{"id":71746,"date":"2026-03-04T15:56:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/?p=71746"},"modified":"2026-03-04T16:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T15:07:08","slug":"microsoft-365-backups-new-throttling-rules-now-impact-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/microsoft-365-backups-new-throttling-rules-now-impact-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft 365 Backups: New Throttling Rules Now Impact Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Microsoft will introduce <strong>stricter enforcement of throttling rules<\/strong> for <strong>Microsoft 365 backup applications<\/strong> starting <strong>March 1, 2026<\/strong>. These adjustments affect <strong>how backup solutions interact<\/strong> with <strong>SharePoint Online<\/strong>, <strong>OneDrive for Business<\/strong>, and <strong>indirectly Microsoft Teams<\/strong> data. They <strong>eliminate <\/strong>the long-standing<strong> workaround <\/strong>of<strong> deploying multiple application registrations<\/strong> to improve performance.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-59459\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/06\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-06-12-Update-Microsoft-365-Backup.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2556\" height=\"1434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/06\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-06-12-Update-Microsoft-365-Backup.png 2556w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/06\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-06-12-Update-Microsoft-365-Backup-500x281.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/06\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-06-12-Update-Microsoft-365-Backup-800x449.png 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/06\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-06-12-Update-Microsoft-365-Backup-150x84.png 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/06\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-06-12-Update-Microsoft-365-Backup-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/06\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-06-12-Update-Microsoft-365-Backup-1536x862.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/06\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-06-12-Update-Microsoft-365-Backup-2048x1149.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2556px) 100vw, 2556px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Summary<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Stricter Microsoft 365 throttling<\/strong> enforcement begins <strong>March 1, 2026<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Multiple application registrations<\/strong> used for backup will <strong>no longer provide performance improvements<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Tenants with <strong>several registrations<\/strong> may experience <strong>slower SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams backup<\/strong> throughput<\/li>\n<li>Backup vendors are <strong>updating<\/strong> their products to reduce Microsoft Graph API consumption<\/li>\n<li>Organizations should <strong>review and remove unnecessary registrations<\/strong> in Microsoft Entra ID<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The changes <strong>apply to all third-party backup vendors<\/strong> using <strong>Microsoft Graph<\/strong> and <strong>SharePoint APIs<\/strong> for Microsoft 365 <strong>backup operations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This article summarizes <strong>what is changing<\/strong>, <strong>why it matters<\/strong>, and <strong>how organizations should react now<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What is changing?<\/h2>\n<p>Microsoft is updating how throttling is applied for applications accessing SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. <strong>Each backup application registration<\/strong> in a <strong>tenant<\/strong> is <strong>subject to connection limits<\/strong>. <strong>Once<\/strong> these limits are <strong>reached<\/strong>, Microsoft services respond with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>HTTP 429 (Too many requests)<\/li>\n<li>HTTP 503 (Server Too Busy)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Backup applications must <strong>then delay additional operations<\/strong>, leading to elongated backup windows.<\/p>\n<p>In the <strong>past<\/strong>, <strong>some vendors recommended using multiple app registrations<\/strong> to distribute request load. However, Microsoft now has reconfirmed that <strong>creating multiple registrations<\/strong> that perform <strong>identical backup operations violates<\/strong> the Microsoft APIs <strong>Terms of Use<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Beginning March 1, 2026:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Microsoft will <strong>actively enforce<\/strong> these guidelines<\/li>\n<li><strong>Similar backup applications<\/strong> will be <strong>throttled as a single workload<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Multiple app registrations<\/strong> will <strong>not bypass<\/strong> throttling<\/li>\n<li><strong>Performance may decrease<\/strong> in tenants relying on this workaround<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The enforcement applies to all backup solutions accessing Microsoft 365 APIs and is not limited to a specific vendor.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Why is Microsoft tightening throttling?<\/h2>\n<p>Microsoft Graph and SharePoint Online APIs must <strong>remain stable<\/strong> and <strong>responsive<\/strong> for all customers. <strong>Multi registration backup strategies place uneven load on API endpoints<\/strong> and contradict the responsibility-based throttling model described in Microsoft&#8217;s documentation.