup M365 data. They are as follow;

Microsoft’s Shared Responsibility Model clarifies that while Microsoft ensures infrastructure uptime and availability, data protection is the customer’s responsibility.
Built-in tools like retention policies and replication safeguard against infrastructure failures, but they don’t address accidental deletion, malware, or compliance needs.

With this information above, without having a backup of your M365 data, the following issues below will be inevitable.

Deleted data not recovered within retention policy might be permanently lost. Microsoft has a Data Handling Standard policy for Microsoft 365 that specifies how long customer data is retained after deletion. Please take a look at this Microsoft article for more information on “Data retention, deletion, and destruction in Microsoft 365”.
Disgruntled/Malicious actions by employees or misconfigured settings can lead to data loss. Therefore, having M365 backup in place is super important for your critical business need.
Ransomware, phishing, and other cyberattacks pose significant threats to critical business data. Without a robust backup strategy, recovering from such incidents can be nearly impossible, potentially resulting in severe operational downtime, data loss, reputational damage, and financial costs.

Backup solutions act as your last line of defense, ensuring that your business can recover swiftly and maintain continuity even in the face of these cyber threats.

Why Veeam Stands Out amongst Competitiors

Veeam empowers organisations worldwide to protect their Microsoft 365 data with unmatched flexibility, offering secure, reliable solutions for both on-premises and cloud storage while ensuring seamless accessibility and compliance.

When issues arise with Veeam Backup and Replication, an extensive support ecosystem, including an active user community and a responsive support team ensures swift and effective resolution.

Lastly, with a proven track record of reliability, Veeam is trusted by over 450,000 customers worldwide to safeguard customer critical data with advanced protection and rapid recovery solutions.

Please see how to create Microsoft 365 Account, and how to Get your free Microsoft 365 E5 Sandbox today. Also, see how to delete Azure Tenant: Remove Custom Domain from Entra ID, and “Microsoft Azure Active Directory: How to setup Azure AD Tenant“.

Protect Microsoft 365 Data: Freedom of Choice

With Veeam, you decide whether to leverage the convenience of a managed service or retain full ownership of your backup architecture ensuring your organisation’s data is secure, accessible by backing up to any location (on-premise or in the cloud object storage), and managed in the way that best fits your goals as discussed above.

Veeam empowers you with the freedom to choose the best backup solution tailored to your organisation’s needs. Below are the two deployment options for protecting your Data.

Backup as a Service (BaaS): Veeam Data Cloud is a BaaS solution which provides you with another deployment and management option where backup software, infrastructure, and storage are included in one package, allowing you to streamline your backup processes and keep costs low and predictable. Veeam Data Cloud can be purchased through the Azure Marketplace and through a Veeam Reseller.

Backup Software (Veeam Data Platform): With Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365, you take complete control over your backup strategy. You define the architecture, deployment, and operational processes, giving your organisation the flexibility to customise its backup environment while maintaining robust protection. In other-words, it gives you the flexibility to change your backup storage at any time. Thereby avoiding penalties and vendor lock-in.

This solution ensures that you eliminates the risk of losing your Microsoft 365 data, including Microsoft Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Teams. Thereby staying always protected and accessible!

Veeam Data Cloud Deployment Options

Microsoft and Veeam recently announced a extended strategic partnership to jointly develop AI innovation and co-sell Veeam Data Cloud. The Veeam Data Cloud (VDC) was officially announced in March 2024 and this represents a significant evolution in Veeam’s data protection offerings.

This collaboration includes engineering integrations to ensure seamless functionality between Veeam’s backup technologies and Microsoft services like Azure and 365. This partnership highlights a shared commitment to ensuring cyber resiliency for cloud-focused organisations.

Veeam Data Cloud empowers organisations to close gaps in their Microsoft 365 and Azure strategies by providing an all-in-one solution that integrates backup software, infrastructure, and storage, streamlining processes and ensuring predictable, cost-effective data protection. As shown below, this cloud-native solution provides the best SaaS-based protection for your Microsoft 365 and Azure data, and it’s ready out–of–the-box with policy-driven simplicity.

Veeam Data Cloud (VDC) is designed as a SaaS-based platform, and it integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 and Azure. Thereby, providing you with enhanced backup, recovery, and ransomware resilience for organisation’s using cloud services.

Interactive Veeam Data Cloud Walkthrough

Experience unparalleled backup and restore speed and scalability with Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365, powered by Microsoft 365 Backup Storage. This solution combines exceptional performance with complete control and flexibility to meet your organisation’s needs. Explore its capabilities in action with the interactive demo below.

Veeam Data Cloud further strengthens and supports Veeam’s position in protecting over 21m+ Microsoft 365 users. This emphasises on scalability and speed in data recovery. The solution is particularly focused on protecting data in the face of increasing cyber threats, outages, and compliance requirements. You may want to see why IT Leaders Choose Veeam (customer stories). Below are some key benefits of Veeam Data Cloud.

