Microsoft 365 is widely used by UK businesses for email and collaboration, but it's important to understand that Microsoft's built-in email retention and recovery features are not the same as a dedicated backup service. While Microsoft 365 protects against some data loss scenarios, it does not guarantee full recovery from accidental deletion, ransomware attacks, or extended outages. Relying solely on Microsoft's native tools can leave your business vulnerable to losing critical emails and attachments.
Why this matters for UK SMEs
For small and medium-sized businesses, email is often the lifeblood of daily operations—handling customer enquiries, invoices, contracts, and internal communications. Losing access to emails or having them permanently deleted can cause downtime, disrupt staff productivity, and damage customer trust. Additionally, UK data protection regulations like the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR expect businesses to have appropriate measures to protect personal data, which includes email records. Having a reliable backup strategy supports compliance and audit readiness by ensuring you can restore data if needed.
A typical scenario
Consider a UK SME with around 50 employees using Microsoft 365 for email. An employee accidentally deletes a folder containing several months' worth of client correspondence. Microsoft 365's recycle bin only retains deleted items for 30 days, after which recovery is difficult or impossible without a backup. A ransomware attack encrypts the mailbox data, locking users out. Without a separate backup, the business faces costly downtime while trying to recover or rebuild email records. A managed IT provider offering Microsoft 365 backup services would have a copy of all email data stored securely, allowing rapid restoration and minimising disruption.
What to check and ask your IT provider
- Do you provide a dedicated Microsoft 365 email backup service that stores data independently of Microsoft's own systems?
- How frequently are backups taken, and how long are they retained?
- Can you restore individual emails, entire mailboxes, or specific folders quickly and easily?
- Where is the backup data stored? Is it encrypted and held within the UK or EU to meet data sovereignty considerations?
- How do you handle security around backup access, such as multi-factor authentication and role-based permissions?
- Are backup and restore processes regularly tested to ensure reliability?
- Does your service support compliance with UK GDPR and Cyber Essentials requirements?
Simple internal checks
- Review who has access to Microsoft 365 admin and backup tools—limit to trusted staff.
- Check retention policies in Microsoft 365 to understand what data is kept and for how long.
- Confirm that multi-factor authentication (MFA) is enabled on all admin accounts.
- Ask your IT team or provider for a recent test restore to verify backup integrity.
- Ensure your supplier questionnaire or tender process includes questions about Microsoft 365 backup capabilities.
In summary, while Microsoft 365 includes some data protection features, these are not a substitute for a dedicated email backup service. For UK SMEs, investing in a reliable, independent backup reduces the risk of data loss, supports compliance, and helps maintain business continuity. Speak with a trusted managed IT provider or IT advisor to review your current Microsoft 365 setup and discuss backup options tailored to your business needs.