“Our email and files are in the cloud, so they’re backed up.” We hear this often, and it isn’t quite true. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are built to keep your data available. They’re not built to be your only copy when something goes wrong.
What the cloud providers protect
Both providers protect their own systems: if one of their data centers fails, your data stays online. That’s resilience, and it’s valuable. It doesn’t cover the ways most small businesses actually lose data.
Where the gaps are
- Accidental deletion. Someone empties a folder or deletes a mailbox. Deleted items are kept for a limited time, and after that they’re gone.
- Departing employees. When an account is removed, its email and files can be removed with it, sometimes before anyone realizes they were needed.
- Ransomware and sync. If a laptop is infected, the encrypted files can sync up to OneDrive or Google Drive and replace the good copies. Version history helps, but only within limits.
- Malicious or mistaken changes. A compromised account or a bad script can alter or delete a lot of data quickly.
- Retention limits. Recycle bins and version history don’t last forever, and they aren’t designed as a long-term archive.
What a separate backup does
A dedicated cloud backup makes independent, point-in-time copies of your email, files and shared drives, and, for Microsoft 365, Teams and SharePoint data. If something goes wrong you can restore a single message, a folder, a user or a whole site from a date before the problem. The copies live outside your Microsoft or Google account, so a compromised or deleted account can’t take them down with it.
How to decide if you need one
Ask these questions:
- If an employee deleted their mailbox today, could we get it back next month?
- If ransomware hit a laptop with a synced folder, how far back could we restore?
- Do we keep email for a legal or contract reason?
- Who would do the restore, and how long would it take?
Unclear answers on any of these mean you have a gap.
What it costs and how we handle it
Cloud backup is inexpensive compared with the work it protects. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup is included in our Business and Premium managed IT plans. It’s also available as an add-on for Essentials clients and on its own, even if we don’t manage the rest of your IT. It’s month-to-month, with 30 days’ notice to cancel.
The 3-2-1 rule still applies
Cloud data is still data. Our guide to backup and disaster recovery explains the 3-2-1-1-0 rule and how to build a recovery plan you can trust.
Not sure what’s backed up? We’ll review it as part of a free assessment.
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