Is your backup strategy keeping up with the growth of Microsoft 365 data?

The volume of Microsoft 365 data is exploding as the popularity of the productivity suite increases. With Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Outlook and OneDrive, users are producing massive volumes of documents, conversations and shared files every day.

The scale of that growth is significant. For instance, the number of daily active Microsoft Teams users jumped by 23% to more than 320 million from 2025 to 2026, according to SaaS Ultra. Those users send 1.2 billion files every month.

AI is also accelerating file creation and sharing. According to SQ Magazine, 70% of professionals surveyed said Microsoft Copilot made them more productive and let them finish tasks faster. Faster work has led to more work and more files. Microsoft itself says users add more than three billion files per day to Microsoft 365.

For IT teams, the massive increase in document production and sharing introduces a pressing challenge: ensuring that business-critical data is protected, recoverable and retained when needed. That is difficult to achieve without a robust backup and email archiving strategy.

It starts with Microsoft Teams, which has become the central workspace for modern organizations. Users rely on Teams to generate substantial volumes of data, including chat messages, shared files, meeting recordings, collaborative documents and channel discussions.

Much of that content contains valuable business information, but there is a persistent risk that users will overwrite or delete it. Because Teams data is distributed across SharePoint, OneDrive and Exchange, recovery can be complex without a dedicated backup solution.

SharePoint remains a cornerstone for document management and collaboration. Organizations store a wide range of content, including project documentation, internal policies, contracts and reports, as well as working files.

As digital operations expand, SharePoint environments grow quickly. Data loss caused by accidental deletion, corruption or cyberattacks can significantly disrupt business operations. Reliable backup ensures fast and complete restoration when needed.

OneDrive is now the default storage location for many employees. It hosts project files, drafts and shared collaboration materials across the organization.

This distributed model introduces risk. If a user account is compromised, deleted or impacted by ransomware, critical files could disappear. A comprehensive Microsoft 365 backup strategy ensures data is recoverable regardless of user or device issues.

Despite the growth of collaboration tools, email continues to play a central role in business operations. Organizations rely on it for contracts and negotiations, customer communications, internal approvals, regulatory documentation and legal records.

Because email often serves as an official record, retention requirements can span years. Email archiving is essential for the secure preservation of historical communications as well as for simplified compliance and efficient search for audits or legal discovery.

As the data shows, Microsoft 365 Copilot introduces a new layer of data growth. By connecting information across emails, documents, Teams conversations, meeting transcripts and SharePoint sites, it greatly accelerates data creation and reuse.

While AI enhances productivity, it also increases the importance of protecting and retaining critical information.

As Microsoft 365 environments expand, several risks emerge:

• Accidental deletion: Users frequently delete files, emails or collaboration content. Native retention policies might not provide sufficient recovery options.
• Ransomware and cyberattacks: Threat actors increasingly target cloud services. Compromised accounts can result in data deletion, corruption or widespread malicious changes.
• Insider threats: Malicious or departing employees may intentionally delete data or purge mailboxes.
• Compliance challenges: Many industries require long-term retention of communications. Without proper archiving, organizations may struggle to meet regulatory obligations or respond to legal requests.

A strong backup and archiving strategy mitigates those risks and enables organizations to ensure business continuity.

To manage growing data volumes effectively, organizations should focus on two core capabilities:

A dedicated backup solution enables recovery across key services, including Exchange Online, OneDrive, SharePoint and Microsoft Teams. Backup protects against data loss caused by human error, cyber incidents or service disruptions.

Email archiving supports long-term retention of business communications, helps meet compliance requirements, simplifies eDiscovery and reduces strain on active mailboxes.

Learn more

Find out how Acronis helps businesses secure their Microsoft 365 environments.