Is your business email and file data backed up? Run a restore test

Ask what you can restore, not whether it is in the cloud

A file can be stored in a cloud service and still be difficult to recover after an unwanted deletion, malicious change or account problem. A synced deletion may reach several devices. A recycle bin helps with some mistakes but has limits. List the systems carrying essential business information: mailboxes, shared drives, individual work storage, CRM attachments and any website submissions not copied elsewhere. For each, record what recovery or backup service is enabled, what it covers, who administers it and how a restore starts.

Keep readingBack up the website as well

Separate three different controls

Sync keeps selected locations in step. Deleted-item recovery retains some removed material for a defined window. Backup provides a recovery capability whose coverage, versions, retention and access need to be checked. Product names alone do not tell you which of these you have. Google's administrator documentation says Drive data can be restored within 25 days after a user empties their trash, with limitations. Microsoft documents a default 14-day deleted-item retention period in Exchange Online that can be configured up to 30 days in that setting. Other policies or holds can affect the situation. Verify your own tenant rather than assuming a generic window applies to every item.

Write a recovery sheet for the important records

For each system, ask the provider or administrator to identify the actual recovery point, retention, supported restore locations, excluded items and what happens if the administrator account is unavailable.

Record a target for acceptable data loss and restoration time based on the business process. These are requirements to test, not recovery guarantees to invent.

• Customer email: can you restore the required mailbox item or a useful earlier state?
• Shared project folder: can you recover both content and the permissions needed to use it?
• Individual work files: are all relevant accounts included, including a recent new starter?
• CRM and forms: does the backup include attachments, relationships and submissions, or only a contact CSV?

Run a small restore rehearsal

Use authorised test content in a safe location. Create a labelled message and file, change or remove them in the planned test, then restore through the documented process. Check the content, version, destination and access permissions after recovery. Time the process and record who could perform it. A screen showing a backup job succeeded is useful, but it does not establish that the right information can be recovered when somebody needs it.

Worked example: a folder that looks protected

A team assumes its shared project folder is backed up because it appears on two laptops. The rehearsal shows both devices receive the same deletion. The owner then checks the cloud recovery window and the separate backup configuration, including whether the folder and its newest files are covered. Microsoft 365 Backup is one example of a service with defined coverage for supported SharePoint, OneDrive and Exchange workloads. Its existence does not mean it is enabled for your organisation or that another service has the same capabilities. Compare the actual configuration and restore evidence before deciding what to buy or change.

Keep readingPlan the restore when something goes wrong

Assign an owner and repeat after changes

Keep the recovery sheet accessible to the people who may need it during an outage. Review it when staff, tools, storage locations or backup products change, and schedule rehearsals appropriate to the business's dependency on the data. If the test fails, record the uncovered system and the next action. Do not describe the business as fully backed up while important records remain outside the verified scope.