Businesses across the globe are expanding their use of cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions to support hybrid work models, modernize IT environments and improve agility. In the process, many are also inadvertently putting business-critical data at risk.
Research suggests that up to 80 percent of companies using SaaS applications have suffered data loss incidents — largely due to persistent confusion about the cloud’s basic security framework. Most believe that their SaaS vendors are responsible for protecting their data, but that has never been true.
Cloud providers operate on a shared responsibility model in which they and their customers assume responsibility for different aspects of security. Generally speaking, SaaS vendors will secure their applications and infrastructure, but customers must protect their own data. That message doesn’t seem to be getting through, however.
In a 2021 Enterprise Strategy Group survey on cloud data protection practices, a third of companies using SaaS reported they never back up their SaaS data because they were under the impression that their provider had them covered. This misunderstanding often led to the loss of important documents, records and communications housed in Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Google Workspace and other prominent cloud apps.
Don’t Count on SaaS Providers
SaaS providers typically offer only minimal data protection. For example, Microsoft gives customers a 30-day window to recover accidentally deleted Teams files and other assets. Google also automatically purges all customer-deleted data after 30 days. Salesforce does have a data recovery service but charges $10,000 to restore data that has been deleted or corrupted, and the process can take up to two months.
Given the risk, organizations must develop a sound backup strategy for their SaaS apps. However, that can be a significant challenge for organizations with staff and resource limitations.
Backing up data housed in the cloud is quite different than backing up data on in-house servers, particularly if you’re running dozens of SaaS apps from different vendors. Most providers have proprietary APIs for interfacing with your backup application. In addition, your backup environment must protect large amounts of metadata that drive app functionality. You’ll also need to invest in either on-prem or cloud storage resources to house your backups.
Most organizations are better served by a managed backup service. A qualified provider such as Verteks can orchestrate backup processes across multiple providers and applications while also managing security and recovery processes. We also test backups frequently to ensure they are working properly and readily available in the event of an attack or some other disaster.
Why Verteks Managed Backup Works
Our managed backup is built on the Datto SaaS Protection solution, which offers effective defense against data loss in both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace environments. With Datto SaaS Protection, we can offer clients one-click restore in the event of accidental deletion, misconfigurations, file corruption or other data loss events.
With three automated backups each day, customizable data retention periods and point-in-time restoration, the Datto solution protects key Microsoft and Google SaaS apps such as Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, Gmail and Google Contacts. You can also run additional on-demand backups without affecting your three regularly scheduled backups.
Additional capabilities of the Datto solution include:
- Restoring data without overwriting existing files.
- Restoring individual items or entire folders.
- Retrieving files in their original format.
- Preventing data overwrites for added security.
- Differentiating restored data from current data.
- Advanced search options.
The SaaS model delivers demonstrable operational and financial benefits, but the potential for data loss cannot be overlooked. Contact us to learn more about implementing a strong data protection plan for your critical assets in the cloud.