<\/p>\n<p>By enforcing the rules consistently:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Microsoft ensures <strong>equal resource access<\/strong> for all tenants<\/li>\n<li>Backup operations become more <strong>predictable<\/strong> and <strong>transparent<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Vendors are encouraged to <strong>optimize API consumption<\/strong> rather than work around platform limits<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Impact on Backup Solutions (General Perspective)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Most organizations<\/strong> use Microsoft 365 backup products that operate within a <strong>single application registration<\/strong>. These environments will see <strong>no change in performance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>However, organizations that intentionally <strong>deployed multiple registrations<\/strong> to increase throughput may observe <strong>slower backup cycles<\/strong> once Microsoft begins unified throttling. This may affect:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Backup duration<\/li>\n<li>Incremental sync cycles<\/li>\n<li>Recovery point objectives (RPO)<\/li>\n<li>Daily scheduling and maintenance windows<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Backup vendors are actively improving efficiency to reduce dependency on high numbers of API calls.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Example: Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-45289\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2024\/09\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2024-09-12-Update-Website-Veeam-Backup-for-Microsoft-365-Architecture.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"964\" height=\"565\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2024\/09\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2024-09-12-Update-Website-Veeam-Backup-for-Microsoft-365-Architecture.png 964w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2024\/09\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2024-09-12-Update-Website-Veeam-Backup-for-Microsoft-365-Architecture-300x176.png 300w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2024\/09\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2024-09-12-Update-Website-Veeam-Backup-for-Microsoft-365-Architecture-800x469.png 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2024\/09\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2024-09-12-Update-Website-Veeam-Backup-for-Microsoft-365-Architecture-150x88.png 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2024\/09\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2024-09-12-Update-Website-Veeam-Backup-for-Microsoft-365-Architecture-768x450.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 964px) 100vw, 964px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365<\/strong> is one commonly used <strong>solution affected by these policy changes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>How Veeam customers may be impacted<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Most<\/strong> Veeam customers use a <strong>single app registration<\/strong> and will <strong>not be affected<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Customers who created <strong>multiple backup applications<\/strong> to distribute load may see <strong>slower backups<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Veeam is releasing a <strong>new version<\/strong> for Veeam <strong>Backup for Microsoft 365<\/strong> with <strong>significantly reduced API usage<\/strong> to help maintain performance<\/li>\n<li>Veeam <strong>Data Cloud for Microsoft 365<\/strong> customers are <strong>automatically updated and require no action<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>How to Check and Remove Extra Backup Application Registrations<\/h2>\n<h3>Prerequisites<\/h3>\n<p>To manage or delete application registrations, you need:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An application registered in your <strong>Microsoft Entra ID tenant<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>At least<\/strong> the <strong><em>Cloud Application Administrator<\/em> role<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Access to the tenant<\/strong> where the application was created<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Application registrations consist of two components:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Application Object<\/strong>: The app itself (its settings and identity) (exists only in the home tenant)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Service Principal Object<\/strong>: the app\u2019s active instance inside your tenant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you delete an app you created, both the application object and its service principal are removed.<\/p>\n<p>If the app is multitenant (for example from a vendor), only the service principal in your tenant is deleted.<\/p>\n<h3>How to Remove Backup Application Registrations in Microsoft Entra ID<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-71752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-03-04-Update-Microsoft-Entra-Applications-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2088\" height=\"944\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-03-04-Update-Microsoft-Entra-Applications-1.png 2088w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-03-04-Update-Microsoft-Entra-Applications-1-500x226.png 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-03-04-Update-Microsoft-Entra-Applications-1-800x362.png 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-03-04-Update-Microsoft-Entra-Applications-1-150x68.png 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-03-04-Update-Microsoft-Entra-Applications-1-768x347.png 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-03-04-Update-Microsoft-Entra-Applications-1-1536x694.