License and Subscription

If a user’s Microsoft™ 365 license expires, will their data become out-of-scope?

Refer to the table below for reaction details for each backup service:

Note: Only when the object being removed from the backup scope still exists in Microsoft 365 will the object be detected by the Out-of-scope object report and its backup data marked for deletion. By default, the Out-of-scope object feature does not support BYOS customers. The backup data for the objects that have been protected by IBM® Storage Protect for Cloud but removed from your Microsoft 365 tenant is not within this scope. For the Exchange Online and OneDrive, the corresponding objects will be added to the Offboarded users report and you can configure separate retention period for their backup data. For other service types, IBM Storage Protect for Cloud will keep such backup data according to your global retention policy. For details, refer to Remove Unprotected Data.


Service Type	Reactions
Exchange Online	Service account authentication and app profile cannot detect the users’ mailboxes if their mailboxes become inactive or their license has expired, and the backup data of these mailboxes will be detected by the Offboarded users report. You can configure retention period for the backup data in Remove unprotected data > Offboarded users. If the service account or app has not been assigned the Exchange Administrator role in Microsoft Entra ID, the backup data of the users’ mailboxes will not be properly deleted. To ensure the integrity of backup data, make sure you have assigned the Exchange Administrator role.
OneDrive	If the user’s My Site still exists in Microsoft 365 and is included in the backup scope, the site can still be discoverable to IBM Storage Protect for Cloud and protected, regardless of the license. If it has been removed from the backup scope, it will be detected by the Out-of-scope object report and be deleted. If the user no longer exists in Microsoft 365, the user’s OneDrive will not be protected, and its backup data will be detected by the Offboarded users report. If the user still exists in Microsoft 365 but the user’s My Site no longer exists, the user’s OneDrive won’t be detected by the Offboarded users report but will fail in the backup job.
Project Online	License expiration does not affect the Auto Discovery but will fail the backup.

I am currently using IBM Storage Protect for Cloud default storage to store backup data. If I end my subscription, would I ever be able to recover the backup data from IBM Storage Protect for Cloud?

When an Enterprise subscription ends, IBM Storage Protect for Cloud will retain the backup data in IBM Storage Protect for Cloud storage for 60 days, subject to the terms of your service agreement. The backup data in IBM Storage Protect for Cloud storage can be exported to your own storage as a paid service. You must submit an export request if you wish to export your data from IBM Storage Protect for Cloud storage. The data deletion process in IBM Storage Protect for Cloud default storage will start 30 days after the expiration date. If you renew the subscription before the deletion completes, you may be able to keep the old backup data and use it for data recovery.

If you have the BYOS (bring your own storage) subscription, the backup data will remain in your own storage until you delete it, and you will not need to pay an export fee.

Note that the backup data is stored in IBM Storage Protect for Cloud format and not as pure copies of Microsoft 365 data. Therefore, before you move away from the product, ensure you have exported the encryption key in case you will not be able to sign in to the IBM Storage Protect for Cloud Microsoft 365 interface once your subscription has ended. For details on exporting encryption keys, refer to Configure Security Settings.

If you would like additional details or assistance with this process, contact IBM Software Support. For more details, refer to Introduction to Data Export Service.

Features unavailable in trial subscription

The following features are unavailable to trial users:

Configure backup prioritization
Remove unprotected data
View storage consumption report

What features are available for different subscription types?

Refer to the list below for the supported/unsupported features in Core and Flex subscriptions:

Note the following:

An additional cost is required to enable Backup Data eDiscovery. For details, refer to Backup Data eDiscovery.


Features		Standard
Storage	IBM Storage Protect for Cloud hosted storage	Supported
	Bring your own storage	Supported
Unlimited retention		Supported
Back up Recordings folder		Supported
Manually Delete Backup Data		Supported
Data Subject Access Requests		Supported

If I purchase the Power Platform subscription by capacity, how can I get the number of Power BI workspaces, Power Automate flows, and Power Apps in my environment?

To get the number of Power BI workspaces, Power Automate flows, or Power Apps, refer to the following Microsoft articles:

For Power BI workspaces, see Manage workspaces.
For Power Automate flows, see View analytics for cloud flows.
For Power Apps, see Admin Analytics for Power Apps.

You can check their types and filter out the items which can be protected in IBM Storage Protect for Cloud Microsoft 365 according to Power BI Data Types, Power Automate Data Types, and Power Apps Data Types.

When I renew my IBM Storage Protect for Cloud Microsoft 365 subscription, what will happen to my data retention settings?

Upon subscription renewal, your data retention settings will be adjusted based on a comparison between the new and previous retention period:

If the new subscription has a shorter retention period: Your retention periods will be automatically adjusted to match the new subscription limits.
If the new subscription has the same or longer retention period: No changes will be made to your existing retention settings.

To verify your configuration and ensure you are aware of any changes, refer to Settings > Retention. Additionally, you will receive notification emails 90 days, 60 days, and 30 days before any data deletion. Upon subscription renewal, a notification email will advise you to check and update your retention settings in IBM Storage Protect for Cloud Microsoft 365 as needed.