Acronis SaaS backup
- How you pay
- Per protected seat, billed monthly through a partner or on a 1 to 3 year subscription
- Fits
- Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, alongside server backup
Microsoft 365 backup · Google Workspace backup · Acronis
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup
Microsoft and Google keep their services running. Keeping your mail and files recoverable after a deletion, a leaver or ransomware is your job. We set up the independent backup that does it.
Why Gulf Infotech
Why businesses across the Middle East trust us with cloud-app backup
Microsoft Solutions Partner for Modern Work
and Google Cloud Premier Partner: we license, migrate and support both suites, so we know where their data lives.
Since 2007
with 1,500+ active cloud customers across the Middle East.
Offices in Muscat (head office), Dubai and Doha
with local billing; setup, monitoring and support are delivered remotely, in English and Arabic.
350,000+ users migrated
What we back up, and with what
Acronis
Microsoft 365
Google Workspace
Cloud-app backup · start here
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup keeps independent copies of mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, Gmail and Drive, so you can restore data after the vendors' short deletion windows end. Gulf Infotech, serving businesses across the Middle East since 2007 from Dubai, Muscat and Doha, sets up, monitors and tests every type of SaaS backup: Acronis, Microsoft 365 Backup, SkyKick and other platforms, plus Google Vault for Google Workspace retention.
Cloud-app backup · Explained
Do Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace back up your data?
Not in the way most people assume. Microsoft's shared responsibility model is explicit: for software as a service, customer data stays the customer's responsibility. Both vendors keep your services available and protect their data centres, and both offer short recovery windows for deleted items. Once those windows pass, deleted data is gone for good, and neither recycle bin helps if ransomware encrypts files that then sync to the cloud.
Cloud-app backup · At a glance
What is protected, and how long do the vendors keep deleted data?
Retention windows from Microsoft and Google documentation, checked October 2026.
| Data | Built-in recovery window | What a backup adds |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange Online mailboxes | Permanently deleted items kept 14 days by default, up to 30 days | Restore mail, contacts and calendars from months or years back |
| OneDrive and SharePoint | Recycle bins keep items 93 days from deletion | Point-in-time restore of whole sites, folders or single files |
| Teams | Files live in SharePoint and OneDrive, so the same 93 days apply | Restore team files and sites |
| Gmail | 30 days in Trash, then 25 more days for an admin to restore | Restore any message or whole mailbox you retain |
| Google Drive and shared drives | 30 days in trash, then 25 days for admin restore; 20 days after a user account is deleted | Restore files of leavers long after their account is removed |
| Google Vault | Holds and retention for eDiscovery; Google says Vault isn't a data archive | Direct restore back into the user's Gmail or Drive |
Exchange Online mailboxes
- Built-in recovery window
- Permanently deleted items kept 14 days by default, up to 30 days
- What a backup adds
- Restore mail, contacts and calendars from months or years back
OneDrive and SharePoint
- Built-in recovery window
- Recycle bins keep items 93 days from deletion
- What a backup adds
- Point-in-time restore of whole sites, folders or single files
Teams
- Built-in recovery window
- Files live in SharePoint and OneDrive, so the same 93 days apply
- What a backup adds
- Restore team files and sites
Gmail
- Built-in recovery window
- 30 days in Trash, then 25 more days for an admin to restore
- What a backup adds
- Restore any message or whole mailbox you retain
Google Drive and shared drives
- Built-in recovery window
- 30 days in trash, then 25 days for admin restore; 20 days after a user account is deleted
- What a backup adds
- Restore files of leavers long after their account is removed
Google Vault
- Built-in recovery window
- Holds and retention for eDiscovery; Google says Vault isn't a data archive
- What a backup adds
- Direct restore back into the user's Gmail or Drive
Cloud-app backup · Explained
What are your options for Microsoft 365 backup?
There are two main routes, and they solve slightly different problems. We set up and support both.
For most offices of 20 to 300 users on one suite, we recommend an independent third-party copy, because it protects you if the tenant itself is compromised or an admin account is taken over. Microsoft's price is from its documentation, October 2026.
- Microsoft 365 Backup is Microsoft's own pay-as-you-go service for Exchange, OneDrive and SharePoint, charged by storage used: recovery points every 10 minutes and a recovery window you set from 3 months to 2 years. Backups stay inside the Microsoft 365 boundary in your tenant's data location. It is fast to restore at scale, but the copy remains with Microsoft.
