Microsoft keeps Outlook, OneDrive and Teams running. Getting your data back after a mistake, a departure or a cyberattack is up to you, and the clock starts the moment something is deleted.
Microsoft 365 has recycle bins, not backups. Here is how long your data survives under Microsoft's default settings once it is deleted.
Once someone empties Deleted Items, email can be recovered for 14 days by default (30 at most).
Delete the user's account and their mailbox follows 30 days later. OneDrive's "undo" rollback also reaches back only 30 days.
Files deleted from OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams leave the recycle bin for good. Unlicensed OneDrives are archived and billed by Microsoft.
Microsoft's default settings as of . Sources listed at the foot of this page.
Your sales manager leaves in March and IT removes her account. In September a customer disputes a contract, and the proof is in her email.
An attacker gets into an administrator's account, encrypts your shared files, then empties the recycle bins, because they live inside the same Microsoft 365 the attacker now controls.
Someone tidies up and deletes "Projects 2024". Nobody notices until your accountant asks for the files four months later at year end.
| Microsoft 365 alone | With Hawesome Backup | |
|---|---|---|
| How far back you can restore | 14 to 93 days, depending on the data | As long as your business needs, typically 1 to 7 years |
| A copy stored outside Microsoft 365 | No; recycle bins sit inside your tenant | Yes, held separately from Microsoft 365 |
| Safe from an attacker with admin rights | No; an admin can empty everything | Yes, a copy that can't be altered or deleted |
| Former employees' email and files | Gone 30 days after the account is deleted | Kept for as long as you choose |
| Restore one email, file or folder from any day | Only while it's still in a recycle bin | Yes, from any backup point |
| Proof that recovery works | Never tested | Regular test restores with a written report |
| Who you call | A Microsoft support ticket | Your local Hawesome team in Colorado Springs |
Every plan starts with a free assessment of your Microsoft 365, so the quote is based on your real users and data, not a guess.
Cyber insurance applications and renewals now routinely ask about backups. With Microsoft 365 alone, the honest answer to each of these is "no". With Hawesome, it's "yes", with the report to prove it.
Microsoft protects its service: it keeps copies so that Outlook and OneDrive stay running if its hardware fails. It does not give you a separate, point-in-time backup that you control. Once deleted data leaves the recycle bin (14 to 93 days, depending on the data), Microsoft can't restore it for you. Microsoft even sells backup as a separate paid add-on.
Retention policies help, but they live inside the same Microsoft 365 they protect. An attacker or a mistaken change with admin rights can alter them, and restoring from them is slow and not designed for everyday recovery. A backup is a separate copy that's built for fast, precise restores.
Pricing depends on the number of users and the amount of data you hold. Our free Snapshot shows both in about a minute, and our full assessment produces an exact quote with no guesswork.
No. Backups run in the cloud, directly between Microsoft 365 and the backup service. Nothing is installed on your computers and your team carries on as normal.
Most businesses are protected within a few days of approving the quote. The first full backup runs in the background; how long it takes depends on how much data you have.
See how many users and how much data your Microsoft 365 holds, then let Hawesome Technologies show you exactly what it would take to protect it.