Published: 19 July 2026. Message centre: MC1387526. Source: Microsoft Learn: Overview of Microsoft 365 Backup
Microsoft has begun rolling out Full Workload Backup inside Microsoft 365 Backup, letting an admin protect an entire workload, SharePoint, OneDrive, or Exchange, under a single policy instead of building coverage site by site or mailbox by mailbox. Public preview started worldwide in early July and is expected to finish by mid-July; general availability follows in mid-September.
What actually changes
Before this, admins scoped Microsoft 365 Backup with custom policies aimed at specific sites, libraries, or mailboxes, which meant anything provisioned after the policy was written could sit unprotected until someone remembered to add it. Full Workload Backup removes that gap. Turn it on for a workload and every existing artifact not already covered by a custom policy gets backed up, and every artifact created afterward is picked up automatically on the next run. Existing custom policies keep precedence and are not overwritten.
| Before Full Workload Backup | After enabling it |
|---|---|
| New sites or mailboxes need a manual policy update to be covered | New artifacts are picked up automatically on the next backup cycle |
| Coverage gaps are easy to miss until a restore request fails | Coverage defaults to everything not explicitly excluded |
| Admins track scope per policy across many small policies | One toggle per workload, with a CSV exclusion list for exceptions |
The billing catch
Run a storage estimate before flipping the switch tenant-wide. Admins who have already been meaning to trim bloated version history or clear a neglected recycle bin have a real incentive to do that cleanup first: backing up years of accumulated version history and stale recycle bin contents costs more than backing up a tenant that has been kept lean.
Where this sits next to the recycle bin
Full Workload Backup is not a substitute for the recycle bin's fast, self-service restore, and it is not a substitute for a version history strategy either. It is a third, admin-managed safety net that now defaults to covering everything rather than requiring deliberate scoping. For a breakdown of what each layer actually protects against and where the coverage overlaps, see how the SharePoint recycle bin compares to Microsoft 365 Backup. Trimming excess version history before enabling broad backup coverage is exactly the kind of prep Space Master is built for.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Overview of Microsoft 365 Backup.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Full Workload Backup actually protect?
Every eligible existing and newly created artifact in the workload you enable it for, except anything already covered by a custom policy you have configured yourself.
Does Full Workload Backup replace the SharePoint recycle bin?
No. The recycle bin is a short self-service undo window; Microsoft 365 Backup is a separate, longer-running protection layer. Most tenants need both.
Will turning this on increase my bill?
Very likely, if this is the tenant's first comprehensive backup coverage. Newly protected content starts consuming pay-as-you-go backup storage right away.