Protecting Shared Mailboxes

In Microsoft 365, a shared mailbox enables a group of users to access the same mailbox, so that every user in the group can view and reply to its messages. For more on this feature, see this Microsoft 365 article: About shared mailboxes.

Spanning Backup provides a cost-effective way to protect the data in your shared mailboxes:

  • For every standard user license purchased, you can protect one shared mailbox for free. Spanning backs up all new and existing data for each protected shared mailbox. Backups run automatically each day.
  • For every archived user license purchased, you can archive one shared mailbox for free. Archiving enables you to retain a shared mailbox's existing Spanning data but stop running new backups. Archive a shared mailbox (rather than deactivating) to prevent its Spanning data from being deleted.

Microsoft considerations for shared mailboxes

If a shared mailbox consumes a Microsoft license, Spanning treats it as a user mailbox and a Spanning user license is required to run backups. Following are some examples where a shared mailbox consumes a Microsoft 365 license:

  • The shared mailbox has over 50 GB of storage, at which point Microsoft requires a license.

  • A Microsoft user account was converted to a shared mailbox and the Microsoft license was not removed from the account.

  • A Microsoft 365 license has been applied to a shared mailbox through a Microsoft plan (e.g., Exchange Online). That shared mailbox license is included in the Assigned Licenses count in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Use these procedures to protect your shared mailboxes:

  1. Log into Spanning Backup for Microsoft 365 as an admin user.
  2. Click Users > Shared Mailboxes.
  1. (Optional) Search for mailboxes by name or email address.
  2. (Optional) Search for mailboxes by using the advanced filters. This enables you to search across all columns and values on the page.
  3. (Optional) Check boxes to select mailboxes.
  1. Do one of the following:
  • To assign licenses to selected mailboxes, click Activate Standard.
  • To assign licenses to all mailboxes that meet current filter criteria, click Activate Licenses.

NOTES   

●   You can enable backups for all shared mailboxes in your tenant in one action by clicking Activate Licenses (when no filters are currently applied). If filter criteria are applied (e.g., selected License type), this action takes into consideration all filtered results (not only the mailboxes loaded in the list below if the list contains more).

●   If an Insufficient Licenses message displays, you don't have enough licenses for the selected mailboxes. Do any of the following: select fewer mailboxes, purchase more licenses, or deactivate licenses to reduce the number of assigned licenses.

  1. Click Confirm to activate the licenses.

Spanning runs daily backups of each licensed shared mailbox.

  1. Log into Spanning Backup for Microsoft 365 at https://o365.spanningbackup.com as an admin user.
  2. Click Users > Shared Mailboxes.
  1. (Optional) Search for mailboxes by name or email address.
  2. (Optional) Search for mailboxes by using the advanced filters.
  3. Check boxes to select mailboxes.
  1. Click Activate Archived to assign archived licenses to selected shared mailboxes.

NOTE  If an Insufficient Licenses message displays, you don't have enough archived licenses for the selected mailboxes. Do any of the following: select fewer mailboxes, purchase more licenses, or deactivate licenses to reduce the number of assigned licenses.

  1. Click Confirm to activate the licenses.

Spanning retains data for each archived-licensed mailbox.

Consider the following before deactivating licenses:

  • Shared mailbox license – A shared mailbox's Spanning data is removed permanently 60 days after deactivating its license. If a shared mailbox license is re-applied during this 60-day period, data is retained and daily backups resume.
  • Shared mailbox archived license – A shared mailbox's Spanning data is no longer retained after deactiviating its archived license.

Use this procedure to unassign and deactivate licenses for selected shared mailboxes.

  1. Log into Spanning Backup for Microsoft 365 at https://o365.spanningbackup.com as an admin user.
  2. Click Users > Shared Mailboxes.
  1. (Optional) Search for shared mailboxes by name or email address.
  2. (Optional) Search for shared mailboxes by using the advanced filters.
  3. Check boxes to select shared mailboxes.
  1. Click Deactivate License.

  1. Click Confirm to deactivate the licenses.

Once your Spanning Backup account is set up as a paid account, you can purchase additional licenses at a prorated annual rate. You can purchase licenses manually or opt to automate license purchases and assignment to newly-onboarded users.

  • To manually purchase more standard user licenses or archived licenses, click Purchase Licenses on the Manage Licenses page. Log in to the Kaseya Portal and place your order.

Purchasing standard user licenses and archived licenses enables you to protect additional shared mailboxes. For every standard user license purchased, you get one shared mailbox license for free. For every archived license purchased, you get one archived shared mailbox license for free.

You can assign your newly purchased licenses to users and shared mailboxes in your tenant: