As the era of online work evolves, so do the platforms and tools that support it. One prime example is GSuite, Google’s collection of online applications launched in 2006, relaunching as Google Workspace in 2020. Workspace had about three billion users by the end of 2021, compared to its two billion in 2020. That’s an increase of about one billion users year-over-year.
As a part of the transition, Google has also rolled out subscription options to address what fits the needs of their client companies:
Business family – Created for smaller businesses, Google tailors a cost-effective set of collaboration and productivity tools to get smaller companies (300 users or less) started in Workspace.
Enterprise family – Additional productivity features are added for larger companies and businesses. These include enterprise-grade administrative controls and advanced security and compliance capabilities.
However, security and compliance gaps remain even with their advanced features in place. For one, Google does not totally protect your Workspace data: the platform permanently deletes emails and Drive files from the Trash folder after a set number of days. Here is the exact clause from the Google Workspace security whitepaper (Data Usage section):
“We offer our customers a detailed Data Processing Amendment that describes our commitment to protecting customer data. Furthermore, if customers delete their data, we commit to deleting it from our systems within 180 days.”
Let’s dig deeper into why deploying a backup and archiving solution for your Google Workspace is critical to your business.
Why Your Google Workspace Needs Backup
Organizations worldwide have adopted Google Workspace to address their business needs, especially with the remote working trend in full swing. But the platform, like any other, can fall victim to digital threats and risks.
To illustrate this, Google has recently updated its Workspace comment notifications to protect users against cybersecurity attacks such as malware and phishing.
The update, patched early in 2022, was applied to the email notifications sent to users who are mentioned or attributed in a Workspace document. The notification now includes the commenter’s email address, along with the commenter’s name and the comment. The update, as Google explained, enables users to assess the message’s legitimacy better. The company adds:
“We hope that by providing this additional information, this will help you feel more confident that you’re receiving a legitimate notification rather than a spam or phishing attempt by a bad actor.”
Phishing attacks are all too common, and Google’s recent response to the threat is proof of this. Every day, bad actors dupe individuals into downloading malicious payloads or getting scammed out of their money.
According to CISCO’s annual Cybersecurity Threat Trends Report, 86% of organizations have had at least one person click on a phishing link. CISCO’s data reveals that phishing is related to or directly responsible for 90% of data breaches. Verizon also reports that email is the source of most phishing attacks (about 96%).
Such phishing attacks leave businesses open to all sorts of nasty surprises – including ransomware, file access or manipulation, or, worst case, the deletion of business data.
For this reason, Google Workspace backup has become critical to ensuring business security and continuity.
The Unspoken Truth About Google Workspace
Here is an awkward truth for anyone who thinks their Google Workspace is safe from all data disasters: Google does not keep copies of deleted emails or entire mailboxes. Google expounds on this a bit more on their Help Content and Reliability page:
“Once a client administrator or user has deleted data in Google Workspace, our Google systems delete it according to our Privacy Policy or your Google Workspace agreement (including the Data Processing Amendment for customers who execute it). The pointers to a user’s data are deleted immediately once a client’s administrator deletes a user account.”
Google immediately and permanently deletes your Workspace data if you have not taken steps to have backups in place.
Moreover, Google deletes end-users’ Drive files in the Trash folder after keeping them for 30 days, and the same goes for emails. Admins can restore items deleted from a user’s trash, but only for up to 25 days.
Using the Trash as a temporary backup repository exposes your data to risks, such as accidental deletions (users emptying Trash to clear out storage space) and insider threats (disgruntled employees permanently deleting content in the Trash or restoring the data and stealing it).
On the other hand, Google offers an archiving product (for a fee and specific Workspace licenses only), but this is not the same as having a dedicated solution to backup Google Workspace and all your data. For one, there are backup and archiving solutions out there that are less expensive, faster, and more intuitive. In fact, reviews from Trust Radius often cite the cost of Google’s archiving product and the hours it spends exporting data and documents as limitations.
Businesses need a backup and archiving solution specifically created to enable secure, reliable cloud-to-cloud data protection and restoration.
Common Google Workspace Backup Scenarios
Let’s visualize specific scenarios to understand how Google Workspace data backup keeps companies safe.
