Microsoft releases Windows Backup for Organizations to ease migration of user settings to Windows 11
With stressful migrations from Windows 10 to Windows 11 still ongoing in many organizations, Microsoft has thrown system administrators a small but helpful lifeline.
Although it announced the new service last November at Ignite 2024, Microsoft only released Windows Backup for Organizations this week. The somewhat misleading name masks its real purpose: making it easier to migrate or restore system settings between machines joined to Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) as part of Microsoft 365.
In short, this is not a utility for backing up data files, folders, installed applications or for executing disaster recovery. Instead, what’s being backed up to the cloud is a user’s Windows settings and a list of their Microsoft Store apps, so that they can be restored to a new machine.
The settings include things like display setup, accessibility, peripheral parameters, language, and power configuration.
The feature is being pitched as helpful for admins migrating users from one OS version to another — specifically Windows 10 to 11 — or when setting up a new machine for an existing user from scratch using the “out-of-box experience (OOBE)” process.
In fact, admins can already do this using tools such as Microsoft User State Migration Tool (USMT). The downside of this is that it is IT-driven, manual and sometimes complex. Someone must be on hand to create and run PowerShell scripts that automate and orchestrate different executables.
In contrast, once enabled and configured as part of Intune mobile device management (MDM) or Entra ID Group Policy, all that’s required for Windows Backup for Organizations to work is for the user to sign in with their Microsoft Entra ID account. No tools or software routines needed — users simply log in and Microsoft’s cloud should do the rest.
Alternatively, a backup can be manually triggered by a user by opening the Windows Backup app and selecting ‘Back up’, Microsoft said.
“For large-scale upgrades and device continuity, Windows Backup for Organizations helps reduce migration overhead, minimize user disruption, and strengthen device resilience against incidents,” Microsoft program manager Miranda Leschke wrote in the blog post announcing the tool’s availability.
Windows 11 restore only
An important caveat is that while Windows Backup for Organizations will back up the settings of devices running Windows 10 version 22H2 or Windows 11 version 22H2 or later, the restore function only works for Windows 11 version 22H2 or later. Anyone staying on Windows 10 won’t be able to restore settings — and Leschke helpfully reminded users that, “With Windows 10 support ending on October 14, 2025,” the new tool could help “ease your transition to Windows 11.”
One other pre-requisite for using Windows Backup for Organizations is that the August 2025 Windows security update be applied. While systems will normally be Entra-joined, on-premises domains can also access the feature if they are hybrid joined (that is, if Active Directory is bridged to Entra ID).
According to Microsoft, “the Restore setting is rolling out gradually, so check back in about a week if you don’t see it in your Intune tenant. Once enabled, backups run automatically every eight days, saving user settings and preferences to the organization’s tenant data store.”
However, with the October 2025 end-of-support deadline for Windows 10 approaching, IT managers grappling with the Windows 10 to 11 transition will have bigger headaches on their plates than migrating settings.
These include software compatibility, always an issue when moving from one OS version to another. In addition, Windows 11 adds a new layer of hardware incompatibility. This is leading some customers to opt to continue running Windows 10 and put up with the additional cost of enrolling in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for Windows 10.Microsoft releases Windows Backup for Organizations to ease migration of user settings to Windows 11 – ComputerworldRead More