# Backups: why the cloud isn't a backup yet > OneDrive and SharePoint sync bad changes too. How long Microsoft keeps deleted files, what the 3-2-1 rule is, and how to draw up a backup plan for your company with AI in 20 minutes. ## Why it matters A typical situation that every IT company sees. On Monday morning the files won't open, their names have changed, and every folder holds a text file with a ransom demand. The first question is always the same: “But isn't everything in the cloud?” Yes. And that's exactly why everything is encrypted — not only on the computer, but in the cloud and on your colleagues' computers too. This lesson is about why that happens and what to do this week so that, on a morning like that, the company is back on its feet in a few hours, not a few weeks. ## Sync is not a backup OneDrive, SharePoint and Google Drive **sync**: whatever changes in one place appears everywhere else. That's very convenient — as long as the change is a good one. > **Schema.** How sync spreads the damage: a virus encrypts the files on your computer, and within a few minutes sync carries the encrypted versions to OneDrive or SharePoint and from there to your colleagues' computers. A separate backup doesn't see this, because it isn't synced — it is made and stored separately. A backup works the other way round: it **doesn't record every change in real time**. Instead, every so often it makes a separate copy and keeps it. That's why you can go back from it to yesterday, last week or last month. ## What Microsoft 365 keeps by itself — and for how long Microsoft 365 has good recovery tools. The trouble is that all of them work for a **limited time** and inside the same account. - **Recycle bin** (SharePoint and OneDrive): deleted files are kept for 93 days from deletion. This period can't be changed. - **Version history**: you can go back to an earlier version of the same file. - **Restore your OneDrive**: if a lot of files have been encrypted or deleted, the whole OneDrive can be rolled back to any moment in the last 30 days. - **A departed employee's OneDrive**: kept for 30 days by default; for 93 days after that, only an administrator can restore it. > **Schema.** What Microsoft 365 tools cover and what a separate backup covers: a file deleted a week ago can be restored by both; one deleted four months ago only by a separate backup; all encrypted files within 30 days by both; a departed employee's OneDrive after six months only by a separate backup; if an attacker deletes everything, recycle bins included, only a separate, unchangeable backup will help. So Microsoft's tools are great for everyday mistakes. A separate backup is needed for what's noticed too late, and for what destroys the account itself. ## The 3-2-1 rule Older than the cloud and still true. Today it's usually written with two additions: > **Schema.** The 3-2-1-1-0 rule: three copies of the data, two different media or systems, one copy in another location, one copy that can't be changed or deleted, and zero errors in the restore test. ## Two questions that decide everything Before choosing any solution, answer two questions for yourself. In plain words: 1. **How much work can we afford to lose?** If the backup runs every night, in the worst case you'll lose one day's work. Is that acceptable for accounting at the end of the month? 2. **How long can we afford to stop working?** Restoring one file takes minutes. A whole server or every employee's email can take hours or days. IT people call these RPO and RTO. For you, answers in hours are enough — they decide what kind of backups you need and how much they cost. ## A plan in 20 minutes — drawn up by AI You know where your company's data lives. The AI knows how to turn that into a plan. Copy this, fill in the square brackets and paste it in: ```text You are my IT adviser. Help me draw up a backup plan for my company — short, one page, that someone outside IT would understand. ABOUT US - Business and number of employees: [...] - Where we keep data: [e.g. Microsoft 365 email and files, accounting software, a server in the office, the website, employees' computers] - What we do for backups now: [nothing / don't know / ...] PROCESS 1. ASK. Ask me the missing questions, one at a time. Be sure to ask how much work we can afford to lose and how long we can afford to stop working — for each system separately. 2. PLAN. As a table: system → what is backed up → how often → where it's stored → how long it's kept → who is responsible. Mark where we don't follow the 3-2-1 rule. 3. RESTORE TEST. Suggest a first test I can do this week, and walk me through it step by step. GOAL The job is finished when I have a one-page plan and one successful restore test — not when I have a list of tips. RULES - Never ask for administrator passwords or login codes. - Don't delete or change anything in my systems — only suggest and explain. - Don't make up prices or product features. If you suggest a specific solution, tell me what I need to check myself. - Answer in English. AT THE END Write what we discussed and, separately — WHAT YOU DID NOT CHECK. ``` It's better to answer the “how much can we afford to lose” questions together with your accountant or a manager, not alone. They're the ones who know which day of the month is the most expensive. ## The restore test — the only real check A backup you've never restored from is only a hope. Start with the smallest test — one file from last week.

🤖 AI route recommended

The AI guides, you click

“Walk me through a test: I want to restore one file in OneDrive to how it looked a week ago. Give me short steps and wait until I write ‘done’. At the end, ask me how long it took.”

Your job: follow the steps and write down how long it took. That number is your real answer to the question “how long can we afford to stop working?”.

✋ Manual route

One file without AI

  1. Open OneDrive in the browser (office.com → OneDrive).
  2. Right-click the file → Version history.
  3. Choose last week's version → Restore.
  4. Open the file and check that the content is what you expected.
Once one file has worked, try a whole folder next month. After that — a restore from the separate backup system, if you have one. Write down the time on each occasion. ## What to do this week 1. Copy the prompt above and draw up the plan with AI in 20 minutes. 2. Do your first restore test — one file — and write down the time. 3. Check that you have at least one backup that isn't in the same Microsoft 365 account. If not, that's your first purchase, not your last. If you need someone else to plan and look after your backups — **pagalba@itbroliai.lt**. ## Check yourself Five questions on what you've just read. At the end you'll get a certificate with your score.