SaaS backup: 5 reasons you need it

There’s no doubt that SaaS platforms offer organizations impressive benefits. The question is whether they also protect your data. There’s a common misconception among organizations: that SaaS providers are responsible for protecting data and that a SaaS backup isn’t necessary.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or Salesforce have transformed the way organizations work. As early as 2020, the Gartner 2020 I&O Leaders Survey showed that 70% of organizations were investing in SaaS and wanted to keep doing so. Today, for many companies, email, documents and client relationships live entirely in the cloud.

Unfortunately, when it comes to SaaS backup, the responsibility is yours. If you use SaaS applications or are thinking of moving to cloud platforms, it’s important to know that cloud service providers follow a shared responsibility model. SaaS providers are responsible for the availability and functioning of the applications, while you are responsible for protecting the data, through SaaS backup. Microsoft itself writes, in its guide to shared responsibility in the cloud, that whatever the type of service, data and accounts remain the customer’s responsibility. Under this model, SaaS providers aren’t liable for data losses that result from mistakes on your side.

Although SaaS platforms offer flexibility and reliability, that doesn’t amount to data security. Assuming your data is safe just because it sits on a SaaS platform is a risk you won’t want to take. Despite their many advantages, SaaS platforms aren’t immune to data loss. A 2020 IDC study showed that nearly 80% of the companies surveyed had experienced at least one cloud data breach in the previous 18 months.

The 3-2-1 backup policy: what it is and what the alternatives are

What are the 5 main causes of SaaS data loss?

Although several factors are responsible for data loss, the top five are listed below.

1. Human error: Human error is one of the main causes of data loss and is, unfortunately, unavoidable. Simple mistakes, such as deleting an account or an important email, or downloading a malicious attachment, can turn into a disaster if they aren’t caught in time. Because SaaS providers can’t tell whether a command is intentional or not, they’ll treat it as legitimate and carry it out.
2. SaaS retention policies: SaaS applications such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace keep deleted data only for a limited period. In Microsoft 365, emails permanently deleted from Outlook can be recovered for 14 days by default (30 at most, if the administrator changes the setting), and files deleted from SharePoint and OneDrive for 93 days. In Google Workspace, the Drive trash is emptied automatically after 30 days, and the administrator can recover the data for another 25 days. After these deadlines, the data can no longer be recovered or restored.
3. Programmatic errors: These errors, also known as sync errors, often occur when several SaaS applications are integrated. They can corrupt critical data and lead to its permanent loss. In the same 2020 IDC study, which surveyed about 300 chief information security officers (CISOs), 67% said that misconfigured security settings were among their main concerns about cloud production environments.
4. Malicious insider activity: Employees have access to company data, and disgruntled or malicious ones can get around security controls to overwrite or delete critical information. According to McAfee’s Grand Theft Data report, insider threats were responsible for 43% of data losses. Data can also leave the company without any ill will: in Verizon’s 2026 report, 67% of users were accessing artificial intelligence services from personal accounts on their work computers.
5. Cyberattacks: Phishing, malware and ransomware show no sign of slowing down. Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report showed that over 80% of breaches caused by hacking involved guessed or stolen passwords. In the 2026 edition of the same report, ransomware appears in 48% of breaches, and exploiting vulnerabilities has become the attackers’ main way in (31%). A compromised Microsoft 365 account can be used to delete or encrypt everything that syncs with it.

Backup as a Service: tell me more →

Microsoft 365 now has its own backup. Do you still need anything else?

Yes, in most cases. Since July 2024, Microsoft has offered Microsoft 365 Backup, a separately paid service, priced by data volume, for OneDrive, SharePoint and Exchange. It’s a good step, but the copies still stay with Microsoft, and the 3-2-1 rule recommends keeping at least one copy separate from the main platform.

Whatever solution you choose, check three things:

• What gets backed up: email, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams or, in Google Workspace, Gmail, Drive and shared drives.
• How long the copies are kept: the retention period should also cover cases where a deletion is discovered months later.
• How quickly you can restore: a single email, a folder or an entire mailbox. Test a restore before you need it.

How does RezolvIT help you protect your data in SaaS applications?

SaaS platforms aren’t as secure as you might think. Whatever a service level agreement says, you need proper security measures to protect your organization’s critical data stored in the cloud. Let’s face it: it’s your data, and protecting it is your responsibility. A robust backup solution not only helps you enjoy the advantages of SaaS platforms, it also keeps your business running if an incident occurs.

Through Backup as a Service, RezolvIT designs the backup solution, manages it and restores your data when needed, locally or in the cloud. If you’d rather make a plan yourself, start with our complete guide to backup strategy.

Contact us to find out how RezolvIT can help you secure your SaaS environment, minimize downtime and keep your productivity up.

RezolvIT is a managed IT services company in Bucharest, certified to ISO/IEC 27001, with a track record of securing and protecting its clients’ infrastructure. Whether it’s laptops, desktops, servers or mobile devices, we propose solutions that head off security threats. See IT Outsourcing and IT Security.