Can EdbMails back up Office 365 to an external drive?

If the drive is available to the Windows computer and is a supported writable location, it can be selected as the backup location. Ensure the drive has adequate capacity and is secured appropriately.

Can I use a shared network drive?

EdbMails supports selecting an accessible shared/network location for Office 365 mailbox backup. Verify access permissions, storage capacity and network reliability before starting large backup jobs.

Is local Office 365 backup encrypted?

EdbMails protects its backup using AES 256-bit encryption and provides an option to use a private encryption key.

Does local backup mean Microsoft 365 is not needed during backup?

No. The source mailbox data is still read from Microsoft 365, so connectivity and valid authorization to the source tenant are required. Local backup refers to where the resulting protected copy is stored.

Should I use a local drive or a network share?

A local drive suits smaller environments, evaluations or dedicated backup workstations, while a shared/network drive suits centralized storage managed by IT. The network option adds a dependency on consistent network availability and throughput.

How much storage will the backup need?

Plan for the current mailbox and archive size plus future growth and headroom for backup maintenance and any new full-backup generations. Avoid sizing storage only for today's usage, and monitor free space before repeated runs.

How does local backup fit the 3-2-1 rule?

The live mailbox is one copy, the EdbMails local backup is a second independently controlled copy, and a replicated or offline duplicate can serve as the off-site copy, which helps ensure no single failure affects every copy.

What happens if I lose the private encryption key?

Data protected with a private key requires that key for access and restore. Store the key securely, document who holds it, and plan for continuity if administrators change. Losing the key can prevent access to the protected data.

Can I keep more than one copy of the backup?

Yes. Because you control the storage, you can design a secondary or offline copy strategy for critical recovery requirements, subject to your own capacity and security planning.

Does the backup computer need to stay on for scheduled runs?

Scheduled or repeated runs depend on the backup computer being available at the chosen time, so include the computer's own availability in your backup planning and monitoring.

Can SharePoint or OneDrive be included on this page's workflow?

No. SharePoint and OneDrive are separate workloads with dedicated functionality. This workflow focuses on Office 365 mailbox data only.

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EDB Recovery and Migration

EdbMails lets you recover corrupted, damaged, and offline Exchange EDB files, convert EDB mailboxes to PST format, and directly migrate mailbox data to Office 365 and live Exchange Server.

EDB to PST

Recover corrupted, damaged, offline EDB files and convert Exchange EDB mailboxes to PST file format

Public Folder to Exchange

Migrate public folders from an Exchange offline EDB file to live Exchange Server

EDB to Live Exchange Migration

Directly migrate offline Exchange database (EDB) files to live Exchange server

Archive Mailbox to Office 365

Migrate archive mailboxes from offline EDB files directly to Office 365

EDB to Office 365 Migration

Directly migrate offline Exchange database (EDB) files to Office 365

Public Folder to Office 365

Migrate public folders from an offline Exchange EDB file to Office 365

OST, PST, MBOX, NSF, EML, MSG Export and Migration

EdbMails lets you to recover OST and PST files, export OST, PST, MBOX, NSF, EML, and MSG files to PST files, and directly migrate OST, PST, MBOX, and NSF mailbox data to Office 365 and live Exchange Server.

OST Recovery and Migration

Recover offline OST files, convert OST to PST, and migrate OST to Office 365 and Exchange Server

PST Recovery and Migration

Recover Outlook PST files , Export PST to PST, migrate PST to Office 365 and Exchange Server

MBOX Export and Migration

Export MBOX to PST, migrate MBOX to Office 365 and Exchange Server

NSF Export and Migration

Export NSF to PST, migrate NSF to Office 365 and Exchange Server

EML to PST Export

Convert EML files to Outlook PST files

PST to MSG Export

Convert Outlook PST file to MSG file format

MSG to PST Export

Export MSG files to Outlook PST files

Office 365, Exchange Migration

EdbMails lets you securely migrate mailboxes across Microsoft 365, Exchange, Google Workspace (G Suite), and IMAP-supported servers such as Outlook, Gmail, Zimbra, Zoho Mail, and cPanel, ensuring zero downtime.

