Set up Microsoft 365 Backup
Get started with Microsoft 365 Backup by following these simple three steps in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Step 1: Set up pay-as-you-go billing
Microsoft 365 Backup is a pay-as-you-go offering that charges based on consumption, unlike traditional user-based licenses. To set up pay-as-you-go for Microsoft 365 Backup, you need to have this information:
- Valid Azure subscription. An Azure subscription provides a logical container for your resources. Each Azure resource is associated with only one subscription. Creating a subscription is the first step in adopting Azure. To learn more about Azure, see Azure fundamental concepts.
- Resource group. A resource group provides a logical grouping of resources within an Azure subscription.
- Region. The region in which you want to register the service.
- Owner or contributor. Name of an owner or contributor role on the Azure subscription.
Once you have the information on this list, you're ready to set up pay-as-you-go billing for Microsoft 365 Backup.
Permissions
You must be a SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator to be able to access the Microsoft 365 admin center and set up Microsoft 365 Backup.
Important
Microsoft recommends that you use roles with the fewest permissions. This helps improve security for your organization. Global Administrator is a highly privileged role that should be limited to emergency scenarios when you can't use an existing role.
Step 2: Turn on Microsoft 365 Backup
To turn on Microsoft 365 Backup, you need to go to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
In the Microsoft 365 admin center, select Setup.
Under Files and content, select Automate content processes with Syntex.
On the Automate content processes with Syntex page, select Go to Syntex settings.
On the Syntex page, in the Syntex services for section, select Storage. From the list of products, select Backup.
On the Backup panel, select Turn on.
On Turn on Backup panel, review the applicable terms of service for Microsoft 365, and then select Save.
Step 3: Create backup policies to protect your data
Now that Microsoft 365 Backup is enabled for your organization, follow through to create policies and start protecting your content.
Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Select Settings.
Select Microsoft 365 Backup from the list of products.
Create backup policies for OneDrive, SharePoint, or Exchange.
Multi-geo environments
Microsoft 365 Backup supports the backup of sites and user accounts from both the central and satellite locations if the multi-geo feature is enabled on your tenant. This means that you can add the sites or user accounts from all geos while creating the backup configuration policy via the CSV file upload method. Adding sites via the site picker, search, or filter rules doesn't currently support multi-geo. Those user interface experiences today only support addition of sites in the tenant's central location.
Admin roles and backup management privileges
Only tenant-level admins can create and manage backups using Microsoft 365 Backup for their users. End users don't have the ability to enable backup or restores for their user account, distribution lists, mailboxes, or sites. It’s important to note that your admin role determines which products you can manage with Microsoft 365 Backup. In the future, we might introduce a Backup admin role that can control the entire tool.
| Admin role | OneDrive | SharePoint | Exchange |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Administrator | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SharePoint Administrator | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Exchange Administrator | ✓ |
Glossary
Protection units – SharePoint sites, OneDrive accounts, or Exchange Online mailboxes backed up by the Microsoft 365 Backup tool.
Restore point – A prior point in time from which you can restore a version of your content and metadata. If the protection unit from a prior point in time is identical to the present state of your data, then a restore from that point has no effect on your current data.
RPO – Recovery point objective, or how close in time the most recent restore point is to an impacting event.
RTO – Recovery time objective, or how fast a restore to a prior point in time might complete.