How to use Vembu Microsoft 365 Backup

Today so many organizations use Microsoft 365 for emails instead of the legacy Exchange Server. Furthermore, Microsoft offers more services in Microsoft 365 like One Drive, Sharepoint, and more. One of the disadvantages of the cloud solutions is that companies have a lot of risks of data loss for different reasons.

For example lot of IT  that manage the M365 Portal are doing a common mistakes that cost loss of data. They are removing the Microsoft 365 license from the user that left the company.

But

Microsoft says that when a license is removed from a user leaves the mailbox in a hard deleted state. If the user will not relicense again within 30 days then the mailbox is deleted without having the option to restore it. What happened when forget to convert the user mailbox to a shared mailbox to avoid the hard delete of the mailbox? You will lose the mailbox.

Another common mistake is the accidental deletion of data from users. Sometimes they don't realize that the have deleted data.

Unfortunately, we aren't not in control of our data in the cloud. Only with a regular backup can have control.

BDRSuite for M365 Backup provides a backup solution for your Microsoft 365 Account including OneDrive for Businesses, Mails, Calendar and Contacts, SharePoint Online sites, Teams, and Group/Shared Mailboxes.

 

How to connect Vembu to the M365 Account

Before starting to create a Backup Job for your M365 you need to create an API app integration in the Azure Active Directory.

The process includes the following tasks:

  1. Create an APP Registration.
  2. Generate an Application Password

So are you ready to see how can do the configuration?

Let's start !!!

Create an APP Registration in the Azure Portal

  • Login to your Azure Portal and click on App Registration from the left Menu.

Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Click New Registration.

Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Type a Name to understand for what reason you have created this App.

  • Select the Account in this organizational directory only and click Register.

Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Keep the Application ID because you will need it when creating the Backup Job.

Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

 

Generate an Application Password

 

  • Now click Certificate & Services from the left Menu
  • Click on New Client Secret
Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Keep the 24 months in the Expires and click Add
Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Copy the Value and keep it because you will need when to connect the VembuBDRSuite with the M365.
  • Note that after the Secret key is created the Value will be displayed only once. If you forget to copy it, you must create a new one.

 

 

Connect Vembu BDRSuite with the M365 Account

Now that you have API app registration in place and you have kept the SecretKey and the Application ID you can start to connect Vembu BDRSuite with your M365 Account to see your M365 data and create your Backup jobs.

  • Click on Microsoft365/Google WorkSpace
  • Click on Data Sources -- Add Microsoft 365 Organization.

Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Click Add Microsoft365 Organization Red Button (Red Button)

Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Select the second option Add Microsoft365 Organization as DataSource and Authorize BDRSuite for Access using Manual Process.

  • However, you can use the Automatic Process or Powershell Script to add the M365 for backup.

Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Fill the fields with the information that you take from the app registration and click Save.  The Tenant ID can find it in the Overview page of the Azure Active Directory.

  • Furthermore, Vembu has created the instruction in pdf and you can download the file from the right side.

Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

 

 

Create the Backup Job for the M365

TO configure the Backup Job for your M364 account follow the steps.

  • Click on Backup -- Configure Backup -- Microsoft365
Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Fill in the Backup Job Name
  • Select the Backup Repository type. For this scenario, I will use Block Storage that I created while doing different tests with Vembu BDRSuite.
Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Select the Backup Selected Objects and you have the option to backup one of the following user Mailbox.
    • Teams.
    • Group Mailbox.
    • Sharepoint Site.
  • For this article I select User Mailbox.
Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • For the Select the Domain to configure backup you must dropdown and select the appropriate domain.
  • In the Choose User selection option you have the option to backup all the User Mailboxes or specific User Mailbox.
  • I select a specific User Mailbox but this is your decision based on your requests.
  • Decide if you would like to backup
    • Mails.
    • OnceDrive.
    • Calendar.
    • Contact
    • All of them, or specific items.
Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Select the Backup frequency and click Next.
Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

 

  • On the Settings you can Enable the Compression.
Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Also in the Settings you can specify the Retention policy for your Backup.
Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

  • Verify all your settings if it's correct and click Save. 
  • Now you can see the Job in the List of Backup Jobs.
  • Click on the icon to run now the Backup Job and test if all works fine or just take a backup.
Vembu M365 Backup configuration

 

You must do a lot of configuration until Vembu M365 Backups start to work but after that, you will have control of your data in M365.

You can find more features that can use like Email Notifications, Reporting that I will cover in the feature.

I hope you read something useful that will help you in your daily tasks or learn a new tool that will resolve your problems.

Have a nice weekend !!