Microsoft 365 backup
Mail, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams all backed up to a third-party service — separate from Microsoft's own retention. Retained 7 years by default. Granular restore down to a single email.
Cloud & Backup · Azure + immutable
Backup that's actually been tested. Cloud workloads that are actually managed.
Microsoft 365 doesn't back itself up. Your DR plan probably hasn't been tested since 2023. We provide third-party backup for 365 and Azure, immutable repositories so ransomware can't touch them, and quarterly restore drills that prove it works.
What's included
The pieces that make up Cloud & Backup.
Server & VM backup
On-prem servers and Azure VMs backed up to immutable cloud storage. 3-2-1-1-0 strategy: 3 copies, 2 media, 1 off-site, 1 immutable, 0 errors. We follow it.
Restore testing
We restore something every quarter. Mailbox, file, full server. You get a one-page report with timestamps and outcome. Insurers and auditors love it.
Azure managed workloads
Line-of-business apps in Azure — IaaS or PaaS. We build the landing zone, manage cost (yes, we'll tell you to switch off the dev VM at weekends), and patch the OS layer.
Disaster recovery planning
Documented RPO and RTO per workload. Run-book that someone other than the IT manager can follow. Tabletop exercise once a year.
Cyber-recovery plan
Air-gapped clean room, immutable golden images, sequenced restore. For when the worst happens — and increasingly, it does.
Recovery objectives we set with sectors that can't lose a day: accountancy practices in January, healthcare with NHS DSPT obligations, and manufacturers where a stopped line is measured in pounds-per-minute.
SecureState™ · Cyber Security category
Aligned to our IT health benchmark.
Sits inside the SecureState™ Cyber Security category — identity, endpoint, threat detection and recovery. Reviewed every 90 days as part of how we run your IT, not a one-off audit that decays.
See how SecureState works
How it works
A predictable shape, every time.
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01
Inventory
We list every workload, every data source, every dependency. SaaS apps included — most DR plans miss those.
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02
Set RPO/RTO
How much data can you afford to lose, and how long can you be down? We write it down per workload, signed by you.
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03
Implement
Backup jobs configured, immutability turned on, monitoring wired into our help-desk. Failed jobs become tickets automatically.
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04
Test, repeatedly
First full restore drill within 30 days of go-live. Then quarterly forever. Your insurer will thank you.
Sits inside our managed service
Cloud & Backup is part of how we run IT — not a stand-alone product.
Backup is included in Plus (£70/user) and Complete (£85/user). Server backup is £95/server/month including the protection licensing.
Common questions
Cloud & Backup — frequently asked.
Doesn't Microsoft back up my 365 data?
No — and they say so explicitly. Microsoft's responsibility is service availability and short retention (typically 30–93 days for various workloads). If a user permanently deletes a folder six months ago and you need it back, Microsoft won't help. Third-party backup fills that gap.
What's 'immutable' backup and why does it matter?
Immutable means the backup can't be modified or deleted for a set retention period — even by an administrator with full credentials. If ransomware gets domain admin and starts deleting backups (this is now the standard playbook), immutable repositories survive. It's a one-line config change with a massive impact.
How quickly can you restore my data?
Single mailbox or file: under an hour, almost always within 15 minutes. Full server: depends on size and link speed, but a 500GB file server typically restores in 2–4 hours. We document RTO targets per workload at onboarding.
Do you charge per restore?
No. Restores are part of the service. We've never understood the MSPs that charge for them — you've already paid for the backup. Charging again to actually use it feels like a stealth tax.
What about Azure costs spiralling?
Cost management is part of the service. We tag every resource, set budget alerts, right-size monthly, and shut down dev/test VMs out-of-hours. Average client saves 25–40% on their first Azure invoice after we take over.
Can you migrate our on-prem server to Azure?
Yes — it's one of the more common projects we run. We assess whether lift-and-shift, re-platform or SaaS-replacement makes sense. Sometimes the answer is 'leave it on-prem' — Azure isn't always cheaper, and we'll say so.
What if our internet goes down — can we still work?
Depends what 'work' looks like. Microsoft 365 desktop apps cache locally, so Word, Outlook and Teams work offline for hours. Line-of-business apps in Azure won't. That's why DR planning includes a connectivity tier — 4G/5G failover or a second circuit. We size it to the cost of downtime.
Do you do cyber-recovery, separately from disaster recovery?
Yes, and they're different things. DR assumes the building flooded. Cyber-recovery assumes the attacker has been in your environment for weeks and your backups may be compromised. We design for both — clean-room restore from immutable backup, with verification before reconnecting to production.
Ready when you are.
Talk to Brett or Simon. 30 minutes, on the phone or video. No deck, no decision pressure — we'll tell you honestly whether we can help.