Microsoft is updating its storage policies for managing unlicensed OneDrive for Business accounts, with these changes expected to take effect in early 2025. It’s essential for partners to be informed and understand the available options to keep their customers’ businesses operational. This is where SkyKick’s new Cross-OneDrive Restoration feature becomes valuable, providing MSPs with a powerful tool to ensure business continuity, even when key customer personnel leave the organization.
What’s changing?
According to Microsoft, starting January 27, 2025, any OneDrive account that remains unlicensed for more than 90 days will become inaccessible to both administrators and end users. The unlicensed account will be automatically archived and viewable only through admin tools, but it will remain locked until administrators take action. It’s important to note that these changes do not apply to EDU, GCC, or DoD customers.
This creates a challenge when key employees leave the company and their active Microsoft 365 licenses are deprovisioned, as valuable corporate data stored in their OneDrive for Business accounts becomes locked and inaccessible
Impact to Partners
In the past, partner administrators could extend retention periods, but with the new 90-day limit, this is no longer an option. Partners now have limited choices:
If the data is no longer needed: You can delete the unlicensed OneDrive account. Once deleted, both the OneDrive account and its files are permanently erased, and the user will no longer be able to sign in.
If the data is needed, Microsoft offers two options:
- Assign a license to the unlicensed OneDrive account: This will restore access to the data, but at an additional cost.
- Archive the unlicensed OneDrive account: Archiving allows you to retain the account and its data for extended periods in case you need to retrieve it later. However, Microsoft 365 charges for both storage and account reactivation.
Fortunately, there’s another way for partners to access this data if they have SkyKick Cloud Backup.
New OneDrive Cross Restoration
SkyKick has recently introduced new cross-user restoration capabilities, allowing you to recover OneDrive data to another user, ensuring business continuity. The key benefits of this feature include:
- No additional cost: SkyKick retains the data of former users for the duration of the subscription. Restoring this data to another active user incurs no extra charges.
- Maintain business continuity: With this feature, you are no longer constrained by Microsoft’s 90-day policy, ensuring uninterrupted access to essential data.
- Streamlined user management: If you’re using Groups Management, the user offboarding process will automatically sync with SkyKick. This means the user will be deactivated within SkyKick, eliminating any further costs or management associated with that user.
Test Drive Cross-OneDrive Restoration in Action
Here’s a quick example: Alex from BQ Legal has recently left the company. To ensure business continuity, Secure MSP IT needs to transfer all of Alex’s OneDrive for Business data to Debra, his successor. Let’s explore how SkyKick Cloud Backup streamlines the Cross-OneDrive restoration process, making this transition smooth and efficient.
Available today!
All new and existing SkyKick Partners can take advantage of the capability to do Cross Restorations for Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business and at a User-level. Log-in today to see how you can keep your clients up and running.
