In October 2010, Microsoft announced the private beta version of Office 365, and since then, it has come a long way. Today, it is one of the most advanced and reliable services in the email arena and doesn’t need any introduction. But the only drawback with Office 365 is it doesn’t have an option to store Office 365 backup in the local drive/ physical location.
This write-up is dedicated to the ways to backup Office 365 emails. Here I’ll describe known methods that are used to create Office 365 backup. So let’s start:
- Auto Archiving: As we all know, we can configure Office 365 account in Outlook, and from there, we can use the Auto archiving feature of Outlook to archive the required emails of Office 365. Basically, auto-archive fetch the oldest items of Office 365 and store them in a PST file to free up some space.
Setting up the Auto archive in Outlook
- Open Outlook and create Office 365’s profile here.
- Then, go to the File tab and click on the Options.
- Now go to the Advance tab andclick on the Auto Archive Settings option.
- In the following wizard, browse the location to store the PST file and select how often you want to run the archive process.
Drawbacks:
- You can backup multiple Office 365 mailboxes simultaneously. Hence for multiple mailboxes, you have to repeat the same process.
- It only archives the old items, and there is no option to filter out unnecessary items.
- The process is complicated and has a risk of data loss, and also a single misstep may corrupt all your data.
- Outlook Import/export wizard: It is another way tocreate Office 365 backup into PST format. If you’re familiar with Outlook, then you might have used this feature before. In this tract, you can create Office 365’s profile in Outlook, and then export the required data into a PST file.
Export Office 365 emails in PST:
- Launch Outlook and create Office 365 account’s profile.
- Then, go to the File tab and click on the Import&Export option.
- Now click Import/Export and select Export to a file option.
- In the next wizard, select the Outlook data file PST option.
- Next, choose the folders/account to backup in the PST file. Also, there is a filter option you can use as per need.
- Now browse the location to save the PST file and choose the Duplicate items option.
- At last, click on the Finish button.
It is the process for Office 365 backup using Outlook’s import/export utility. But using this method, you only can backup a single account at a time, and a single misstep may corrupt all your data.
- Shoviv Office 365 Backup and Restore tool: It is an automated software specially coded to backup Office 365 mailboxes. The software is recommended and used by many MNCs and Office 365 administrators. Due to its convenient GUI, it is a reliable solution even for non-technocrats. There are many advanced features in this tool to enhance the user experience and provide desired results.
Office 365 backup in easy-peasy steps
- Install and open the software.
- Then click on the Connect Office 365 option.
- Now, provide Office 365 admin credentials.
- Navigate the Backup Directory option and choose the backup directory to save the backup file.
- Following, click on the backup jobs tab and provide the job name.
- In the next dialog, select the mailboxes you want to backup and click Next.
- Next will be the filter wizard based on the Message class, date range, and folder filter criteria.
- Following will be the setting dialog. From here, you can run multiple threads for mailbox/item. You can also choose a file size for PST files.
- Now the scheduler wizard will appear. From this wizard, you can run the backup immediately or schedule it for a period (daily, weekly, and monthly).
- At last, the software will display your settings to create an Office 365 backup. If satisfied, click Finish; if not, then click on the Back button.
The closure This blog contains the known methods to backup Office 365 emails, you may find manual methods easy, but I’ll not suggest them for users with multiple mailboxes or business organizations. Besides this, Shoviv Office 365 backup Tool has several advanced features and works expeditiously.
Note: Check out another post on Exchange to Office 365 Migration
