The Definitive Guide to Google Workspace™ Data Protection

Having a secure backup is one of the most effective ways to protect your corporate data against loss, accidental overwriting, cyberattacks, or insider threats. In many industries, compliance regulations also require reliable data retention.

While Google Workspace™ offers reliable infrastructure, it does not fully protect against data loss caused by human error, malicious insiders, misconfigurations, or ransomware. That’s why businesses need an independent backup strategy that ensures data can be quickly restored when issues arise.

In this guide, we’ll walk through the main ways to back up Google Workspace™ (formerly G Suite) data, including Google’s native tools, on-premise solutions, and third-party cloud backup platforms. It will help you determine the best approach for your organization.

Google provides various tools for backing up Workspace data, such as Google Drive™ for Desktop, Google Vault, and Google Takeout, each with specific use cases but notable limitations for businesses. On-premise backup and third-party solutions like SpinBackup offer alternatives with better functionality and security features.

The Google Workspace™ Shared Responsibility Model: Who Is Responsible for Your Data?

Many businesses assume that because Google Workspace™ is a cloud-based service, Google is fully responsible for protecting their data. This is a common misconception.

Google Workspace™ operates under a Shared Responsibility Model, which means that Google and the customer share responsibility for data security, but not equally.

Under this model, Google is responsible for the security of the cloud, while customers are responsible for the security and protection of the data stored in the cloud.

What Google Is Responsible For

Google ensures the reliability and availability of its cloud infrastructure, including:

• Physical security of data centers.
• Network and infrastructure protection.
• Built-in redundancy and uptime.
• Protection against platform-level failures.

This means Google works to keep its services online and resilient, but not to protect your data from all forms of loss.

What Businesses Are Responsible For

Organizations using Google Workspace™ are responsible for:

• Preventing accidental or intentional data deletion.
• Recovering data lost due to human error.
• Protecting against insider threats.
• Ensuring recovery from ransomware or malicious attacks.
• Meeting data retention and compliance requirements.

This means that even though data is stored in the cloud, Google does not automatically protect your business from data loss caused by user mistakes, insider threats, ransomware, or third-party app risks. Deleted or overwritten files, compromised accounts, and improper off-boarding processes may still result in permanent loss.

Why the Shared Responsibility Model Makes Backup Essential

Because Google does not provide a true, long-term backup and recovery solution, businesses must implement an independent backup strategy to fully protect their Workspace data.

Relying solely on Google’s native tools leaves organizations exposed to:

• Permanent data loss after retention periods expire.
• Limited or manual recovery processes.
• Inability to restore data quickly at scale.

You need a dedicated Google Workspace™ backup solution to ensure that your business, not the cloud provider, remains in control of data availability, recovery, and compliance.

Google Workspace™ Backup Key Options

When it comes to protecting business data, Google Workspace™ offers several options that can serve as a starting point. These include Google’s own native tools, traditional on-premise methods, and more advanced third-party cloud backup solutions. 

Each option has its own strengths and limitations, and understanding them is key to choosing the right strategy for your organization.

Below is an overview of the most common backup options available for Google Workspace™:

Google Drive™ for Desktop

• What it does: Synchronizes files between a user’s computer and Google Drive™.
• Limitations: Storage is restricted by the local device capacity. With bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, business data may be exposed on personal computers. 

Synchronization also means that deleted or altered files affect both copies, leaving your data vulnerable to ransomware or accidental deletion.

Google Vault

• What it does: Provides archiving capabilities for compliance, eDiscovery, and legal hold requirements.
• Limitations: Not a true backup solution. Restoring files from Vault is time-consuming and cannot be done in bulk. It also comes at a higher cost compared to specialized backup tools.

Google Takeout

• What it does: Enables users to export their Workspace data and store it locally.
• Limitations: Backups are manual or limited to only two scheduled exports per year. Restoration is cumbersome, requiring files to be re-uploaded and reformatted before reuse.

On-Premise Backup

• What it does: Uses in-house hardware and IT staff to back up and manage Workspace data.
• Challenges: Expensive to set up and maintain, susceptible to hardware failure or human error, and difficult to scale with fast-growing data volumes.