Scenario 1: Google Workspace Data IS NOT Backed Up
An administrator of Company XYZ receives an urgent text from his CFO. One of their financial employees was let go, but he deleted all his Workspace data before leaving. The CFO needs that data back as it’s critical for running the business.
The data is likely gone if no additional backup precautions were in place. A quick search of the Google help information confirms that once data is deleted (without some other form of backup), it is permanently gone.
In this scenario, the business has lost critical information due to an unrecognized need to provide extra backup protection.
Scenario 2: Google Workspace Data IS Backed Up
Company XYZ deploys Dropsuite’s data backup solution to protect the business from accidental or malicious data deletion as a critical element of their Google Workspace data backup and protection plan. Dropsuite provides the company with easy setup automated data backup services that occur multiple times a day.
In the same scenario as above, Google Workspace backup administrators for Company XYZ can use Dropsuite’s advanced search tool to quickly find the user who deleted their data and, with a single click, restores all the deleted files, documents, and emails. Shortly, all the missing data is back in working order, and the business can continue operating as usual.
Deploying Google Workspace data backup protects your business and ensures critical information is not lost.
How Dropsuite Protects Google Workspace Data
Knowing that Google Workspace has holes in data protection, Dropsuite was explicitly built to make the backup, archiving, and recovery of your data fast, easy, and secure. Dropsuite provides two versions of our backup solution: (1) Email Backup; and (2) Email Backup and Archiving.
Our best-in-class Google Workspace data backup features include:
- Automatic Backup: Set automated backup for Google Workspace to keep data fresh and up-to-date
- Workspace Tools Backup Enabled: Secure all your data from various Workspace tools like MyDrive, Shared Drive, Contacts, Calendars, Tasks, and more.
- Encrypted Data: Full TLS/SSL and AES-256 bit military-grade encryption
- Unlimited Storage: Don’t worry about running out of backup storage
- 1-Click Restore: Recover a file or entire ecosystem with 1-Click
Meanwhile, our Archiving solution (which includes our Google Workspace backup) is vital for regulated industries such as finance and healthcare. We provide an advanced archiving product providing state-of-the-art archiving features including:
- eDiscovery
- Tamper-proof audit trail
- Advanced search
- Legal hold
- Flexible retention periods
- Secure 3rd party access
- Permission level management
Dropsuite’s backup capabilities work with the full suite of Google tools:
- Gmail Backup – Set up an automated system and never worry about running out of space with Dropsuite’s unlimited Gmail backup storage.
- My Drive Backup – Protect and maintain complete copies of critical business digital assets in My Drive to ensure protection from hackers, malware, and accidental deletion.
- Shared Drive Backup – Back up business-critical documents and folders, assign permissions, use restoration options, and easily store, secure, administer and quickly restore your Shared Drive.
- Contacts, Calendars, Tasks – Keep records of important events, meetings, and errands. Save your Contacts and keep track of your Tasks with Dropsuite’s backup and archiving.
Visit the Dropsuite Backup and Archiving page to learn more.
Six Key Benefits of Google Workspace Backup by Dropsuite
1. Automate the Backup Process Easily
You can backup your files, attachments, and emails within minutes and automate backups going forward. Unlimited storage and adjustable retention options ensure you never run out of space.
2. Easy Administration
Our single-pane-of-glass admin panel with role-based access levels takes the work out of granting access to users such as Admins, Compliance Reviewers, Users, and more.
3. Advanced Search
18 different attributes in our advanced search tool, such as user name, date, keyword, header, and more, enable users to find the correct data quickly. You can view, modify and delete search queries with just a click.
4. 1-Click Restore
Perhaps the most popular feature is 1-Click restore and download. You can quickly restore or download single files, a directory, or all directories with our 1-Click restore. This functionality saves minutes or hours when speed matters most.
5. Military-Grade Security
Your data is fully secured with military-grade 256-bit AES and TLS or SSL when available. This means your data is protected both in transit and at rest to ensure data integrity and safety.
6. Analytics for Business Optimization
The Dropsuite Insights Business Intelligence (BI) analytics toolkit is an advanced analysis system included free with our backup and archiving solutions. Transform static, archived data into actionable business intelligence. Use reports to improve business processes.