- A third-party backup such as Acronis keeps an independent copy outside your tenant, covers Google Workspace too, and sits in the same console as your server and laptop backups. We also work with other third-party backup platforms, and Veeam offers a Microsoft 365-only product licensed per user.
Cloud-app backup · Explained
Where are backups stored? Can they stay in the GCC?
You choose the backup location when the service is set up. Acronis has a cloud data centre in Abu Dhabi, opened in April 2024, alongside more than 50 worldwide. Microsoft 365 Backup keeps copies in your tenant's existing data location; a tenant created in the UAE stores its data in Microsoft's UAE data centres, with Microsoft's full commitment through Advanced Data Residency (Microsoft 365 data residency by country). We can create your Acronis backup tenant in the Abu Dhabi data centre, so UAE backups stay in the UAE. If your regulator requires data to stay in your country, see in-country cloud hosting and data residency.
Cloud-app backup · Explained
How do we test that restores work?
A backup you have never restored from is a hope, not a plan. After setup we restore a sample of mail, files and a full mailbox to a test location and check them with you. Then we run test restores on a schedule you agree, monitor every job, and act on failed or skipped accounts, such as new joiners not added to the backup policy.
Cloud-app backup · Licensing and pricing
How is Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup priced?
Third-party SaaS backup is usually priced per protected user per month, with storage rules that depend on the vendor and plan. Microsoft 365 Backup is priced per GB instead. We quote per customer after counting users and shared mailboxes.
Microsoft 365 Backup
- How you pay
- Pay-as-you-go by storage, quoted for your tenant
- Fits
- Microsoft 365 tenants that want Microsoft-native, fast large restores
Setup and monitoring
- How you pay
- Quoted per project
- Fits
- Policy design, test restores, job monitoring
Prices as of October 2026 · exclude VAT where it applies (Oman and UAE 5%, Saudi Arabia 15%, Bahrain 10%, Qatar and Kuwait none).
Licences are one component: deployment and security configuration, migration, training and support are separate, paid components, quoted for your requirement.
Monthly prices, paid annually upfront with a 12-month commitment.
Across the Middle East
Cloud-app backup in your country
Cloud-app backup · FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost?
Third-party Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup is usually priced per protected user per month, so a 50-user company pays for 50 seats. Microsoft's own Microsoft 365 Backup is charged by storage used. Backup products are quoted for your requirement: we count users, shared mailboxes and retention needs, then quote in your currency, excluding VAT.
Where is the backup stored?
In the data centre chosen when we set up the service. Acronis offers more than 50 data centres, including one in Abu Dhabi opened in April 2024, so UAE companies can keep backups in-country. Microsoft 365 Backup keeps copies inside your tenant's existing data location. Companies in Oman, Saudi Arabia or Qatar with strict rules should confirm the location against their regulator first.
How fast can we restore?
Single emails, files or folders typically restore in minutes. A full mailbox or a large SharePoint site can take hours, depending on its size and number of items. We test restores after setup so you know your own times before you need them.
Is it protected against ransomware?
Yes, if the backup is independent and protected. Ransomware that encrypts files on a laptop can sync them to OneDrive or Drive, and the recycle bin will not help after its window. An independent backup lets you restore files from before the attack. Acronis supports immutable storage; Microsoft 365 Backup uses append-only storage that cannot be overwritten.
Is Google Vault a backup?
No. Google Vault is an information governance and eDiscovery tool: it holds and retains data for legal and compliance searches and exports. Google's own documentation says Vault isn't a data archive, and it retains nothing until retention rules are set. Vault data cannot be restored directly into a user's Gmail account, so you still need a backup for fast restores. We set up Vault retention rules for you alongside the backup.
What happens to a leaver's mailbox and files?
Without a backup, they are lost a few weeks after you delete the account. Google gives admins 20 days to restore Drive files after a user is deleted; Microsoft keeps deleted items for limited periods only. A backup keeps the leaver's mail and files for as long as your policy says, so you can free the licence without losing the data.
Check what you could restore today
Tell us your user count and suite, and we will show what you can recover now and what a backup adds.
Talk to us during office hours