Cloud Backup Solutions

• Third-party tools like SpinBackup automate data protection with advanced features like ransomware protection.
• Advantages: Automated scheduling, ransomware protection, granular restore options, and compliance readiness. Modern cloud backup tools also scale easily and reduce the burden on IT teams

Having a secure backup is a great way to ensure the protection of your corporate data from loss, overwriting, hacking, or compromise in any other way. Besides, IT compliance regulations and standards often require a backup. As an award-winning backup solutions provider, we’d like to overview how to backup Google Workspace™ data.

Google Workspace™ Apps to Ensure a Secure Backup Solution

Google Workspace™ includes a wide range of applications that store critical business data. From email conversations to calendars, documents, and contacts, losing access to this information could disrupt your business operations. 

That’s why it’s vital to have a reliable backup and recovery plan covering all the core apps your organization relies on:

1. Google Drive™: Stores team files, documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Without backup, valuable intellectual property and collaborative work can be lost.
2. Google Chat: Provides real-time messaging for teams. Chat threads often include important discussions, shared links, and file attachments that may be needed later. Backups ensure these conversations remain searchable and recoverable.
3. Google Contacts: Houses client, partner, and internal team contact details essential for communication. Backups ensure these connections remain accessible.
4. Google Sheets: Handles spreadsheets containing budgets, analytics, and business data. Backups safeguard against accidental deletion or corruption of vital financial and operational information.
5. Gmail™:  Business email is often the single most critical communication channel. Backups protect against accidental deletions, phishing, or ransomware attacks.
6. Google Docs: Used for drafting and collaborating on written content such as reports, proposals, and contracts. A backup ensures that earlier versions and critical documents can be restored if lost or overwritten.
7. Google Calendar: Holds important scheduling information, meeting records, and reminders. Losing calendar data can cause missed opportunities and operational confusion.
8. Google Spaces: A collaboration hub where teams share files, assign tasks, and manage projects. Spaces often store long-term project histories and documents, making them just as important to back up as email or Drive™ files.
9. Google Slides: Stores business presentations, training materials, and sales decks. Backups ensure these assets are always available for internal and external use.

Other Google Workspace™ Apps Worth Considering

Depending on your organization, additional apps may also require backup:

1. Google Classroom: For schools and education-focused organizations.
2. Google Photos: For businesses that rely heavily on media content.

In this article, we’ll look at various tools to back up your Google Workspace™ (formerly G Suite) data. We’ll cover Google’s own functionality, on-premise backup options, and third-party Google Workspace™ backup solutions.

Backup Google Workspace™ Data With Google’s Own Tools

Google offers a few native tools for backing up or archiving Workspace data. These solutions are useful in certain scenarios but are not designed to serve as an enterprise-grade backup system. These tools are Google Drive™ for Desktop, Google Vault, and Google Takeout. Let’s take a closer look at what each tool offers, along with its limitations.

Google Drive™ for Desktop

When do you use Google Drive™ for Desktop? In situations where you need something easy-to-use and your data flow is not very intense.

The Google Drive™ for Desktop (formerly Backup and Sync) tool allows you to synchronize your local drive with Google Drive™. In other words, your data would be stored in two copies―one on Google Drive™ and the other on your computer.

This tool is fast and easy to use. Here’s how to back up your data with it. Google Drive™ for Desktop is useful for protecting files on a user’s Google Drive™ and their computer. However, it may not always be the best option.

Why Google Drive™ for Desktop isn’t the best solution for your business

Here are some limitations:

1. BYOD risks: If your company uses BYOD, Google Drive™ for Desktop will back up your corporate data to your employee’s personal computer. It’s unsafe for your business, and your employees might not be OK with it.
2. Limited storage: The backup space is limited to the storage capacity of the hard drive.., It’s not enough for many businesses.
3. No true backup separation: If the user deletes or changes the data, both versions will be affected due to synchronization.

To preserve your business’s mission-critical data for an extended period, you will require an alternative tool. One such tool is Google Vault, which we will discuss in detail later in the article.

From a security perspective, Google Drive™ for Desktop has some other limitations as follows:

• It doesn’t follow the 3-2-1 backup strategy, one of the best backup practices. 
• Also, this tool lacks advanced cybersecurity features like ransomware prevention. That’s why the Google Drive™ for Desktop process is vulnerable to ransomware.

