In short
NinjaOne SaaS Backup Archiver bundles add always-on email journaling, multiple retention policies, eDiscovery, legal hold, private Teams chat backup and compliance roles to Standard backup. There are four per-user bundles: Standard, + Entra, + Archiver, and + Archiver + Entra. Enabling Archiver cannot be reversed within an organisation.
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Tell us about your users, systems and priorities and we will tell you which option fits, and why.
The four bundles
Every bundle is licensed per user and includes cloud-to-cloud backup of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. The Entra bundles add backup of Microsoft Entra ID, and the Archiver bundles add the journaling archive.
| Bundle | Backup | Email archive | Entra ID backup | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NinjaOne SaaS Backup Standard | Yes | - | - | Organisations that need restores, not a compliance archive |
| NinjaOne SaaS Backup + Entra | Yes | - | Yes | Standard backup plus protection of identity objects and policies |
| NinjaOne SaaS Backup + Archiver | Yes | Yes | - | Organisations that must keep and search email, with backup included |
| NinjaOne SaaS Backup + Archiver + Entra | Yes | Yes | Yes | Everything in one licence: backup, archive and Entra ID |
Each bundle also has a nonprofit pricing variant in the distribution catalogue; if you are a charity or non-profit, ask us what is available for your order. Terms are confirmed when we quote. For buying and licensing detail on the old Dropsuite names, see Software Licensing UK. Entra ID backup is explained there too, under Entra ID backup.
Still not sure which way to go? Ask us
Tell us what matters most to you and we will recommend one, with the trade-offs explained.
What Archiver changes over Standard
NinjaOne's "Getting started with Archiver" guide lists what the add-on brings. Set side by side with Standard, the differences are:
| Feature | Standard | Archiver bundles |
|---|---|---|
| Email capture | Scheduled backups, up to 12 a day | Always-on journaling, plus the initial backup of existing mail |
| OneDrive backups | Once a day | Three times a day |
| Retention policies | Retention of 14 months, 4 years, 7 years or never delete | Multiple policies: a standard policy, custom policies by department or mailbox, and a SharePoint policy, from 30 days to 11 years or with no end date |
| Private Teams chats | No | Yes, after credential set-up and per-user activation; any extra charge confirmed at quote |
| Legal hold | No | Yes |
| eDiscovery with saved searches, tags and alerts | No | Yes |
| Compliance review roles | No | Compliance and Review Officer, Data Protection Officer, Reviewer, Limited Reviewer |
| Department Sync | No | Yes |
The retention figures come from NinjaOne's SaaS Backup FAQ, and the backup frequencies from NinjaOne's guides. On the Archiver bundles, the retention policy and audit log sit in the Compliance tab. With no policy set, data is kept indefinitely by default, and the portal shows a banner suggesting you create one. Our email retention policy guide helps you decide what the periods should be.
Compliance roles in the End-User Portal
Archiver changes who can do what. NinjaOne's user management guide shows the End-User Portal roles available on each plan:
| Role | Backup only | Backup + Archiving |
|---|---|---|
| Full Admin | Yes | Yes |
| IT Admin | Yes | Yes |
| Restricted IT Admin | Yes | Yes |
| Group Supervisor | Yes | Yes |
| User, and User View & Restore | Yes | Yes |
| Compliance and Review Officer | No | Yes |
| Data Protection Officer | No | Yes |
| Reviewer and Limited Reviewer | No | Yes |
Three details matter for governance. IT Admins manage accounts and restores but, in NinjaOne's words, "cannot access any compliance features" and cannot view individual file contents. Only users with the Data Protection Officer role can delete eDiscovery searches; the DPO can also review flagged results, change retention policies and place legal holds, but cannot download, restore or migrate items. And Compliance and Review Officers can use compliance features but cannot restore or migrate items. That separation lets your IT provider run the service while compliance, HR or legal staff own searches of archived mail. See email eDiscovery for how the search and review process works.
Weighing up the options?
We can compare them against your own requirements and give you a straight answer.
Decisions to make before you upgrade
Moving from Standard to an Archiver bundle is a small change in the Partner Portal but a bigger one in practice. These are the points we can check with you first:
- It is one-way. NinjaOne says that once Archiver is enabled for an organisation you cannot revert to the regular SaaS Backup service. The Entra Archiver plan cannot be downgraded either. Going back to backup only means asking NinjaOne about a new backup-only organisation.
