Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365: Renaming of Plans

On January 2, 2026, Veeam updated the plan lineup and documentation for Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365:

The renaming makes it easier to understand what each tier actually delivers in terms of control, identity protection, and speed-at-scale.

Backing up Microsoft 365 is the Customer’s Responsibility

Microsoft operates under a shared responsibility model. While Microsoft ensures the availability and uptime of its services, it provides full backup and long-term data retention at additional cost with Microsoft 365 Backup. If data is deleted, e.g., accidentally, maliciously, or due to a ransomware attack, Microsoft’s native tools (like recycle bins or retention policies) offer limited recovery options and timeframes. Beyond that, recovery is the customer’s responsibility.

That is why third-party backup solutions like Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365 are widely used by businesses. They provide comprehensive, long-term backup and fast recovery capabilities that go far beyond what Microsoft offers natively.

Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365 specifically fills this gap by offering a fully managed, secure, and scalable backup service for Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive for Business, Teams, and Entra ID. It ensures that your business can recover quickly from accidental deletions, ransomware attacks, or service outages.

Picking the right plan

• Foundation (formerly Flex) – You want full control over what gets backed up, where it is stored, and for how long. Granular restores, advanced search, RBAC, and Azure region choice are included.
• Advanced (formerly Flex Bundle) – You need everything in Foundation plus Entra ID protection with granular restore for users, groups, policies, and logs. Ideal if identity resilience is a must for you.
• Premium – You care most about fast backup and bulk restore at scale. Premium adds Express backup policies that use Microsoft 365 Backup Storage for high-speed operations without throttling. That’s perfect for large environments or ransomware recovery tests.

Licensing and plans

• Prerequisites: You need an active Microsoft 365 tenant. For compliance, all Microsoft 365 users must be covered by the backup license. Entra ID coverage is included in the Premium plan. If you choose Advanced, you can add Entra ID protection as an additional option.
• License model: Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365 uses the Variable License Model as the standard approach. The Fixed License Model has been deprecated. Variable licensing helps you automate who is protected, because the protection scope can follow rules (for example, by including everyone in the organization). It also supports overage handling if you temporarily exceed your contracted quantities
• How to buy: You can purchase Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365 through a Veeam-authorized partner such as SCHNEIDER IT MANAGEMENT. You can also buy it through the Microsoft Azure Marketplace.

We will help you optimize your licensing and get the best procurement conditions for your business case, so you save costs and stay compliant, avoiding audit costs.

More information

Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365 – Product Page: https://www.veeam.com/products/saas/backup-microsoft-office-365.html.

Feel free to contact us to get help on enhancing your backup and security posture in your Microsoft environment while optimizing purchasing conditions.