Backup Google Workspace™ Data in Google Vault

When do you use Google Vault? In case you need a tool to archive your data for audit or legal reasons.

Is Google Vault a backup solution? Not really. Google Vault is an archiving tool primarily designed to retain data for legal and compliance purposes. While it can help preserve corporate data for extended periods, it is not intended for backup.

 Even Google’s own support page states: “No. Vault isn’t designed to be a backup or archive tool.”

Why Google Vault isn’t the Best Solution for Backing Up Business Data:

Limitations

1. Time-consuming restoration

The restoration process takes a significant amount of time. Google Vault does not allow you to directly restore your files back to Google Drive™ or Gmail™. Instead, you have to locate your data. Then, you have to transfer it. 
Finally, you have to bring it into Google Workspace™ (G Suite). Furthermore, you cannot do it for multiple files.

2. Storage inefficiency

Google Vault takes up too much space on your Drive™. The tool stores every version of the protected file as a new file. That’s why it’s reserved only for the most important documents. 
If you “back up” all the files on your Google Drive™ with Google Vault, you will end up taking up all the storage space in no time.

3. High costs

Vault is more expensive than third-party backup tools. You can read more about it here. If you want to back up your data using Google Vault, follow these steps.

Google Takeout

When do you use Google Takeout? In situations where you want to download Google Workspace™ data to store it on-premises.

Takeout is another of Google’s archiving tools. With this tool, a user can download their archived data. Here’s how to do it. You can select and download items across Gmail™, Google Drive™, Contacts, and other Google Workspace™ services.

The download format varies and is often customizable. For example, you can choose to download spreadsheets from your Google Drive™ in either XLSX or PDF formats.

Why Google Takeout isn’t the Best Solution for Backing Up Business Data:

Limitations:

1. User Dependency

To use Google Takeout, you need to be logged in as a user. Admins shouldn’t entrust data backup to other employees for several reasons. First, employees can forget, make an error, or mess up the backup intentionally. Second, backup isn’t their work responsibility.

2. Limited Automation

Takeout can be automated, but this automation is limited. You can only schedule the backup twice a year. More often, backup will require manual labor.

3. Cumbersome Recovery

Takeout restoration is long. As you’ve probably understood by now, Takeout is a tool to create a copy of your data, not to store or retrieve data. If you’ve decided to use this tool as a backup, you’ll still need to store a copy of your data somewhere.

→ Learn how to recover deleted Google Docs

Google Workspace™ Best Practices When Employees Leave

It is essential to adhere to Google Workspace’s best practices when employees leave or are terminated. What are these best practices for Google Workspace™ public cloud data?

There are a few items that need to be addressed when assuming access from an employee who has left the organization.

1. Remove sign-in cookies and mobile device access, and change passwords/disable password recovery.
2. Create a backup of the existing employee’s Google Workspace™ data (mail, drive, calendar, contacts, etc.)
3. Transfer Google Workspace™ data to another Google Workspace™ account:
   1. Transfer data to another Google Workspace™ account.
   2. Add an SMTP alias to the new account after the account is deleted.
   3. Delete the original Google Workspace™ account.

On-premise Google Workspace™ Backup Solution

When do you use an on-premise backup? If you need your own backup infrastructure and have the resources to build it.

On-premise means that you back up your Google Workspace™ data using your own infrastructure. How? Your company uses its own hardware and assigns someone to copy your data and manage its storage, accessibility, and recovery.

With on-premise storage, you can customize your G Suite backup as you see fit, without relying on an Internet connection. You can decide where and how to store your data, how many copies should be made, and how often.

Advantages of on-premise Google Workspace™ backup

1. Full customization over backup policies and retention schedules.
2. Independence from third-party providers or internet connectivity.
3. Potentially faster access to local backups for recovery.

However, there are some obstacles that you’ll face while storing backups on-premises.

CChallenges of on-premise Google Workspace™ backup

Here are some challenges with on-premise backup:

1. High cost of ownership: Setting up servers, storage, and backup software requires significant upfront investment. Ongoing costs for maintenance, upgrades, and electricity add up.
2. Manual processes: Backup scheduling, monitoring, and recovery often depend on IT staff, increasing the risk of human error.
3. Hardware vulnerabilities: Local storage is still susceptible to physical damage, theft, or hardware failure.
4. Scalability issues: As data grows, expanding infrastructure becomes increasingly expensive and complex.
5. Business continuity risks: If the on-premise location is affected by fire, flood, or cyberattack, backups may be compromised along with production systems.