Office 365 Migration

Migrate between Office 365 tenants, Office 365 to Exchange, Office 365 to PST, PST files to Office 365.

Exchange Migration

Migrate between any Exchange Servers, Exchange to Office 365, Exchange to PST, PST files to Exchange.

Tenant to Tenant Migration

Migrate Mailboxes, Public Folders, Archive Mailboxes between Office 365 Tenants.

Exchange to Office 365

Migrate Mailboxes, Public Folders, Archive Mailboxes from live Exchange server to Office 365.

Office 365 to IMAP

Migrate Office 365 to IMAP, Office 365 to Gmail, Office 365 to Outlook, Office 365 to Zoho etc.

Exchange to IMAP

Migrate from live Exchange Server to IMAP servers such as Gmail, Outlook, and Zoho Mail.

Public Folder to Office 365

Migrate Public Folders between Office 365 tenants with complete folder hierarchy and mailbox data integrity.

Exchange to PST

Export live Exchange Server mailboxes, public folders, and archive mailboxes to Outlook PST files.

SharePoint, OneDrive & Microsoft Teams Migration

EdbMails lets you migrate SharePoint sites, OneDrive data, Microsoft Teams, teams, channels, chats, permissions, and documents between Microsoft 365 tenants while maintaining the existing folder structure and data integrity.

SharePoint Online Migration

Migrate documents, lists, files and folders from SharePoint sites.

OneDrive for Business Migration

Migrate documents, lists, files, folders, private chats from OneDrive.

Microsoft Teams Migration

Migrate Teams, chats, channels, documents, files and folders etc.

Google Workspace / G Suite Migration

EdbMails offers secure Google Workspace migration to Office 365, Exchange, or IMAP, and export to PST covering emails, contacts, calendars and tasks.

Google Workspace Migration

Migrate emails, calendars, contacts, tasks from Google Workspace to Google Workspace, office 365, Exchange and IMAP. Export to PST

Google Workspace to Office 365

Migrate emails, calendars, contacts, tasks from Google Workspace / G Suite to Office 365

Google Workspace to Exchange Server

Migrate emails, calendars, contacts, tasks from Google Workspace / G Suite to on-Premise Exchange Server

Google Workspace to IMAP

Migrate emails, calendars, contacts, tasks from Google Workspace / G Suite to IMAP, Outlook, Zimbra, Zoho etc.

Google Workspace to Google Workspace

Migrate emails, calendars, contacts, tasks between two Google Workspace / G Suite tenants

Google Workspace to PST

Export emails, calendars, contacts, tasks from Google Workspace / G Suite to Outlook PST files

IMAP Migration

EdbMails IMAP Migration tool lets you easily migrate emails from IMAP servers such as Outlook, Gmail, Zoho Mail, Zimbra, cPanel, and more. Supports IMAP to IMAP, Office 365, Exchange Server, PST, and bulk PST to IMAP migration.

IMAP Email Backup & Migration

Backup and migrate emails from IMAP servers to PST, Office 365, and On-Premises Exchange Server

IMAP to Office 365

Migrate emails, folders, and attachments from IMAP servers to Office 365

IMAP to Exchange

Migrate emails, folders, and attachments from IMAP servers to on-premises Exchange Server

IMAP to PST

Export emails, folders, and attachments from IMAP servers to Outlook PST files for backup

PST to IMAP

Migrate emails, folders, and attachments from bulk PST files to IMAP servers

Duplicate Remover

EdbMails Duplicate Remover lets you easily remove duplicate items from Office 365 and Exchange Server, and from IMAP, Outlook, Gmail, Zimbra, Zoho Mail, etc., ensuring a clean and organized mailbox.

Remove Duplicates

Easily clean up your Office 365, Exchange, Outlook and IMAP accounts by removing duplicate emails.

Remove Duplicates from Office 365

Remove duplicate emails, calendars, contacts, journal tasks, etc. from Office 365.

Remove Duplicates from Exchange Server

Remove duplicate emails, calendars, contacts, journal tasks, etc. from live Exchange Server.

