Microsoft's recycle bin has a timer. It's not a backup. It's a countdown.
There's a surprisingly common misunderstanding among businesses that have moved to Microsoft 365: they believe Microsoft is backing up their data. This belief is incorrect, and it leaves organisations exposed to data loss they think they're protected against.
What Microsoft actually does with your data
Microsoft 365 retains deleted items for a limited period — typically 93 days for mailbox items and 180 days for SharePoint and OneDrive data. Within that window, you can restore deleted content. After that window closes, the data is permanently gone.
This is not a backup. It's a recycle bin with a timer.
What Microsoft's retention doesn't protect you from
Microsoft's retention doesn't protect against ransomware that encrypts your data before deleting the originals. It doesn't protect against a disgruntled employee who permanently deletes files. It doesn't protect against a misconfigured policy that wipes data before anyone notices. And it doesn't give you point-in-time restore — the ability to return your environment to a specific moment before a problem occurred.
What proper backup actually looks like
A genuine Microsoft 365 backup operates independently of Microsoft's own infrastructure. It takes regular snapshots of your Exchange Online mailboxes, SharePoint sites, OneDrive libraries and Teams data. It stores those snapshots in a separate, independently managed location. It allows you to restore individual items, entire mailboxes, or complete SharePoint sites to any point in time. And it is tested regularly — not just assumed to work.
What to do right now
If you're running Microsoft 365 without a third-party backup solution, address this now. The cost is modest — typically a few dollars per user per month — and the protection is significant. BrainTech IT includes third-party Microsoft 365 backup as standard across all managed IT plans.