Considering all these limitations, it’s no wonder that businesses seek tools that are easier to set up and maintain. That’s why it’s common to back up your data to the cloud (despite storing data in the cloud, Google Drive™ is not a cloud backup). 

To back up your data to the cloud, you may consider specialized backup software.

Google Workspace™ Cloud Backup Solutions

When do you need third-party backup tools? If you need to automate the protection of your Google Workspace™ data and ensure compliance without unnecessary effort.

A Google Workspace™ backup tool copies your data to the cloud and recovers it if the need arises. Did you lose your email and need that Google Workspace™ email backup restored? The Gmail™ message recovery tool will fix it.

Professional backup software protects your data automatically, minimizing your effort and the chance of user error. Compared to Google’s native tools, backup software gives you more control over backup versions and recovery, as well as better customization.

Why cloud backup is better than native tools

• Unlike Google Drive™ for Desktop, backups are separated from production data and not vulnerable to file sync errors.
• Unlike Google Vault, recovery is fast and user-friendly.
• Unlike Google Takeout, backups are automated and continuous rather than manual or infrequent.

Key Features of Cloud Backup Solutions

1. Automated Scheduling: Set backups to run automatically, ensuring consistent protection without relying on employees.
2. Granular Restore: Recover a single email, a specific document, or an entire account, whatever your business requires.
3. Cross-user Restore: Transfer data between accounts (e.g., when an employee leaves) without hassle.
4. Ransomware Protection: Many solutions detect and prevent ransomware attacks before they spread.
5. Encryption & Security: Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, ensuring compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and other regulations.
6. Scalability: Cloud solutions grow with your business without the need for additional infrastructure.

How to Backup Google Workspace™ Data with SpinBackup

If you’re evaluating a Google Workspace™ backup solution, there are plenty to consider, including Backupify, Acronis, Spanning, and SpinBackup. SpinBackup for Google Workspace™ is a unique solution that combines backup with ransomware protection and cybersecurity. Here’s what makes it a great backup option for you:

• Automated backup to cloud storage with 99.99% recovery success rate.
• Backup data is encrypted in transit, in use, and at rest.
• User-friendly interface and fast search.
• Our license threshold allows even small businesses to back up their data. We provide backup services for Google Workspace™ accounts that only need 10 licenses and large businesses that need over 1,000 licenses.
• Basic backup functionality can be upgraded with a ransomware protection module and advanced cybersecurity tools. This will give your data even better protection.

Here you can watch more about our tool:

Protect Your Google Workspace™ Data with SpinBackup

Don’t let data loss catch you off guard. Back up your data now. Spin.ai for Google Workspace™ combines automated backup, rapid recovery, and advanced security controls into a single solution.

Get a Demo.

Avoid Google File Synchronization Threats with SpinBackup

Ransomware presents a very real and present danger to both home and enterprise users who make use of file synchronization. Simply storing critical files in the Google public cloud does not prevent them from being encrypted, nor is it able to “magically” decrypt the files once they are synchronized to the Google public cloud.

This is a common misconception that causes individuals and enterprises alike to feel a false sense of security with public cloud storage. Why is ransomware encrypted files synchronized to the Google public cloud via sync utilities such as Google Backup and Sync or Drive File Stream?

Google file synchronization utilities, such as Backup and Sync and Drive File Stream, are not immune to synchronizing ransomware-infected files to Google’s public cloud file storage. Good versions of files stored in the Google public cloud are overwritten with the ransomware-infected versions.

Without good backups, data could be lost forever. SpinBackup is a solution that provides a powerful, all-in-one approach, including both backups and security measures to prevent ransomware from destroying data. 

The automated daily backups protect critical data while features like Ransomware Protection proactively remediate ransomware infections. It does this by automatically restoring good versions of files, revoking access to the offending synchronization utility, and alerting administrators. 

Utilize Machine Learning for Cyber Threat Intelligence in Google Workspace™ Environments.

While ransomware often enters through compromised endpoints or synchronization utilities, third-party applications represent another major attack surface in Google Workspace™ environments.

