Microsoft has started the general availability rollout of Full Workload Backup for Microsoft 365 Backup. From mid-September through mid-October 2026, admins can protect an entire workload — SharePoint, OneDrive or Exchange Online — with a single policy, and any new sites, mailboxes or accounts get picked up automatically. It’s Microsoft roadmap item 464990 (message MC1387526), and it’s a real shift from the fiddly, per-site policies backup used to need.

Here’s why it matters. For years we’ve had the same conversation with clients across the Northern Beaches and out in the Central West: “Microsoft backs up our data, right?” Not really. The recycle bin and retention policies buy you days or weeks — not a proper restore point after a ransomware hit, or after someone deletes a shared library in March that nobody misses until the audit in September. First-party backup that covers a whole workload by default is a genuine step up, especially for smaller teams who’ve never had real Microsoft 365 backup at all.

So what should you do? First, know that it does nothing until an admin turns it on in the Microsoft 365 admin centre — it’s available by default but not automatic. Then read the fine print. It’s a paid, consumption-based add-on, your existing custom policies still take precedence, and it keeps your data inside the Microsoft ecosystem. That’s convenient, but it isn’t the same as an independent, off-platform copy. If you’re bound by the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme or you hold client financial records or donor data, you want recoverability you can prove, not assume.

Not sure whether native backup or a third-party solution fits your obligations? We can review your Microsoft 365 setup, match the right backup approach to your compliance needs, and make sure it’s actually running — not just switched on.