Office 365 backup and archive have landed

In the beginning, there were no backup solutions for Office 365.  I mean, there were some limited recovery options.  Microsoft now has a retention and recovery function that is good for up to 30 days for Exchange Online.  SharePoint fairs a little better with a 93-day retention period after deletion (exc hard deletes), and the ability to request a point-in-time recovery by submitting a ticket to Microsoft.  But this is not what us IT folks expect for backup.  Then came the 3rd party backup services.  We used Skykick, and then Veeam for Microsoft 365.  The latter gave us the choice of backup location – in an Azure storage blob in the client’s tenant, or in AWS – and was cost effective ($1USD per account per month + storage and hosting costs).

Now there is Office 365 Backup and Archive – new services hot off the press from Microsoft.  Released in public preview on 19 Jan and 17 Jan respectively, both offer a cost-effective alternative for backing up Exchange, SharePoint and OneDrive that’s super easy to setup.  Backup is at 15c per Gb, and archive is 5c per Gb (with a 6c per Gb recovery charge).  For smaller clients of around 20 to 30 seats, we estimate backup charges of around $150 per month.  You can setup backup and retention policies to suit your needs and it’s all accessible through the Office 365 Admin Centre.  Worth a look if your 3rd party backup solution is not cutting the mustard…

And from all of us here at Charlie Mac, happy New Year!  We wish you a healthy, joyous and prosperous 2024.  We hope you find this newsletter informative and thought provoking.

Across the Industry

• Inflatable space habitats are in development by Sierra Space
• Use Google Chrome to automatically organise your tab bar
• Passkey and facial recognition considered for myGov authentication
• New camera system shows us the visual perspective of birds and bees

Recent Government Tenders

• City of Casey: OneCouncil ImplementationPartner (TenderLink)
• City of Ballarat: Procurement and Contract Management System (PCMS) (eProcure)
• Ports Victoria: Incident and Emergency Management System (Consolidated Tenders)
• Peninsula Health: Electronic Patient Flow Management Solution (Consolidated Tenders)
• Transport Accident Commission: TAC Digital Mailroom (Consolidated Tenders)
• Royal Women’s Hospital: Provision of an Electronic Purchasing System (Consolidated Tenders)
• Country Fire Authority Victoria: Supply & Installation of Centrally Controlled Display Screens at CFA HQ (Consolidated Tenders)

Microsoft News

• Microsoft is working with the Australian Signals Directorate to uncover threats
• Liverpool Hospital explores using generative AI in cardiology