A lot of useful third-party applications can be found in the Google Workspace™ marketplace. They can often add significant functionality and real business value to a corporate Google Workspace™ environment.

Organizations can extend the default tools, utilities, functionality, features, and many other aspects by installing legitimate third-party applications providing those resources. However, the Google Marketplace can potentially contain Google Workspace™ security risks to the organization’s data.

SpinBackup’s solution for maintaining control over third-party applications makes use of powerful machine learning, allowing organizations to effectively mitigate the risks presented by third-party app installation. 

SpinBackup provides a 24/7 monitoring solution that allows for a daily automated scan of installed third-party applications that have been integrated into Google Workspace™. 

The underlying technology behind SpinBackup’s ability to effectively scan and remediate risky third-party apps lies in powerful machine learning algorithms and AI.

Machine learning algorithms provide SpinBackup with the ability to:

1. Provide a real-time assessment of the third-party app.
2. “Profile” the third-party app and discover what its “intent” is by determining connections, data it has access to, employees it has access to, data flows to and from the third-party app.
3. Discover the types of connected devices and any discovered anomalies.

SpinBackup’s implementation of such Google Workspace™ security modules as High-Risk Apps Control, Ransomware Protection, Data Leak Protection, and Sensitive Data Control makes use of intelligent machine learning that allows both effective and efficient mitigation of critical cybersecurity threats.

How Machine Learning Can Advance the Cybersecurity Landscape

Machine learning forms the foundation that connects backup, ransomware protection, and third-party app security into a single, proactive cybersecurity strategy.

Businesses today are gathering huge amounts of data. Data is at the heart of just about any business-critical system you can think of. Machine learning today is able, for the most part, accurately determine and pick up on anomalies in traffic patterns, connections, user activity, and many other aspects of the network. 

Powerful machine learning algorithms can filter through traffic patterns and learn what the normal fingerprint of network activity looks like, and then make decisions based on machine learning algorithms.

SpinBackup’s data protection, data leak protection, and cybersecurity solutions provide a great example of the power of machine learning presented in a powerful API-driven Cloud Access Security Broker. Its abilities to identify cybersecurity threats such as malicious third-party apps, ransomware, and sensitive data are powered by its machine learning algorithms.

What is the best backup for Google Workspace™?

When it comes to selecting the best backup solution for Google Workspace™, cloud-based options offer the most comprehensive protection, flexibility, and ease of use. These solutions not only ensure that your data is securely backed up but also allow for efficient recovery processes tailored to your organization’s needs. 

Key Benefits of Cloud Backup Solutions for Google Workspace™:

1. Security and Compliance: Benefit from advanced security measures to protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
2. Fast Restore Process: Minimize downtime with quick recovery options that align with your business continuity goals.
3. Cross-user Restore: Easily restore data across different user accounts, which is particularly helpful during employee transitions.
4. Search and Granular Restore: Retrieve specific data efficiently, allowing for precise restoration tailored to your needs.
5. Scalability: Adapt to your evolving data backup requirements without compromising performance.
6. Managed Solutions: Enjoy hassle-free management and support, freeing up your team’s resources for other tasks.

Once you understand the limitations of native tools and the benefits of cloud backup, the next step is choosing the right solution for your organization.

Backup platforms differ significantly in areas such as automation, recovery speed, ransomware protection, security controls, and scalability. Comparing these capabilities side by side can help you identify which solution aligns best with your business, compliance requirements, and risk profile.

To support your decision, you can review our detailed comparison of leading Google Workspace™ backup solutions, which breaks down feature coverage, security capabilities, and key differentiators across popular platforms.

It’s also important to examine how Google’s built-in security and archiving tools compare to purpose-built backup and data protection solutions in practice. Below, we will take a closer look at Google Security Center vs. SpinBackup, including a cost and feature comparison, as well as Google Vault archiving vs. SpinBackup’s Data Loss Prevention (DLP) capabilities.

Google Security Center vs SpinBackup with Cost Analysis

Let’s consider a cost example of deploying Google Security Center vs. SpinBackup. To deploy Google Security Center, organizations must be running the Google Workspace™ Enterprise subscription of Google Workspace™. If your organization had 100 users, what would the features and functionality cost between the two?