Remove Duplicates from IMAP, Outlook

Remove duplicate emails, attachments from IMAP, Outlook, Gmail, Zimbra, Zoho Mail etc.

Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams and Office 365 Backup

EdbMails enables secure, automated backup and recovery for Microsoft 365 services including Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and Live Exchange Server with complete data protection and restore flexibility.

Office 365 Backup

Incremental, Granular, Encrypted and Compressed Office 365 Mailboxes Backup

Exchange Server Backup

Incremental, Granular, Encrypted and Compressed Exchange Mailboxes Backup

SharePoint, OneDrive & Teams Backup

Backup Online site collections, Team sites, Office 365 groups, all documents etc.

EdbMails Data Recovery

EdbMails Data Recovery Software lets you recover permanently deleted data, including photos, videos, documents, and archived files, from partitions on hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, SD cards, and external storage devices.

EdbMails Data Recovery

Recover and restore permanently deleted data from hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, SD cards, and etc.

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Office 365 Backup to Local Storage

Keep Microsoft 365 mailbox backups on storage you control

EdbMails lets administrators back up Office 365 mailboxes to supported local or shared/network storage instead of requiring the protected copy to remain only in a vendor-managed cloud repository. The backup is AES-256 encrypted, and organizations can control the storage location, retention approach, and, when used, private encryption keys.

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Office 365 Backup

Office 365 Backup to Local Storage: Secure and Encrypted Mailbox Protection

Back up Office 365 mailboxes to storage controlled by your organization with EdbMails. Instead of retaining the mailbox backup only in a vendor-managed cloud repository, EdbMails lets administrators create an encrypted Microsoft 365 mailbox backup on supported local or shared/network storage.

This is designed for organizations that want direct control over backup location, encryption keys, retention of the protected copy and the infrastructure used to store Microsoft 365 mailbox data. For the full product page, see EdbMails Office 365 Backup. This page focuses on local and network-storage backup architecture.

Storage control Your keys Your retention

What does backup to local storage mean?

A local Microsoft 365 backup creates a protected copy of mailbox data outside the live mailbox and stores it in a location you select — a computer drive, attached storage, a supported network/shared drive or another location exposed to the backup computer.

The important distinction is that the organization controls the storage location — useful when internal policy requires a copy on company-managed infrastructure, or when you want your own secondary-copy, offline-retention or disaster-recovery strategy.

Microsoft 365 mailbox

protected copy written to

Storage you control

Why organizations choose local mailbox backup

Control where the backup is stored

Decide where the protected mailbox data resides and how that storage is managed, instead of placing every backup in another SaaS platform.

Use existing storage infrastructure

Write the protected backup to file servers, shared storage or encrypted drives already accessible from the Windows computer running the application.

Keep a separate recovery copy

A backup stored independently from the active mailbox gives another recovery source if content is deleted, an account changes or historical data is needed.

Apply your own storage controls

You decide access control, redundancy, physical security, replication and offline copies. EdbMails secures the format with AES 256-bit encryption; you secure the storage environment.

Apply the 3-2-1 backup principle

A locally controlled backup fits the 3-2-1 principle: keep at least three copies, on two types of media, with at least one kept off-site or offline — so a single failure, deletion or site issue does not affect every copy at once.

Copy 1

Live Microsoft 365 mailbox

Production copy for day-to-day access.

Copy 2

EdbMails local backup

Encrypted backup on local/network storage — an independent, organization-controlled recovery source.

Copy 3

Off-site / offline duplicate

Replicated or offline duplicate of the backup — protection against site or storage failure.

Local backup with AES 256-bit encryption

Mailbox backups can contain sensitive business information, so the protected copy should not be treated like an ordinary unprotected export. EdbMails encrypts its Office 365 backup with AES 256-bit encryption; administrators can use the application's encryption handling or configure a private key. A private key increases control but creates an operational responsibility: store it securely, keep it available for future restores, and document where it is held, who has access and how continuity is maintained if administrators change.

