Do more with public cloud protection: Azure file share backup now available in x360Recover with direct-to-cloud for Azure

Public cloud adoption has reshaped how large enterprises and small and midsized businesses (SMBs) manage infrastructure, data, and disaster recovery planning. For managed service providers (MSPs) and IT teams, the shift to Microsoft Azure offers scalability and flexibility, but introduces new challenges in protecting workloads and ensuring continuous availability. Traditional approaches to backup and recovery often fall short in these dynamic, cloud-first environments.  

ConnectWise expanded x360Recover with direct-to-cloud for Azure to include full backup and recovery for Azure file sharing, addressing critical gaps in native Azure protection. This powerful new capability extends enterprise-grade backup and disaster recovery (BDR) to one of the most widely used Azure storage services. The enhancement safeguards Azure file sharing via the x360Recover with direct-to-cloud for Azure solution, delivering reliable third-party protection for data stored in Microsoft’s public cloud.  

MSPs and IT teams can now manage sharing Azure Files backups alongside virtual machines and on-premises systems within a single platform. With simpler management, faster recovery, and a stronger foundation for business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR), IT providers can reinforce data protection across hybrid cloud environments.  

Why public cloud protection requires a new approach

While cloud computing has transformed how businesses manage infrastructure and data, the move to the public cloud has also exposed gaps in many BCDR strategies. Specifically, protecting workloads in Microsoft Azure requires a different mindset than traditional on-premises approaches. 

Native Azure backup tools provide basic redundancy and snapshots, but they were never designed to deliver complete business continuity for business resilience. Snapshots that live in the same environment as production workloads cannot fully protect against ransomware, human error, or configuration failures. Without an external, verifiable backup, recovery options become limited when data is corrupted or deleted. Plus, having backups off-site from Azure with a third-party backup is often required to obtain cyber insurance or get lower rates. 

A more effective approach to public cloud protection must include: 

• Independent copies of data that are stored outside the Azure production environment to avoid “complete downtime,” when both production and backups are unavailable.
• Automated verification to test and confirm that backups are healthy, available, and bootable for recovery.
• Rapid recovery workflows that leverage automation and self-remediation to minimize downtime during failures.
• Ransomware-aware safeguards that automatically separate deletion permissions from actual data removal to prevent malicious or accidental data loss.
• Unified management across disparate clients or environments, including on-premises, hybrid, and Azure workloads.

Adopting these principles ensures true business continuity rather than mere file redundancy, enabling modern businesses to recover quickly and confidently, regardless of where data resides.  

The introduction of Azure file share protection from x360Recover with direct-to-cloud for Azure directly addresses these needs by extending enterprise-grade backup, verification, and recovery to one of the most widely used Azure storage services. MSPs and IT teams can now align cloud protection with the same standards used for on-premises environments, without additional infrastructure or complexity.

Introducing Azure file share protection

Azure file share provides fully managed file storage in Microsoft Azure. This allows users to create Azure file shares accessible via standard protocols such as Server Message Block, Network File System (NFS), or the Azure Files REST API. Those shares can be mounted simultaneously by both cloud-based and on-premises systems, making Azure file share protection an essential data protection feature for hybrid environments.

For many MSPs and IT departments, Azure file sharing has become a natural replacement for traditional network-attached storage (NAS). Teams that once managed on-site physical storage systems now rely on Azure file sharing to host shared drives, departmental file systems, and application data. The scalability and availability of Azure’s global infrastructure make it an attractive option for consolidating storage management and improving accessibility. 

However, this shift to cloud file storage changes the protection model. The same accessibility that enables collaboration also increases exposure to risks such as ransomware, accidental deletion, and misconfiguration. Files stored in Azure remain vulnerable if the only copy lives within the same cloud environment.    

Why Azure file share protection matters

• Data centralization increases risk exposure. Shared data supporting critical operations is often stored in Azure Files, leaving the door open to complete downtime during an incident.
• Native Azure recovery is limited. Snapshots offer only point-in-time restores and cannot always protect against encrypted or deleted data.
• Hybrid cloud backup environments need unified coverage. File shares accessed by both on-premises and cloud users must follow the same recovery standards for consistent and rapid restoration.
• Compliance demands verifiable protection. Many organizations need to demonstrate that backups are stored outside the production environment to meet industry regulations and cyber insurance requirements.

Take public cloud protection to the next level using x360Recover with direct-to-cloud for Azure

Now that x360Recover with direct-to-cloud for Azure supports direct protection of Azure file sharing, it gives MSPs and IT departments a single, unified solution for safeguarding both virtual machines and file-level workloads in the cloud. This feature extends the same trusted direct-to-cloud architecture used in x360Recover to the Azure storage layer, enabling robust public cloud protection without the complexity of additional appliances or agents.

A natural extension of proven technology

x360Recover from Axcient™, a ConnectWise company, is built on the ConnectWise proprietary chain-free backup technology, eliminating traditional dependency chains. Backups are independent, verifiable, and easier to manage, reducing risk and simplifying recovery. The same architecture that powers on-prem and virtual workloads now extends directly to Azure file data.

IT providers can deploy protection quickly with the hardware-free agent, backing up data directly to the secure Axcient cloud. Backups are encrypted, verified, and isolated from production data, ensuring full compliance with best practices for Azure backup and ransomware defense.

Critical capabilities and comparison to native Azure protections

• Unified protection: Manage Azure file shares, VMs, and on-premises systems in one platform.
• Local cache for fast restores: Enable an Azure Files-based local cache to accelerate cloud BCDR recovery time using fewer resources, while meeting the 3-2-1 backup rule.
• Anti-ransomware and data-deletion technology: AirGap prevents malicious deletion requests from affecting stored data by using immutable, air-gapped backups and a series of tamper-proof deletion policies.
• Automatic backup integrity testing: AutoVerify automatically virtualizes Azure VM backups and validates quality and bootability through a series of assessments, without requiring manual verification.

Virtualization in minutes: Recover or test protected systems and workloads instantly in the ConnectWise cloud with near-instant RTOs. Azure file share protection is configured in x360Recover with direct-to-cloud for Azure by defining file share-level paths. Once connected, the solution automatically handles backup scheduling, retention, and verification through its centralized console. Restores can be performed from either the ConnectWise cloud or the optional local cache, depending on performance needs.