AvePoint Cloud Backup vs Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365 (2026)

AvePoint casts the widest net: within Microsoft 365 it protects SharePoint, Exchange, OneDrive, Teams, Groups, Planner, Project Online, Public Folders, Viva Engage, Power Automate, Power Platform, and Dataverse, plus Entra ID and Azure - and extends beyond Microsoft to Salesforce, Google Workspace, and Dynamics 365. It backs up not just files but configurations, permissions, versions, and workflows.

Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365 focuses on Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and Entra ID in a single managed service. That's comprehensive for Microsoft 365 and identity, but it doesn't extend to non-Microsoft SaaS within this product (Salesforce and Azure are separate Veeam Data Cloud services).

AvePoint gives you a choice: unlimited AvePoint-managed 256-bit encrypted storage, or Bring Your Own Storage / Bring Your Own Key across Azure Blob, Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, or customer-owned WORM/immutable storage. This suits data-sovereignty and 3-2-1 strategies where an independent copy in your own tenant matters.

Veeam Data Cloud bundles unlimited storage in Azure, stored in an Azure region of your choice (60+ regions) - you don't manage storage at all, and there are no separate storage bills. The trade-off is less control over the storage backend and no bring-your-own-storage option within the managed service.

AvePoint Cloud Backup is a SaaS service requiring no hardware or scripting, configurable in minutes, with a multi-tenant Elements Portal for MSPs. It exposes more configuration (policies per workload/container, storage choice), which means more flexibility and slightly more to configure.

Veeam Data Cloud is a fully managed BaaS: Veeam runs the infrastructure, software updates, and storage, and you simply log in to a web UI to create backups and restore. There are no servers, patching, or storage to manage - the simplest operational model, at the cost of fewer low-level controls (a point some reviewers raise).

AvePoint supports flexible retention from 30 days to unlimited years, configurable per service type and even per container, which suits legal-hold and long-term regulatory needs. Default managed backups run up to four times daily and retain 100% of data for a year, extendable per the deal.

Veeam Data Cloud offers customizable retention within its plans (Foundation and up), with granular and bulk recovery. Retention is flexible for typical needs, though the per-container granularity and explicit 'unlimited years' framing is where AvePoint markets an edge.

AvePoint stores backups as immutable, logically air-gapped copies that can't be accessed via the UI/API and can only be exported, restored, or destroyed once the retention window is met. It adds ransomware detection, TLS 1.2/1.3 in transit, per-tenant encryption keys or BYOK, and optional customer-owned WORM storage.

Veeam takes a zero-trust approach with encryption in transit and at rest, mandatory MFA, and RBAC, and includes service-level immutability on the primary backup at no additional cost. Data is stored redundantly (LRS) in your chosen Azure region.

AvePoint's Cloud Backup Express is powered by Microsoft 365 Backup Storage, enabling ultra-fast in-place rollback of SharePoint sites, OneDrives, and Exchange mailboxes within the Microsoft trust boundary (Microsoft cites recovery up to 2TB/hour). AvePoint positions it as complementary to its independent, longer-retention backup - 'best of both worlds.'

Veeam Data Cloud's Premium plan adds Express backup policies powered by Veeam's Microsoft 365 Backup Storage integration, prioritizing speed and scale for large datasets. Both vendors are recognized Microsoft 365 Backup Storage partners.

AvePoint documents ISO, SOC 2, and FedRAMP compliance, supports DSAR / Right-to-Be-Forgotten, immutable audit records, eDiscovery with rich metadata search, and granular/app-aware restore of configurations, permissions, versions, and workflows, including out-of-place and cross-tenant restores.

Veeam Data Cloud provides granular and bulk recovery (down to individual emails or entire Entra ID groups), advanced search/compare, and compliance features meeting regional data-residency requirements. Its formal certification list should be confirmed in Veeam's trust/security materials.

AvePoint targets MSPs with the multi-tenant Elements Portal, flat/fixed rates in distributor marketplaces, and Azure Marketplace purchasing (usable with Microsoft Azure Credits). Broad SaaS coverage lets an MSP standardize on one backup vendor across mixed client stacks.

Veeam Data Cloud supports multi-tenant management for service providers and enterprises and is available via Veeam partners or the Azure Marketplace. Veeam's large partner ecosystem and #1 SaaS-backup mindshare make it a common MSP default for Microsoft-centric clients.