How to Backup Microsoft Teams Data?
Microsoft Teams has become the go-to collaboration platform for many businesses. Consequently, it has become one of the most data-rich environments that include everything ranging from chats, images, files, videos, messages, tasks, and contacts. Unlike most other applications and services, Microsoft Teams is a complex combination of different services. This includes Office 365 Groups, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, Planner, and OneNote, among others. With so many interdependent components, it becomes complex to secure Microsoft Teams data for businesses. In this article, we will explain how to backup Microsoft Teams data.
How to Use Built-In Methods to Protect Microsoft Teams Data?
As with all other data, Microsoft recommends using retention policies for securing Microsoft Teams data. It is possible to configure these retention policies from the Microsoft 365 compliance center. Teams chat, channel and file data are configured to be retained indefinitely by default.
Microsoft Teams uses hidden Exchange mailboxes and Azure-powered chat service to secure chat data. Also, separate retention policies can be used for securing Microsoft Teams files in OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online.
What Are the Limitations of Retention Policies for Microsoft Teams?
While retention policies can be used to secure Microsoft Teams data, it is not ideal to use them as a backup solution. There are several limitations of using retention policies instead of dedicated backup solutions for securing Microsoft Teams data.
- It is not possible to implement organization-wide Microsoft Teams retention policies, and they will have to be created separately for chats and channels.
- These policies cannot be applied to private channel messages.
- Retention policies are used to secure compliance records and not the original data. This means certain elements will not be stored, and data will not be restored in the original form.
What Are the Advantages of Using Third-Party Tools for Microsoft Teams Data Backup?
Third-party tools can simplify the process of backing up and restoring Microsoft Teams data. The primary advantage of using third-party solutions to backup Microsoft Teams data is that they can provide point in time and longer-term backups, apart from making it easier to recover Microsoft Teams content. Some of them allow full-text searches to facilitate content discovery and recovery of content from both teams and private channels, conversations, work files, and meeting items. Additionally, they provide user interfaces for backing up and restoring Microsoft Teams that are much simpler to use than the Microsoft 365 compliance center and its PowerShell cmdlets.
However, third-party tools also have their limitations, primarily because they depend on Microsoft’s APIs and the underlying services, such as SharePoint Online and Exchange Online.
Apps4Rent Can Help with Microsoft Teams Data Backup
While there is no comprehensive method to backup Microsoft Teams data currently, both Microsoft and third-party tool providers are working on developing appropriate solutions for the application, considering its popularity. Until then, organizations will have to adopt the horses-for-the-courses approach to backup content in Microsoft Teams, depending on their workloads and requirements. As a Tier 1 Microsoft CSP, Apps4Rent can advise businesses and implement solutions to secure and backup data in Microsoft Teams, and other applications in the Microsoft 365/ Office 365 productivity suite. Contact our Microsoft consultants, available 24/7 via phone, chat, and email for plans, migration assistance, and other related services.
