Learn Veeam - M365 & Salesforce Backup

#Introduction

In episode 10 we secured databases inside the data center. But many organizations now move email, documents, and CRM to cloud SaaS — and this is where most people get it wrong: assuming the SaaS provider already backs up their data. In episode 11 we cover Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 (VBO365) and Veeam Backup for Salesforce to close this gap.

The key point we've carried since episode 1, repeated here: SaaS providers guarantee availability, not your data loss. Deleted emails, ransomware in SharePoint, or hacked accounts will not be rolled back by Microsoft.

#Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 (VBO365)

#What Is Protected

VBO365 protects all M365 workloads:

Exchange Online — mailboxes, folders, emails, calendars.
SharePoint Online — sites, document libraries, files, metadata.
OneDrive for Business — users' personal files.
Teams — teams, channels, chats, files, tabs.

#Per-User Licensing

VBO365 is licensed per user — every user with a mailbox in Exchange Online needs one license for all their M365 data. This is an easy model to calculate: number of active users × license. Without sufficient licenses, backup jobs for certain users are skipped.

#Architecture and Restore

VBO365 can be installed on a separate Windows server or integrated with VBR. M365 data is pulled via the Microsoft Graph API into a repository (which can use S3 object storage). Granular restores are item-level: select an email, a OneDrive file, or a Teams chat, then restore to M365 or export to PST/PDF/local — important flexibility for legal & compliance.

VBO365 flow

Microsoft 365 (Graph API)
        │
        ▼
VBO365 Server ──▶ Repository (S3/disk) ──▶ Explorer → restore item/export

Note

VBO365 can be used standalone or as part of Veeam Data Platform v13 — with a unified console, admins have a single dashboard for VMs, databases, and M365. If your organization uses Microsoft 365 without external backup, VBO365 is the first priority, not an add-on.

#Veeam Backup for Salesforce

#Salesforce Metadata & Data

Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM with two layers that must be protected: data (records, objects, fields) and metadata (custom objects, Apex, Flows, page layouts). You cannot simply "restore a database" — metadata and data are interdependent and equally critical.

Veeam Backup for Salesforce protects both:

Data backup — objects & records with relationships preserved.
Metadata backup — deployment-aware, restorable to another org (sandbox/staging).

#Expansion in v13

Veeam v13 (November 2025) expanded the Veeam Backup for Salesforce platform — adding object coverage, faster backups, and tighter integration with the Veeam Data Platform console. Like VBO365, it is licensed per user (per Salesforce user).

#Use Cases

Rolling back accidental bulk updates (e.g. mistakenly running a mass record update).
Recovering metadata before a failed deployment.
Restoring records deleted through an API/sync error.

#Why SaaS Needs Its Own Backup

A summary of the arguments that have appeared several times:

Layer	Guaranteed by provider?	Failure example
Availability	Yes (uptime SLA)	Temporary service outage
Data retention	No	Email permanently deleted
Malware/ransomware	No	SharePoint infected
Insider/errors	No	Bulk delete, sync error
Compliance/legal	No	PST export requirement

Warning

The assumption that "cloud = automatically backed up" is the most expensive myth in modern IT. Microsoft explicitly states that customers are responsible for recovering their own data. Same for Salesforce. SaaS backup is not an option — it is part of the data protection responsibility that now falls in the backup admin's domain.

#Verification

After this episode, make sure:

VBO365 is installed and connected to the M365 tenant (via admin consent).
Exchange/SharePoint/OneDrive/Teams backup jobs ran successfully.
Per-user licensing covers the number of active users.
(Optional) Restore test: restore one email/one file to an export location.

#Closing

Key takeaways:

VBO365 protects Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams via the Graph API.
Per-user licensing — count active users, not just mailboxes.
Veeam Backup for Salesforce protects both data and metadata.
SaaS providers guarantee availability, not your data loss.
Restores can go back to the original tenant or to a local export (PST/PDF) for compliance.

In the next episode, episode 12, we will cover Kasten K10 & Kubernetes — backup & DR for namespaces, PVs, and applications in a policy-based way, and Kasten integration with VBR (repository & restore) for stateful apps on EKS/GKE/K8s. Your containers finally enter the data protection radar!