Azure Backup Service Australia — Managed Azure Backup for VMs, SQL, and On-Premise Servers
· By Paul Harvey
Azure Backup service is Microsoft''s native cloud backup solution — protecting Azure Virtual Machines, Azure SQL databases, Azure Files, SAP HANA on Azure, and on-premise Windows servers via the Microsoft Azure Recovery Services (MARS) agent. For Australian businesses, Azure Backup provides enterprise-grade backup and disaster recovery hosted in Microsoft''s Australian datacentres, replacing tape, USB, and consumer NAS backup solutions.
This guide covers what Azure Backup protects, how it compares with on-premise backup, what it costs in Australian dollars, and what a managed Azure Backup service actually delivers. If you are looking for the service itself rather than the background, see managed Azure Backup.
What Azure Backup protects — workload coverage for Australian businesses
Azure Virtual Machines. IaaS VM backup captures application-consistent snapshots without agents inside the guest OS, supports instant restore for fast file-level recovery, and allows cross-region restore into Australia Southeast when Australia East is unavailable — the practical DR pattern for most Australian tenants.
Azure SQL Database and SQL Managed Instance. Automated database backup with 1–35 day retention and point-in-time restore to any second inside the retention window. This matters for Melbourne and Sydney businesses running line-of-business applications on Azure SQL, where a bad data import at 2pm needs to be rolled back to 1:59pm, not to last night.
Azure Files. Snapshot-based backup and recovery for file shares — relevant where Azure Files has replaced a traditional mapped shared drive.
SAP HANA on Azure. Application-consistent, SAP-certified backup for Australian mid-market businesses running SAP workloads in Azure.
On-premise Windows Servers via the MARS agent. Extends Azure Backup to physical and virtual servers still in the comms room, without System Center. This is the most common use case for Australian businesses running hybrid environments.
Azure Virtual Desktop. FSLogix profile container backup, protecting AVD user profiles for remote and hybrid workers.
Azure Backup vs on-premise backup — why Australian businesses are switching
Five reasons Australian SMBs are retiring on-premise backup.
Tape backup — still in use at roughly a third of Australian SMBs — requires physical media management, offsite rotation, annual restore testing, and periodic hardware refresh. Azure Backup removes all four line items.
NAS-based backup, the most common alternative to tape, has quieter failure modes. There is no offsite copy unless someone manually replicates it, no automated restore verification, and the NAS usually sits in the same room as the servers it protects — so a fire, flood, or ransomware event takes both.
Azure Backup answers each of these directly: geo-redundant storage replicates backup data across Australian Azure datacentres by default; automated restore verification checks backup integrity without engineer time; immutable backup storage prevents backup copies being encrypted or deleted, closing one of the most common ransomware attack paths; and every backup action is logged in Azure Monitor for compliance reporting and audit evidence.
For the wider resilience picture, see our guide to business continuity planning with Microsoft 365 and Azure.
Azure Backup pricing for Australian businesses
Azure Backup pricing has two components: storage consumption and protected instance fees.
Storage. Locally Redundant Storage (LRS) costs approximately AUD $0.028/GB/month. Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS) — recommended for Australian businesses with any real DR requirement — costs approximately AUD $0.056/GB/month.
Instance fees. Azure VM backup runs at approximately AUD $14 per VM per month for instances under 500GB. SQL database backup is included for databases running on Azure VMs. On-premise server backup via the MARS agent is approximately AUD $14 per server per month.
For a typical Australian SMB with 5 Azure VMs, 2 SQL databases, and 3 on-premise servers, total Azure Backup cost lands around AUD $250–400/month on geo-redundant storage including instance fees — materially less than the amortised cost of equivalent on-premise backup hardware, media, and the engineer hours spent handling it.
Mycelium 365 includes Azure Backup configuration and monitoring in all managed Azure engagements at no additional fee — you pay Microsoft for consumption, not us for the management layer.
Managed Azure Backup — what''s included in Mycelium 365''s service
Configuration. Backup policies for every protected workload — frequency, retention tiers, and geo-redundancy settings mapped to your recovery point and recovery time objectives rather than left on defaults.
Monitoring. Azure Backup reports reviewed daily. Failed backup jobs are investigated and resolved within 4 hours, not discovered during a restore attempt.
Restore testing. Quarterly tested restores covering at least one virtual machine and one database, with documented results supplied for insurer, auditor, and tender evidence.
Ransomware protection. Immutable backup vaults configured so backup data cannot be deleted or altered inside the retention period — including by an attacker holding compromised global admin credentials.
Incident response. P1 restore requests for production systems actioned within a 2-hour SLA by Australian engineers.
Managed Azure Backup is included in all Complete Security tier managed IT engagements, and is available standalone from $450/month. Full scope is on the managed Azure Backup service page.
Setting up Azure Backup for Australian businesses — what the process looks like
Four steps. First, Recovery Services Vault creation in Australia East with the correct redundancy setting chosen up front, because it cannot be changed after the first backup runs. Second, backup policy configuration — schedules, retention, and immutability. Third, workload enrolment: Azure VMs and databases enabled natively, on-premise servers onboarded with the MARS agent. Fourth, initial backup and verification, including a test restore before the environment is declared protected.
Timeline for a typical Australian SMB environment is 1–3 days end to end.
Related reading: Azure managed services provider Australia, Azure managed services, and backing up SharePoint Online to Azure.
Talk to our Azure team for a fixed-price Azure Backup proposal.
Frequently asked questions
What does Azure Backup protect for Australian businesses?
Azure Backup protects Azure Virtual Machines, Azure SQL Database and SQL Managed Instance, Azure Files shares, SAP HANA on Azure, Azure Virtual Desktop FSLogix profile containers, and on-premise Windows Servers via the Microsoft Azure Recovery Services (MARS) agent. For most Australian businesses the practical mix is Azure VMs plus a handful of on-premise servers in a hybrid environment, all managed from a single Recovery Services Vault hosted in Australia East with geo-redundant copies in Australia Southeast.
How much does Azure Backup cost in Australia?
Azure Backup pricing has two components — storage consumption and protected instance fees. Storage runs at roughly AUD $0.028/GB/month for locally redundant storage and roughly AUD $0.056/GB/month for geo-redundant storage. Protected instance fees are approximately AUD $14 per VM or per on-premise server per month for instances under 500GB. A typical Australian SMB with 5 Azure VMs, 2 SQL databases, and 3 on-premise servers lands around AUD $250–400/month all-in on geo-redundant storage.
How is Azure Backup different from on-premise backup?
On-premise tape and NAS backup depends on physical media handling, manual offsite rotation, and hardware refresh cycles, and a NAS sitting in the same comms room as the servers it protects is a single point of failure. Azure Backup provides geo-redundant storage by default, automated backup verification, immutable backup vaults that resist ransomware deletion, and full audit logging through Azure Monitor for compliance reporting — with no hardware to own or replace.
What is managed Azure Backup and what does it include?
Managed Azure Backup means someone owns the outcome, not just the licence. Mycelium 365 configures backup policies and retention, reviews Azure Backup reports daily and resolves failed jobs within 4 hours, runs quarterly tested restores with documented evidence, configures immutable vaults for ransomware protection, and actions P1 production restore requests within a 2-hour SLA. It is included in Complete Security tier managed IT engagements, or available standalone from $450/month.
