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Why Does SaaS Require 3rd Party Backups? 

Common Examples of SaaS Requiring a Third Party Backup:

• Google Drive
• Google Workspace
• Microsoft 365
• File sharing software like Dropbox
• Your CRM (Contact Manager)

The SaaS list above most likely has a built-in backup copy available to you. But surprisingly, it is not reliable. Keep reading to find out why.

What is a third party backup? A third party backup is a backup service company completely unreleated and external from the company that offers the SaaS software that is being used by the client. 

What happens if my SaaS account is hacked? Hackers will completely lock down access to your SaaS program, including your access to the only proprietary SaaS backup copy.

What if you need to restore to a previous month, or year? Your SaaS alone cannot perform this task. But a true third party backup can. A company with no ties to your SaaS program, called a third-party backup, ensures that your pc or business server can quickly recover after a data loss. 

Fact SaaS (Software as a Service) is not a true backup. Even Microsoft and Google state that if the data is important, users should use a thrid party company for offsite backups.

Microsoft 365 Facts Did you know that safeguarding your Microsoft 365 data requires a thoughtful backup strategy? According to Microsoft’s Shared Responsibility Model, data loss can occur without proper planning, making a third-party backup a wise choice to implement to minimize risks. As a Microsoft 365 user, it’s your responsibility to protect your own data, which is rightfully owned by you. Ignoring this recommendation can lead to a costly, time-consuming, and frustrating situations should data loss occur. However, investing in a true third-party backup solution can provide peace of mind and protection in the event of a Microsoft 365 crash.

Direct Quote From Microsoft of Shared Data Responsibility

“For all cloud deployment types, you own your data and identities. You’re responsible for protecting the security of your data and identities, on-premises resources, and the cloud components you control. Cloud components you control vary by service type.

Regardless of the type of deployment, you always retain the following responsibilities:

• Data
• Endpoints
• Account
• Access management (Microsoft direct source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/shared-responsibility)”.

How It Works And Why Microsoft 365 Is Not A True Backup

A Replicated Version of Data is Not a True Backup: Microsoft 365 hosts a replicated version of your data, but many users are not aware that this replicated version is not a true backup. This replicated copy included with each Microsoft 365 subscription, will contain a dump of all Microsoft 365 data when restored up to 180 days. This data includes data you do may not want or need, data saved previously to recent edits, and data that may have experienced malware or corruption. The user cannot easily pick and choose data versions specific to their needs or timeframe. To further understand how a Microsoft 365 recovery works, visit the official Microsoft 365 recovery page at: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/recover-your-microsoft-365-files-dc901de2-acae-47f2-9175-fb5a91e9b3c8

Security Is A Shared Responsibility: Microsoft’s chart, at the bottom of the page, indicates that the user and Microsoft engage in a shared responsibility of protecting data. Microsoft 365 data protection extends to their own Azure onsite data vaults, which protect the user’s settings and offer security through authenticity and ID’s.  

In short, Microsoft is the data processor, but the Customer is the responsible Owner of the data. These roles are clarified in Microsoft’s direct statement below: 

“As specified by the Product Terms and Microsoft Products and Services Data Protection Addendum (DPA), Microsoft, as a data processor, processes Customer Data to provide Customer the Online Services in accordance with Customer’s documented instructions.cation, and cloud security ID. Beyond this, the data is the customers responsiblity (Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/compliance/regulatory/gdpr-dpia-office365).” 

Next: We discuss further how outside cyberattacks, human error, sabotage, poor digital security management strategy, or the absence of a variety of backup versions are vulnerabilites that can fall outside the reponsibility of the boundaries of Microsoft 365’s repicated copy agreement for data protection. And how these factors can result in costly down-time, potential crisis, and time-consuming data losses. 

As a 25-year backup and recovery managed service provider, and recently becoming a Distributor for a suite of data backup products,  Remote Data Backups can ensure an external, true, customizable backup of your Microsoft software-as-a-service. A true third-party backup protects your data, eliminating the all-or-nothing data retrieval limitations of the the Microsoft 365 settings replication copy. Remote Data Backups ensures that your company’s settings are configured correctly, and multiple backup versions are available to your business. Our first prioristy is to help our clients to avoid a data and downtime crisis when disaster strikes. 

Examples of Microsoft 365 data backup vulnerabilities. Google Workspace experiences similar vulnerabilities:

• Accidental Choosing of the Wrong Data Retention Configurations or Schedules: The settings for retention schedules in Microsoft 365 can be complicated and confusing. Improper configuration can result in an unexpected data loss. However, a third-party backup can turn back the clock to a specific time before the data loss occured, and restore the lost data (even if the customer chose the wrong retention period in Microsoft 365’s settings). 
• Human Error or Employee Sabotage: Unfortunately, not all employees can be trusted. Unhappy employees may retaliate by deleting critical data housed within Microsoft 365. By the time the damage is noticed, the retention period for Microsoft 365 backups may have expired. A third-party backup can offer a targeted data retention snapshot as a solution for employee sabotage that corrupted or deleted important datasets.  
• Ransomware Attacks or Viruses: Hackers are succeeding today more than ever at stealing information, corrupting, or locking us out of access to our data. And Microsoft 365 is not entirely impervious to attack. Hidden viruses from malware also create disruption. Unforeseen data corruption and cyberattack incidents expose vulnerabilities in the organization that reduce client confidence in your business. A third-party backup can restore your SaaS prior to infection or incident. 
• Retention Requirements for Legal Reasons: Some industries mandate up to 7-year retention to ensure compliance with laws. To avoid financial penalties, Choosing a third-party backup provider that can provide the industry retention requirements can help companies to prevent steep fines or legal issues. 
• Hybrid Environments for Data Migration or Email: Microsoft 365 is a great program, but configuration can be complicated. To ensure that the data sent using hybrid environments can be stored in the backup set, implementing a third-party backup and recovery provider is a best practice.
• Microsoft Teams Vulnerabilities: Microsoft applications like Teams can be challenging to configure and to ensure a solid backup is happening. Having a third-party backup on board can reduce errors in settings and offer peace of mind that your Team data is being sufficiently protected. 

The below chart is directly sourced from Microsoft. It is a visual depiction showing the Customers responsibility, Microsoft responsibility, and the shared resonsibilities of both entities in the various areas of service offered by Microsoft software. Microsoft Direct Source Link: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/shared-responsibility