Back up to a local drive

For smaller environments, evaluation projects or dedicated backup workstations, select a local drive with sufficient free storage as the destination. Allow capacity for current mailbox data plus future incremental growth.

Available storage capacity and expected mailbox growth.
Disk reliability and monitoring.
Who has operating-system access to the backup location.
Whether the drive is included in another system-level backup.
Whether an offline or secondary copy is required.

Back up to a shared or network drive

EdbMails can use supported shared/network storage accessible from the backup machine. This is useful when the organization wants centralized storage rather than keeping the protected copy on the local system drive.

With a network location, verify that the Windows account running the operation has appropriate access, the path remains consistently available, and network throughput is suitable for the volume of data being protected.

Local drive vs network drive: choosing the destination

Both destinations are supported; the right choice depends on who manages the storage and how centralized it needs to be.

Factor	Local drive	Shared / network drive
Best for	Smaller environments, evaluations, dedicated backup workstations	Centralized storage managed by IT
Access control	Operating-system access on the backup computer	Network share permissions for the running account
Availability dependency	Local disk health	Disk health plus consistent network availability
Throughput consideration	Local disk speed	Network throughput for the protected data volume
Capacity planning	Single-machine capacity	Shared capacity, monitored centrally

Local backup vs cloud backup

Neither architecture is universally better. The right model depends on recovery objectives, administrative requirements and infrastructure strategy.

Consideration	Locally controlled backup	Cloud / SaaS backup
Storage ownership	Organization selects and manages storage	Backup vendor generally manages repository
Infrastructure management	Organization manages capacity, redundancy and storage health	Vendor typically manages backup infrastructure
Encryption control	EdbMails supports encrypted backup and a private-key option	Depends on provider architecture
Internet dependency for repository	Source still needs Microsoft 365 connectivity; repository can be local/network	Source and backup repository are normally cloud-connected
Secondary / offline copy	Organization can design its own secondary-copy strategy	Depends on provider features
Operational responsibility	More storage responsibility remains with the organization	More infrastructure responsibility shifts to vendor

Organizations evaluating both approaches can also review our Microsoft 365 Backup Software Comparison.

Microsoft 365 native Backup vs locally stored backup

Native Microsoft 365 Backup

A native, paid service for supported Exchange Online, SharePoint and OneDrive workloads. Keeps protected data inside Microsoft's service architecture with Microsoft-managed recovery points and restore workflows.

Locally stored backup (EdbMails)

A locally controlled encrypted copy of supported Microsoft 365 mailbox data. Evaluate native recovery, SaaS protection, locally controlled backup, or a combination, by recovery objectives and governance.

Incremental local backup

A local backup should be efficient to maintain. EdbMails begins with a full protected copy and supports incremental processing for subsequent runs — new or modified mailbox items are added without recreating the entire mailbox copy on every run, reducing repeated bandwidth use and unnecessary storage growth. See Office 365 Incremental Backup for details.

What mailbox data can be protected?

The EdbMails mailbox backup workflow is designed for Microsoft 365 / Exchange Online mailbox data. Depending on source and permissions, it supports the content below, plus supported archive, shared-mailbox and Public Folder scenarios.

Contacts

Calendars

Tasks

Mailbox folders

SharePoint and OneDrive are separate workloads and should not be confused with mailbox backup. EdbMails provides dedicated backup functionality and pages for those products; this page focuses on Office 365 mailbox backup.

How to back up mailboxes to local storage

Download and install EdbMails

On a supported Windows computer.

Select Backup Office 365

Create a backup job.

Choose the storage location

Select the local or shared storage that will hold the protected backup.

Connect to Microsoft 365

Use the available modern-authentication method.

Load and select mailboxes

Choose the required mailboxes for protection.

Set the encryption option

Include a private key if your policy requires it.

Start the backup

Begin and monitor the operation.

Review logs

Verify that the expected mailbox data has been protected.

Run incremental backups

Keep the local copy current with subsequent runs.

See the Office 365 Backup Guide for screenshots and the complete procedure.

Planning storage capacity

Required capacity depends on how much mailbox data is selected, how quickly mailboxes grow and how you manage backup generations and secondary copies. Avoid sizing storage only for today's usage.