Google Security Center

• 100 users.
• Google Workspace™ subscription must be Enterprise.
• This equates to $25 per user per month – 100 x 25 = $2,500 per month.

SpinBackup

To get more:

• 100 users.
• You can simply choose the Basic Edition – $5 per user per month = 100 x $5 = $500 per month.
• SpinBackup license = $ 5 per user per month x 100 users = $500 per month.
• If you choose the Google Workspace™ Basic subscription with SpinBackup protection = $500+$500= $1,000 total.
• This is $1,500 cheaper per month for cybersecurity and backup.

SpinBackup offers a much more robust solution as it provides both cybersecurity and automated backups to protect business-critical data. 

When it comes to Google Security Center and backing up your data, you are on your own. The security features found in SpinBackup are much more in tune with real-world threats, such as ransomware, and empower Google Workspace™ administrators to proactively eradicate these ominous threats.

Try SpinOne for Free

Google Vault Archiving vs SpinBackup’s DLP

When comparing SpinBackup DLP with Google Vault, there simply isn’t a comparison between the products. While Google Vault has a specific use case in archiving data and making it available for eDiscovery and other needs, it is simply not a backup solution for Google Workspace™ environments. 

Quite simply, SpinBackup offers a significantly more powerful and robust feature set for backing up Google Workspace data, making it a true data protection solution. This is a designation that can’t be applied to Google Vault.

Consider 6 Tangible Benefits that SpinBackup DLP Brings to the Table

Built on top of a powerful cloud architecture that is not dependent upon Google’s infrastructure. While Google Vault relies on its own infrastructure, SpinBackup is a standalone solution that provides resiliency outside of Google’s infrastructure.

1. Automated Daily Backups

SpinBackup provides true backups. The backups created are automated and provide multiple restore points to go back to in the event of data loss. The powerful “Restore in Time Machine” functionality is like a DVR for organizations looking to roll files back or restore them to a specific point in time.

This provides true protection from total data loss as well as events such as ransomware infection that may render files totally corrupted.

2. Risky third-party apps control

The Google Workspace™ marketplace provides access to myriads of third-party applications that can greatly increase functionality in the Google Workspace™ environment. 

However, even though Google screens the apps, some apps may have malicious intent or have access to data in the Google Workspace™ environment that they should not have access to. SpinBackup can control which applications are installed and what data they have access to.

3. Google Workspace™ Ransomware Protection

Ransomware is probably the single most concerning data security issue for business-critical data today. As mentioned, Google Vault does not protect organizations from this extremely malicious security threat. 

SpinBackup Ransomware Protection proactively monitors and automatically remediates access to Google Workspace™ data that is infected with ransomware. Additionally, it can perform automatic restores of data that has been affected by ransomware.

4. Insider Threat Protection

By monitoring end-user usage patterns, file access, and other metrics, SpinBackup can determine insider threats that may exist with users who may be downloading data they should not, sharing it with unauthorized outsiders, or whose accounts may have been compromised by attackers, just to name a few.

5. Sensitive Data Control

SpinBackup protects organizations from data leakage that contains sensitive data, such as credit card numbers.

6. Powerful proactive alerting

SpinBackup empowers Google Workspace™ administrators to be proactive by receiving alerts when certain important events are detected, such as ransomware and other malicious activity.

Try SpinOne for Free 

Conclusion: SpinBackup delivers a complete backup and recovery solution for Google Workspace™

Backing up Google Workspace™ is no longer optional. It has become a business necessity. While Google’s native tools provide limited protection, they aren’t designed for enterprise-grade backup or rapid recovery. On-premise infrastructure offers more control but is costly and difficult to scale.

Cloud backup solutions strike the right balance by combining automation, compliance readiness, ransomware protection, and scalability. 

Choosing the right platform ensures that your organization can recover quickly from disruptions, meet regulatory requirements, and protect data. Third-party backup solutions, especially cloud-native platforms, provide the automation, security, and agility necessary for modern businesses. Among these, SpinBackup stands out as a highly effective choice for Google Workspace™ backup and recovery.

SpinBackup delivers a complete backup and recovery solution for Google Workspace™. It’s automated, secure, compliant, and intelligent.→ Get started with SpinBackup for Google Workspace today!

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