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2026\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2026-03-04-Update-Microsoft-Entra-Applications-1-2048x926.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2088px) 100vw, 2088px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Follow these steps to <strong>remove unnecessary backup app registrations<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Sign in to the <a href=\"https:\/\/entra.microsoft.com\/\"><strong>Microsoft Entra admin center<\/strong><\/a> with <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/entra\/identity\/role-based-access-control\/permissions-reference#cloud-application-administrator\">Cloud Application Administrator rights<\/a><\/li>\n<li>If you manage multiple tenants, use the <strong>Settings icon<\/strong> to switch to the correct directory<\/li>\n<li>Navigate to <strong>Entra ID &gt; App registrations<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Select the backup application you want to remove<\/li>\n<li>Review the <strong>Overview<\/strong> page<\/li>\n<li>Select <strong>Delete<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Read the deletion consequences. <strong>Check the box<\/strong> if one appears at the bottom of the pane.<\/li>\n<li>Select <strong>Delete<\/strong> again to permanently remove the app<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This action removes the application\u2019s service principal from your tenant as well.<\/p>\n<p>Deleting unused or non-compliant registrations ensures your backups comply with Microsoft\u2019s new throttling rules.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What organizations should do now<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Check your <a href=\"https:\/\/entra.microsoft.com\/\">Entra ID<\/a> for <strong>duplicate backup app registrations<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Remove<\/strong> any <strong>extra<\/strong> or outdated registrations<\/li>\n<li>Make sure your backup solution uses <strong>only one app registration<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Watch your <strong>backup times<\/strong> after March 1, 2026<\/li>\n<li><strong>Update<\/strong> your backup software when new versions are released<\/li>\n<li>Ensure your <strong>schedules<\/strong> allow for <strong>slightly longer backup cycles if needed<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Looking for a better\u00a0Microsoft 365 backup solution?<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-56265\" src=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8282.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8282.jpg 2400w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8282-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8282-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8282-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8282-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8282-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/media\/2025\/03\/SCHNEIDER-IT-MANAGEMENT-2025-03-11-Graphics-Office-People-8282-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2400px) 100vw, 2400px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/contact\/\">Contact SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT<\/a> to ensure your <strong>Microsoft 365 backup environment<\/strong> remains <strong>efficient and resilient<\/strong> under the <strong>new throttling rules<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><em>Sources<\/em><\/h2>\n<p><em>Veeam article on Microsoft 365 Changes to Throttling Enforcement: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.veeam.com\/kb4821\"><em>https:\/\/www.veeam.com\/kb4821<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Microsoft APIs Terms of use: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/legal\/microsoft-apis\/terms-of-use\"><em>https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/legal\/microsoft-apis\/terms-of-use<\/em><\/a><em>. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Updating Veeam certificates and removing applications: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/helpcenter.veeam.com\/docs\/vbo365\/guide\/removing_backup_applications.html?ver=8#removing-application\"><em>https:\/\/helpcenter.veeam.com\/docs\/vbo365\/guide\/removing_backup_applications.html?ver=8#removing-application<\/em><\/a><em>. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Removing apps in Microsoft Entra &#8211; Microsoft Learn: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/entra\/identity-platform\/howto-remove-app\"><em>https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/entra\/identity-platform\/howto-remove-app<\/em><\/a><em>. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Microsoft Entra admin center: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/entra.microsoft.com\/#home\"><em>https:\/\/entra.microsoft.com\/#home<\/em><\/a><em>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Microsoft will introduce stricter enforcement of throttling rules for Microsoft 365 backup applications starting March 1, 2026. These adjustments affect how backup solutions interact with SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and indirectly Microsoft Teams data. They eliminate the long-standing workaround of deploying multiple application registrations to improve performance. &nbsp; Summary Stricter Microsoft 365 throttling enforcement [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":33016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[585,366],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-microsoft-entra","category-veeam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71746"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71759,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71746\/revisions\/71759"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.schneider.im\/lu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}