Learn More About SaaS Backup Software
What is SaaS Backup Software?
SaaS backup solutions help businesses preserve the integrity of the data generated by the SaaS products they use in the event the data is lost or compromised. Some SaaS backup tools are specialized towards a specific SaaS product, while others take a more generalist approach and are compatible with several products. Typically, SaaS backup software tends to target, but is not exclusive to, CRMs, office suites, business instant messaging tools, and email systems – integral SaaS tools to daily workflow that would cause significant setback if their data were lost.
Key Benefits of SaaS Backup Software
- Preserve important SaaS-generated data
- Provide a point of recovery in the event of SaaS data loss
- Help facilitate adherence to governance and compliance policies and laws
Why Use SaaS Backup Software?
SaaS backup solutions are part of a larger ecosystem of data management and protection tools. As a whole, the ecosystem ensures data quality, security, reliability, and compliance—SaaS backup assists specifically in the reliability and compliance aspects. By utilizing a SaaS backup solution, businesses can ensure SaaS-generated data is duplicated in a different location for recovery, and any compliance-related data is properly and adequately preserved.
Who Uses SaaS Backup Software?
As a general rule, businesses with important, regulated, or other business-critical data should back up their data with some level of regularity. Larger companies might have a dedicated data management team which would use one of these tools as a part of their larger data management ecosystem. Smaller businesses, on the other hand, might have only a few specific users with access to a SaaS backup solution; this is likely the business’ IT team.
Kinds of SaaS Backup software
SaaS backup solutions don’t necessarily come in different varieties, as much as they might target a specific type of SaaS product, or even a specific SaaS product itself. CRMs, office suites, business instant messaging, and email tend to be some of the more commonly focused SaaS types which SaaS backup solutions target.
SaaS Backup Software Features
The following are features found in most SaaS Backup products.
SaaS Integration — Integrate the backup solution with one or more SaaS products to access that product’s data. While some SaaS backup solutions will focus on one specific product, others will focus on a few or several.
Data backup — The core focus of SaaS backup tools, these solutions make a copy or copies of existing data in SaaS products and store that copy or copies in a different location, such as in a cloud storage location or on premise.
Data designation — Like other kinds of backup solutions, SaaS backup software should let businesses select what types of data generated by the SaaS product should be backed up. This can help businesses avoid overloading their backup storage location with unimportant data.
Security and compliance — SaaS backup solutions can either offer some basic data security features (e.g., access authentications, etc.) or provide easy integrations to other security tools. Many solutions also offer features around maintaining data compliance to abide by the increasing count of data privacy laws.
Ecosystem integration — SaaS backup tools need to be able to integrate with other tools a business might utilize on a daily basis. When looking to purchase a SaaS backup solution, ensure it integrates with any other necessary systems or tools, especially data management, backup management, and data security solutions.
Additional SaaS Backup Features
Data replication — Some SaaS backup solutions may offer the ability to both back up and replicate data from SaaS products. Replication can better help reduce recovery time in the event of data loss.
Data archiving — If keeping backups long-term is necessary for your business, consider a SaaS backup solution that provides archiving capabilities. This can be important for compliance regulations, so if in a regulated industry, considering an archiving-capable backup solution should be a must.
Potential Issues with SaaS Backup Software
Backup speeds — Because SaaS solutions are provided through internet connectivity, connection speeds are going to play a major part in determining backup efficiency, especially if a business is backing up to an on-premise location. Be sure that your backup solution has solid, consistent connectivity that can be maintained over the course of a potentially long full backup, and be sure that connection can be maintained with the SaaS product as well.
Storage capacity — Because SaaS products can generate a significant volume of data, be sure your backup location is able to handle that volume adequately. Losing a backup due to insufficient backup space could be devastating in the event of data loss.
