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CrashPlan M365 Cloud Backup

CrashPlan for Microsoft 365 Backup

Internal Overview for Departmental IT Admins (Draft)

1. What This Is

CrashPlan now offers a SaaS-based backup solution for Microsoft 365 data, including:

  • Exchange Online (email, calendars, contacts)
  • OneDrive
  • SharePoint Online

This service is available as an optional add-on under the current CrashPlan agreement.

2. What This Is Not

This is not a replacement for Microsoft 365 retention or compliance features. Instead, it provides:

  • Independent, point-in-time backups
  • Protection against accidental deletion, data corruption, or ransomware
  • Granular restore capabilities

3. Who Can Use This

  • Departments currently using CrashPlan
  • Managed by department-level CrashPlan administrators
  • No centralized enforcement; adoption is optional

Note: Seat availability is limited to 1,000 cross campus.

4. How It Works (High-Level)

To enable backups, the following is required:

  1. Tenant-Level Setup (One-Time)
    • Microsoft 365 Global Admin approval
    • App registration / API permissions granted to CrashPlan
  2. Department-Level Configuration
    • Select users, sites, or mailboxes to back up
    • Configure backup scope and retention (if applicable)
  3. Ongoing Management
    • Monitor backup status
    • Perform restores as needed

Important: Initial setup requires coordination with the group that manages M365 global admin permissions.

5. Tenant Considerations

  • Urbana and UIC tenants are separate environments
  • Backup configuration must be done independently for each tenant
  • Shared licensing does not imply shared configuration

TBD:

  • Will both tenants be supported at launch?
  • Who coordinates tenant-level setup for each?

6. What Data Is Backed Up

Typically includes:

  • Exchange Online mailboxes
  • OneDrive user files
  • SharePoint sites and document libraries

TBD (confirm with vendor):

  • Teams data (channels, chats, files)
  • Public folders
  • Deleted users and retention behavior

7. Restore Capabilities

Expected features:

  • Restore individual emails, files, or folders
  • Point-in-time recovery
  • Self-service restores by admins

TBD:

  • Can end users initiate restores, or only admins?
  • Cross-user restore capability (e.g., restore to different mailbox)

8. Roles and Responsibilities

Department IT Admins

  • Configure and manage backups
  • Handle restore requests
  • Ensure appropriate coverage for their users/data

Central IT / Tenant Admins

  • Approve initial setup (permissions, app registration)
  • Maintain tenant security and policy boundaries

CrashPlan / Vendor

  • Provide platform, support, and documentation

9. How to Request Access

TBD:

  • Request process for licenses/seats
  • Approval workflow
  • Contact point for onboarding

10. Known Gaps / Open Questions

This section will be updated as more information becomes available:

  • Seat allocation model (1000 currently)
  • Retention limits and defaults
  • Full list of supported M365 workloads
  • Setup process for each tenant
  • Support model (who to contact for issues)