Provides a centralised management interface for managing backups across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
Advanced integration with Microsoft’s infrastructure and this ensures rapid data restores. Thereby, minimising downtime.
Through its collaboration with Microsoft. Veeam is incorporating AI capabilities such as those from Microsoft Copilot to improve automation and threat detection in its data protection solutions.
This robust solutions help organisations meet data retention and compliance standards for industries with strict regulatory needs.

You can contact Sales or Request Demo for Microsoft 365 Backup Service (VDC). Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365 will consist of three plans which are Flex, Express, and Premium. Microsoft 365 Backup Storage will be integrated into Express and Premium

M365 Backup Software Deployment Option

With Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365, you can back up Microsoft 365 data to any location whether on-premises or in cloud object storage. This includes Amazon S3, Azure Blob, IBM Cloud, or S3 compatible providers as discussed previously.

This solution ensures that your Microsoft 365 Data is completely under your control. The backup server for central configuration, the backup proxy in charge of data transfer, and the backup repository where data is stored all come together to provide you with the freedom to deploy and store data wherever you choose.

Visit the Download page to start your 30-day trial of the self-managed software. Or connect with sales directly to deploy it on your infrastructure.

VBO Veeam Backup for M365 — Gain the flexibility to backup Microsoft 365 data to any location with an industry-leading recovery, comprehensive immutability and powerful eDiscovery

Note: If the above solutions don’t meet your needs, leverage the expertise of a Veeam Cloud & Service Provider Partner to secure your Microsoft 365 and public cloud data. These managed services providers offer Backup as a Service (BaaS) and Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), delivering reliable off-site backup and disaster recovery solutions tailored to your organization. By partnering with Veeam-certified experts, you can ensure comprehensive protection and peace of mind without the complexity of managing these solutions yourself

Please see how to “Fix Error 1069: Windows could not start the Veeam backup service on local computer“. Here is how to Move Azure Resources between Subscriptions, and “how to add and verify a custom domain name to Azure Active Directory“.

Veeam Data Vault

On the same day Microsoft launched its Microsoft 365 Backup Storage service for third-party integrations. Veeam actively responded by announcing a seamless integration with its Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365.

Veeam Data Cloud Vault offers a fully managed, secure cloud storage solution hosted on Azure, designed to remove the complexities of managing infrastructure and navigating unpredictable cloud costs. This makes budgeting and forecasting a breeze. With this service, you simply specify the storage capacity you need, and Veeam takes care of the rest from provisioning to ongoing management ensuring scalability, security, and cost predictability.

This solution is ideal for organisations seeking seamless data protection and storage in the cloud without the burden of manual maintenance or surprise expenses as mentioned above. Veeam Data Cloud Vault empowers businesses to focus on their core objectives while ensuring their data is secure and readily available.

Also, as cyber threats increases especially against backup data. The the need to secure your backup systems has never been more critical. Veeam Data Cloud Vault is designed to meet rigorous Zero Trust Data Resilience standards. This guarantees that your backup data adheres to the 3-2-1-1-0 rule, ensuring both protection and resilience against modern cyberattacks.

With this Storage as a Service solution, you eliminate the complexities of traditional data management and unpredictable pricing models, providing a streamlined, secure, and scalable cloud storage experience that is always aligned with your security and business continuity needs. This approach removes the burden of infrastructure management while fortifying your backup data against emerging threats.

Please see how To Use Azure Key Vault Secrets in Azure Pipelines, How to backup Azure VM with VM Settings, and How to uninstall Hyper-V on a Windows PC.

FAQs

Does Microsoft back up my M365 data?

No. Microsoft provides infrastructure-level protection but does not include full data backups. Data loss protection from accidental deletion, corruption, or cyberattacks falls under the user’s responsibility. This is why a third-party backup solution like Veeam is essential to secure your data.

Is M365 data backup my responsibility?

Yes, as discussed in the section above. Microsoft’s Shared Responsibility Model emphasises that data security and recovery are the customer’s responsibility.

What happens without backup?

Without a backup, accidental deletions, internal errors, and ransomware attacks can lead to irreversible data loss. This means, your organisation risks permanent data loss due to the above mentioned atatcks. These events can severely disrupt operations, lead to financial losses, and compromise compliance with regulatory requirements.

How does Veeam Data Cloud compare to Veeam Data Platform?

Veeam Data Cloud is a cloud backup service where a user can simply log in to a web interface and manage their backups. Veeam Data Platform is self-managed data protection backup software where you manage your own infrastructure and bring your own storage.

Conclusion on Deployment Options for Microsoft 365 Data

Microsoft 365 is a powerful SaaS platform, but it requires complementary backup solutions like Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 to ensure comprehensive data protection.

Whether for compliance, accidental deletions, or cyberattacks, Veeam offers the reliability and flexibility businesses need to safeguard critical data.

I hope you found this article useful on “VDC or VDP? Veeam Backup deployment options for Microsoft 365 Data”. Please feel free to leave a comment online.