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Getting Started with Backups

This guide walks you through enabling endpoint backup on your first devices, verifying the initial backup completes successfully, testing a restore, and setting up SaaS backup for a Microsoft 365 tenant.

Prerequisites​

  • An active Hub organization
  • At least one device enrolled via The One RMM (for endpoint backups)
  • Admin access to your M365 or Google Workspace tenant (for SaaS backups)

Step 1: Enable the Backups Module​

  1. Open Hub and navigate to your organization's Billing page
  2. Add the Backups subscription — standalone or as part of an Endpoint bundle
  3. Navigate to the Backups console from the waffle menu

Once your subscription is active, the Backups module is available for activation on enrolled devices.

ℹ️Activating the subscription does not automatically start backing up devices. You need to assign a backup policy to enable protection on specific devices.

Step 2: Create Your First Backup Policy​

A backup policy defines what gets backed up, when, and how long to keep it.

  1. In the Backups console, go to Policies → New Policy
  2. Use the Workstation Default template as a starting point — it includes:
    • User documents, desktop, and application data
    • Hourly incremental backups
    • 7-day daily retention, 4-week weekly retention, 12-month monthly retention
    • AES-256-GCM encryption enabled
  3. Name the policy and set its scope to Company if you want it to apply to all devices under a specific client, or Global to apply it to all devices in your tenant
  4. Click Save Policy

Step 3: Assign the Policy to Devices​

  1. Go to Devices in the Backups console
  2. Select one or more devices to protect
  3. Click Assign Policy and select the policy you just created
  4. The policy takes effect on the next scheduled backup window

Alternatively, when creating a policy with Company or Global scope, devices under that scope are automatically covered without manual assignment.

Step 4: Verify Your First Backup Job​

The agent executes the first backup within the next scheduled interval (default: hourly for incrementals).

  1. Go to Jobs in the Backups console
  2. Find the job for your device — it will appear with status Running while in progress
  3. Once complete, it will show Success with the number of files transferred and storage used

The first backup is a full backup. Subsequent jobs are incrementals unless the policy defines a daily full schedule.

ℹ️The first full backup may take significantly longer than subsequent incrementals, depending on the amount of data in the included paths. Large initial backups (50GB+) may run for several hours on a typical business connection.

Step 5: Test a Restore​

Verifying that your backup is actually restorable is as important as running the backup. Do not skip this step.

  1. Go to Catalog for your device
  2. Select the most recent backup snapshot
  3. Navigate to a test file — pick something small and non-critical
  4. Click Restore → Restore to Alternate Location
  5. Choose a target path (e.g., the desktop, a temp folder)
  6. Confirm the restored file opens and matches the original

This confirms the backup chain is intact and the restore pipeline is working end-to-end.

Step 6: Set Up SaaS Backup for an M365 Tenant​

  1. In the Backups console, go to SaaS → New Connection
  2. Select Microsoft 365 as the provider
  3. Enter the M365 Tenant ID (found in Azure AD → Tenant Properties)
  4. Name the connection (e.g., the client company name)
  5. Select the scopes to back up: Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams
  6. Click Save — the connection is created with status Setup
  1. Click Authorize on the new connection
  2. You are redirected to the Microsoft admin consent page
  3. Sign in as a Global Administrator of the M365 tenant
  4. Review the permissions requested and click Accept
  5. You are redirected back to the Backups console — the connection status updates to Active

The first SaaS backup job runs within 24 hours (default daily schedule). You can also trigger a manual backup from the Jobs tab.

What to Expect in the First 24 Hours​

TimeWhat Happens
0–1 hrPolicy assigned; first full backup job queued
1–6 hrsFull backup runs (duration depends on data volume)
6–8 hrsSaaS backup job runs for M365 (initial full sync)
24 hrsHealth dashboard populates with backup status per device
Day 2+Incremental jobs run on schedule; catalog grows with new file versions

Next Steps​