There’s a lot to love about Microsoft Office 365. This advanced subscription service has long afforded organizations the flexibility they need to succeed in a mobile world. Business leaders have responded with widespread adoption, as evidenced by Microsoft’s record-breaking numbers. The company’s FY20 first-quarter earnings conference call revealed a monthly active user base of over 200 million. Those numbers have likely increased since then in light of the current reliance on remote work solutions.

Much of Microsoft Office 365’s appeal lies in its extensive offerings for keeping data safe. The service’s data loss prevention (DLP) policy makes it possible to monitor sensitive information across a variety of locations – and block access as needed to keep this data safe.

In addition to benefiting from Microsoft’s DLP, Office 365 users point to OneDrive as a source of protection. After all, the popular hosting service stores copies of user files in the cloud. Many businesses take advantage of this feature by copying locally stored files onto SharePoint document libraries. Unfortunately, this approach is not particularly reliable. In the event of a hard disk failure or ransomware infection, so-called backups on OneDrive can easily be compromised.

If data loss occurs, an insufficient backup strategy could prove catastrophic. It may lead not only to lost sales, but also reputational damage and extensive recovery costs. Therefore, backup solutions should be implemented as soon as possible.

Still not convinced? Let’s take a closer look at a few top reasons for investing in Microsoft Office 365 backups.

The Need for Access During an Outage

In an ideal world, outages would never occur, and if they did, downtime would be minimal. Unfortunately, outages remain a real possibility even for organizations that implement a variety of preventative measures.

If (in the worst-case scenario) systems remain out of commission for several hours or even days, your business must retain access to essential files and documents. Don’t count on Microsoft to provide this – during an Azure outage in 2019, many users struggled to access their mailboxes.

Ensuring Industry-Related Backup Compliance

Insufficient backups may increase risks across a variety of organizations, but they are particularly problematic for those operating within industries that hold strict standards for data use and storage. This is especially true in healthcare, where complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) can prove surprisingly difficult when reliant on Office 365. Similar issues may arise for law firms and other businesses that handle sensitive data. When in doubt, it’s safest to use a robust backup solution to ensure full compliance.

Ransomware Protection

A poor backup strategy could leave your business vulnerable to future ransomware attacks, which may exploit your desire to maintain access to sensitive data. If this information is fully and securely backed up through a third-party provider, you’ll be less likely to give in to the demands of hackers. This, in turn, could prevent future ransomware attacks. If you submit to hackers’ demands just once, you’ll likely be targeted later on.

For years, business owners deluded themselves into thinking that they were not vulnerable to ransomware attacks. Many assumed that hackers would not target small organizations. The WannaCry catastrophe of 2017 demonstrated the damage such an assumption can cause. The international cyber-attack targeted a variety of organizations that utilized Windows, demanding Bitcoin payments as ransom.

While WannaCry has received the bulk of the attention, it’s just one of many incidents to harm small and midsize businesses. Proactive measures such as installing powerful firewalls can help, but backups remain vital when security systems fail.

Backing up your Microsoft Office 365 data may take time and require an initial investment beyond the subscription itself. However, this will ultimately pay off in the form of security and peace of mind. The sooner you invest in this business essential, the better.

Look to NerdsToGo for Computer Support

Are you on the hunt for a data backup solution that will improve both business security and personal peace of mind? Look to NerdsToGo for assistance with this and a variety of other urgent tech matters. From data backups to computer repair the NerdsToGo team provides a wide selection of solutions worth exploring.

As a top source for IT support, we’re committed to keeping your data safe while ensuring it remains accessible to the appropriate parties. In addition to proactive IT measures, we offer a variety of repair services to get your devices and network back in working order.

Ready to get started? There’s no reason to delay necessary upgrades and repairs. Contact NerdsToGo to learn more about our data backup options and the many other IT services we provide.