Software King of the World, Microsoft has admitted deleting some charities’ cloud data before their retention deadline, and discovered that its recovery options amounted to precisely sod all.
According to Gadget Review, the error affected expired Microsoft 365 Business Premium nonprofit subscriptions as Vole’s retired its software grants.
Organisations were supposed to have time to migrate or export their remaining files. An internal error moved the deletion up, and attempts to recover the missing material failed. For charities trusting Microsoft’s timetable, this is a particularly unpleasant interpretation of doing more with less.
Vole cannot provide a list of what disappeared. In individual cases, it cannot even establish whether any data remained to be deleted. That should make explaining the situation to trustees a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
Microsoft announced the grant changes in May 2025, with retirement taking effect at each organisation’s next renewal from 1 July 2025. Replacement offers included up to 300 free Business Basic licences and discounts on paid plans.
The company has apologised and offered affected organisations a free session with a specialist to help establish a fresh Microsoft 365 environment.
Charities can get help setting up a new place to store the files they no longer have. The service cannot restore the deleted material. Microsoft has not disclosed how many organisations were affected, precisely when the deletions happened or the underlying cause of the error.
