The question of why to backup Microsoft 365 SharePoint to Amazon S3, specifically utilizing Glacier or Deep Archive services, arises from the need to ensure data preservation and to mitigate potential risks associated with data loss. Microsoft 365 SharePoint is a widely used service that offers collaboration and document management capabilities in the cloud, enabling teams to work together and share information with ease. Integrating it with Amazon S3, an object storage service that offers industry-leading scalability, data availability, security, and performance, provides numerous benefits.

Amazon S3’s Glacier and Deep Archive storage classes are cost-effective solutions designed for long-term data archiving and backup. They cater to different data access needs based on frequency and retrieval times. Glacier is suitable for data that you may need to retrieve within a few minutes to several hours, while Deep Archive is an excellent choice for storing data that is rarely accessed and can tolerate retrieval times of up to 12 hours.

Backup of SharePoint data to these services ensures that in the event of accidental deletions, malicious attacks, or system outages, critical company data is protected. These backups provide an additional layer of security beyond what is offered by SharePoint’s native features. While SharePoint includes its own data retention and recovery options, these may not cover every scenario or may not retain data for the length of time required by organizational policies or regulatory requirements.

Amazon S3 further delivers robust security measures, including encryption of data both at rest and in transit, which adds to the protection of sensitive information contained within SharePoint documents. By leveraging Amazon Web Services (AWS) security certifications and comprehensive compliance controls, organizations can adhere to strict industry standards and regulations while safeguarding their data.

Furthermore, the use of S3’s Glacier and Deep Archive services for backing up SharePoint offers the potential for significant reduction in storage costs for infrequently accessed data. This is essential for organizations managing large volumes of data where cost management is a priority.

Finally, data backed up to Amazon S3 can benefit from the service’s durability and availability features. The data is redundantly stored across multiple geographically dispersed facilities within an AWS region, and multi-region backup can be easily configured to further enhance disaster recovery capabilities and ensure business continuity under all circumstances.

In conclusion, backing up Microsoft 365 SharePoint data to Amazon S3’s Glacier or Deep Archive is a strategic decision that provides a secure, reliable, and cost-effective means of preserving essential business information for the long term while allowing swift recovery in the face of various data loss risks.

Here are short instructions for how to backup Microsoft 365 SharePoint Document Library to Amazon AWS S3.

Amazon S3 Preparation

Before we start the cloudHQ wizard to create sync pair(s), we first need to create an appropriate Amazon S3 bucket, Amazon AWS IAM user and configure Amazon Glacier policies for your backup bucket (if needed).
Instructions on how to do that are here.

Microsoft 365 SharePoint Preparation

You can authorize your Microsoft 365 SharePoint by going to Cloud Accounts tab and clicking on the Office 365 SharePoint icon.

Create Sync Pair

After Microsoft 365 SharePoint and Amazon AWS S3 are authorized, you can create a backup pair.

1. Start the synchronization wizard to sync two cloud accounts.
2. Click the Microsoft 365 SharePoint icon:
   
3. Select an already-configured Office 365 SharePoint account or click the Add Office 365 SharePoint to add a new Office 365 SharePoint account
4. Select the Office 365 SharePoint Document Library and folder to back up.
   1. The first level are Office 365 SharePoint sites and sub-sites.

   The second level are Office 365 SharePoint Document Libraries.

   2. The third level and below are Office 365 SharePoint folders.

   If you cannot find Office 365 SharePoint library click on the Search or Enter Site URL button.
   

   3. Click the Amazon S3 icon:
      
   4. Select an already-configured Amazon S3 account or click Add Amazon S3 to add a new Amazon S3 account
   5. Select I’d like to sync an existing folder or bucket, then click the Next button:
      
   6. Create a Amazon S3 folder inside the bucket, then click the Next button:
      
   7. Switch to one-way sync and enable the options Archive files before they are changed or deleted by sync (must be enabled for backup) and Automatically re-copy files if we detect tampering of copies on the target:
      
   8. The synchronization status will display after the initial synchronization.
   9. Here is How to Monitor Status of Sync.
   10. An email will confirm the success of the initial synchronization.