Measure current source mailbox and archive size.
Allow space for future mailbox growth.
Allow headroom for backup maintenance and new full-backup generations where applicable.
Monitor free storage space before scheduled or repeated runs.
If a network share is used, monitor both free capacity and network availability.

Protecting a local Office 365 backup

Encryption is only one layer. The storage hosting the protected copy should follow the organization's security and recovery standards.

Limit file-system access to authorized administrators and backup services.

Use reliable storage with monitoring and appropriate redundancy.

Keep encryption-key access separate from ordinary storage access where practical.

Consider a second copy or offline copy for critical recovery requirements.

Test restore procedures periodically rather than assuming the backup is usable.

Document retention and deletion procedures for backup generations.

Securing the backup computer itself

Keep the operating system and the application updated.
Restrict interactive and administrative sign-in to authorized staff.
Protect the account used to run backups and to reach any network share.
Where practical, keep the backup destination isolated from everyday user access.
Monitor the computer's own availability so scheduled runs are not silently missed.

Restore from local backup

When recovery is needed, open the protected EdbMails backup in the application and select the required data. Recover a complete mailbox, selected folders or supported individual items according to the incident. For recovery planning and destination options, see Office 365 Backup and Restore.

Who should consider local Microsoft 365 backup?

Locally controlled mailbox backup can be a good fit for organizations that:

Want the backup repository under their direct storage control.
Already operate secure local or network storage infrastructure.
Need encrypted mailbox backup without purchasing vendor-hosted backup storage.
Want to retain inactive or historical mailbox data independently of the live account.
Need flexibility to restore protected data to Microsoft 365 or supported Exchange destinations.
Prefer a one-time licensed application model rather than a storage-consumption SaaS model.

Frequently asked questions

Can EdbMails back up Office 365 to an external drive?
If the drive is available to the Windows computer and is a supported writable location, it can be selected as the backup location. Ensure the drive has adequate capacity and is secured appropriately.
Can I use a shared network drive?
EdbMails supports selecting an accessible shared/network location for Office 365 mailbox backup. Verify access permissions, storage capacity and network reliability before starting large backup jobs.
Is local Office 365 backup encrypted?
EdbMails protects its backup using AES 256-bit encryption and provides an option to use a private encryption key.
Does local backup mean Microsoft 365 is not needed during backup?
No. The source mailbox data is still read from Microsoft 365, so connectivity and valid authorization to the source tenant are required. "Local backup" refers to where the resulting protected copy is stored.
Should I use a local drive or a network share?
A local drive suits smaller environments, evaluations or dedicated backup workstations, while a shared/network drive suits centralized storage managed by IT. The network option adds a dependency on consistent network availability and throughput.
How much storage will the backup need?
Plan for the current mailbox and archive size plus future growth and headroom for backup maintenance and any new full-backup generations. Avoid sizing storage only for today's usage, and monitor free space before repeated runs.

How does local backup fit the 3-2-1 rule?
The live mailbox is one copy, the EdbMails local backup is a second independently controlled copy, and a replicated or offline duplicate can serve as the off-site copy, which helps ensure no single failure affects every copy.
What happens if I lose the private encryption key?
Data protected with a private key requires that key for access and restore. Store the key securely, document who holds it, and plan for continuity if administrators change. Losing the key can prevent access to the protected data.
Can I keep more than one copy of the backup?
Yes. Because you control the storage, you can design a secondary or offline copy strategy for critical recovery requirements, subject to your own capacity and security planning.
Does the backup computer need to stay on for scheduled runs?
Scheduled or repeated runs depend on the backup computer being available at the chosen time, so include the computer's own availability in your backup planning and monitoring.
Can SharePoint or OneDrive be included on this page's workflow?
No. SharePoint and OneDrive are separate workloads with dedicated functionality. This workflow focuses on Office 365 mailbox data only.

Related Office 365 Backup resources

Office 365 Backup Office 365 Backup and Restore Office 365 Incremental Backup Office 365 Mailbox Backup Features Office 365 Backup Guide