- It covers everyone in the organisation. The plan applies to all users backed up in that organisation; you cannot choose backup only for some users and Archiver for others.
- Retention starts deleting. A retention policy applies to existing mail as well as new mail, counted from the date each email was received. Items past the period are permanently deleted, so set periods deliberately.
- Mail systems. Archiver is for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Mailboxes added over IMAP are backup-only, because IMAP cannot journal.
- Leavers. Archived mailboxes are deactivated rather than deleted, and a share of deactivated seats does not use a licence. See deactivated mailboxes.
If you are unsure whether you need an archive at all, our email archiving vs backup comparison is the place to start.
Storage and seats
NinjaOne's SaaS Backup Fair Use Policy says storage is not capped per organisation. Instead, each paid seat includes an allowance of up to 250 GB, and usage is assessed in aggregate across all of a customer's organisations. For managed arrangements, the managed service provider is treated as the customer.
In plain terms, the storage allowance is tied to paid seats. Large shared mailboxes, long retention and imported legacy archives all count towards it, so we check the fit when we quote rather than assuming it will be fine. Seats can also adjust automatically: NinjaOne's auto-licensing raises or lowers the seat count as mailboxes are added to or removed from backup, and Autodiscover scans for new users once a day. That is convenient, but it means new starters are licensed as soon as they are found, so we can help you decide whether Autodiscover, a filtered group or manual adds suit you best.
Choosing a bundle with Forever Systems
The choice usually comes down to two options: Standard if they need reliable restores, or + Archiver if anyone (a regulator, a client contract, HR or legal) expects email to be kept and found. Add Entra if losing your identity configuration would hurt.
- Tell us how many users, which platform and what you need to keep
- We recommend a bundle and check the storage fit, nonprofit eligibility and terms
- You approve the quote, and we set up the organisation with you, using our set-up process
Prices are not published here: they depend on bundle, user numbers and term, so ask us for a quote. Contact us to compare bundles for your organisation. For an overview of the product, go back to NinjaOne Archiver.
How Forever Systems helps with email archiving
We are an independent UK IT and cyber security provider. We supply NinjaOne SaaS Backup with Archiver for organisations on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and help you get the archive set up, the policies right and the people who need it confident using it.
- Scoping: we look at your mailboxes, leavers, legacy archives and record-keeping obligations, and what your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace plan already includes, before suggesting anything new
- Set-up: we can configure journaling for Exchange Online or Google Workspace, connect the archive and check that mail is arriving
- Retention and legal hold: we help you turn your email retention policy into archive rules, and show your compliance or HR lead how to search, hold and export
- Leavers and legacy archives: we can help you plan how former employees' mail and older archives are brought across, with the approach confirmed at quote
- Backup alongside the archive: the same NinjaOne per-user licence also covers backup of your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace data, so recovery and record-keeping are planned together
We work with businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations. If you also need wider protection, see our independent cloud security guides.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Archiver bundle add to NinjaOne SaaS Backup?
Always-on email journaling in place of scheduled email backups, three OneDrive backups a day instead of one, multiple retention policies, private Teams chat backup, legal hold, eDiscovery with saved searches and compliance roles, and Department Sync.
Can I move from Archiver back to Standard?
No. NinjaOne says Archiver cannot be reverted to the regular SaaS Backup service once enabled for an organisation, and the Entra Archiver plan cannot be downgraded either. The route back is a new backup-only organisation, so the decision is worth checking first.
Can some users have Archiver and others only backup?
Not in the same organisation. NinjaOne applies the backup or backup-plus-archive plan to all users backed up in that organisation.
What does the Entra bundle add?
Backup of Microsoft Entra ID objects and configuration, such as users, groups, roles and policies, so that identity settings can be restored. It is available with Standard (+ Entra) or with Archiver (+ Archiver + Entra).
Is there a nonprofit version?
Yes, each bundle has a nonprofit pricing variant in the distribution catalogue. Eligibility and terms are confirmed when we quote.
Still deciding?
Ask us and a member of our team will reply by email with a straight answer.