Backing up emails in the cloud can be a smart practice, but whether it’s necessary depends on your specific needs and preferences. Here’s why you might consider doing it:
1. Data Protection
Accidental Deletion: Emails can be accidentally deleted, and while some email services have trash/recycle bins that temporarily store deleted messages, if these are permanently erased (or if the trash is emptied), they could be lost forever. Cloud backups provide an extra layer of protection, ensuring your data is not gone.
Malicious Deletion: Disgruntled employees will happen to all companies at some point. While malicious destruction of electronic content is a crime, reporting them after the fact won’t help you recover loss business or data. Cloud backup ensures that data malicious recovered can be recovered. Malicious deletion can only happen during a cyber-attack.
2. Storage Limits
Many email services have storage limits, and if you approach those limits, you might not be able to send or receive new emails until you clear some space. Cloud backups can help you archive old emails to free up space while keeping your important communications safe.
3. Accessibility
Storing emails in the cloud means you can access them from any device with internet access, providing flexibility for when you need to retrieve information while on the go.
4. Security
Cloud services usually offer strong encryption and other security features that can be beneficial compared to keeping emails stored solely on your local device. They often provide automatic updates to security protocols, ensuring your data remains protected. Consider using Cloud backup options instead of relying on local copies on user’s devices. Cloud backup is also the go to solution when recovering from a ransomware attack. Cloud backups are significantly harder for ransomware to corrupt and might be last line of defence.
5. Compliance and Legal Requirements
If you’re running a business or need to comply with legal regulations (e.g., PDPA, HIPAA), having a reliable backup system for emails may be required. Cloud backups can help with long-term storage and make it easier to retrieve emails when necessary for legal or auditing purposes.
6. Email Service Limitations
Some email providers may have technical failures, or you may lose access to your account due to issues like hacking, service outages, or account suspension. Having a cloud backup can mitigate the risk of losing emails during these events.
Drawbacks:
Privacy Concerns: Some cloud services may not offer the level of privacy you want, so it’s important to consider encryption and which company you trust with your data.
Cost: While many email providers offer free cloud storage up to a certain limit, you may need to pay for additional space if you have a large volume of emails.
Ultimately, whether you need to back up your emails in the cloud depends on your priorities for convenience, security, and peace of mind. For personal use, many people find the built-in cloud backup options from services like Gmail or Outlook to be sufficient. For businesses or sensitive data, a dedicated backup service could be worth the investment.