Google Workspace BackupGoogle keeps Workspace running. It does not keep your data.
A deleted email or file sits in the Bin for 30 days, then it is gone. An administrator gets 25 more days to recover a user's Drive files, and a deleted user's mailbox and Drive are unrecoverable 20 days after the account goes. Ransomware syncing through Drive, a leaver emptying their files, or a mailbox wiped by a compromised account is your problem, not Google's. A separate backup is priced per licensed user per month and takes an afternoon to set up.
Who this is for
Any business on Google Workspace that would be hurt by losing six months of email or a shared drive. It matters most where there is client data, regulatory retention (CQC, FCA, SRA, ICO) or a cyber insurance policy that asks whether backups are separate from the live system.
What is included
Google keeps it running. You keep the data.
The service agreement covers availability, not recovery. Everything on the right is your problem unless a copy exists outside the tenant.
Google looks after
- The service stays up and the data centres run
- Deleted Gmail and Drive items kept 30 days, an admin can recover for 25 more, then gone
- Google Vault: holds and searches for legal purposes, inside the same tenant
Your problem, not Google's
- Ransomware synced up through Drive for desktop
- A leaver's account deleted, a shared drive emptied by mistake
- A compromised admin deleting what they like
- A folder structure and its sharing, which Vault cannot put back
The separate copy we keep
Gmail, Calendar and Contacts
Every user, automatically
Google Drive
Every user, point-in-time restore
Shared drives
Where you rely on them, agreed at setup
- UK data centres
- Kept seven years
- Outside your tenant, separate account
Gmail, Drive, Calendar and Contacts
Every user's Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar and Contacts, backed up automatically to storage that sits outside your Google tenant. If your business keeps important files in shared drives, tell us at setup and we cover those too.
Kept for seven years, in the UK
That covers HMRC, most regulators and most contracts without you having to think about it. Point-in-time restore, so you can go back to before the mistake, not just to last night.
Restores done by us
One email, one file, a folder, a calendar or a whole user. You ask, we restore, usually within the hour. No portal to learn.
Tested every quarter
We restore something real from every client's backup each quarter and record it. A backup nobody has restored from is a hope, not a plan.
Leavers kept, licences freed
When someone leaves, their Gmail and Drive stay in the backup and the Google licence can be released instead of suspending the account and paying for it indefinitely.
Monitoring
Failed backup jobs raise an alert to our helpdesk, not an email to an inbox nobody reads.
What is not included, and why
- Server and device backup. On-premises servers and individual laptops are covered by a separate service, quoted alongside this one where you have them.
- Google Vault. Vault retains and searches data for legal and compliance purposes, and it is worth configuring, but it cannot restore a folder structure or sharing permissions, it only covers licensed users and the content you set retention on, and it lives inside the same tenant as the data. This service is the copy outside.
- On Microsoft 365 instead? The same service for Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams is on our Microsoft 365 backup page.
What it costs
Priced per licensed Google Workspace user per month, so it moves with your headcount, and billed monthly with the rest of your services. Storage is included; there is no separate charge per gigabyte. We quote after a short discovery call, once we know your setup.
How it starts
- 1Free IT Health CheckA short online check that benchmarks your security and business risk and tells you where you stand.
- 2Discovery callAn engineer, not a salesperson. What you have, what is broken, what it would cost to fix, in writing.
- 3OnboardingEverything moves across on a plan, with no gap in cover and nothing lost.
Free, no sales call needed
Two free checks. Know where you stand.
Domain email check
Can someone send email pretending to be you? Is your real email landing in junk? Type your domain and find out in under a minute.
IT Health Check
A short set of questions that scores your security and business risk, and tells you what to fix first. 15 to 20 minutes on your own.
Questions people ask before signing
Does Google Workspace back up my data?
Not in the way most people assume. Google keeps the service running and keeps deleted items for a limited time, but once that window passes, or an account is removed, the data is gone. There is no point-in-time restore of a whole mailbox or Drive. A separate Google Workspace backup keeps its own copy outside Google so you can get it back.
What is managed Google Workspace backup?
A backup we set up, watch and restore from for you. Every user's Gmail, Drive, Calendar and Contacts is copied to UK data centres outside your Google account, new users are added as they join, failures are followed up, and when you need something back you ask us rather than learning a backup console.
Does Google Workspace need a backup?
Yes. Google's terms cover keeping the service available, not recovering your data. Deleted Gmail and Drive items are gone 30 days after deletion, an administrator can recover a user's deleted Drive files for only 25 days after that, and a deleted user's data is unrecoverable 20 days after the account is deleted. Ransomware, a malicious leaver, a mistaken bulk delete and a compromised admin account all get past those windows.
Is Google Vault a backup?
No. Vault holds and searches data for legal and compliance purposes. It cannot put back a Drive folder structure or its sharing, it only covers licensed users and the content types you set retention on, and it sits inside the same tenant it protects. Use Vault for compliance and keep a separate backup for recovery.
What about ransomware on a laptop?
Drive for desktop syncs encrypted files up to Drive just as it syncs normal ones. Version history can roll back a few files by hand; it is hopeless for ten thousand. A point-in-time restore from the backup puts the whole drive back to the hour before the attack.
How much does Google Workspace backup cost?
It is priced per licensed user per month, including storage and restores, so the figure depends on how many people you have and whether shared drives need covering. We quote after a short discovery call, once we know your setup.
What exactly is backed up?
Every user's Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar and Contacts as standard. Shared drives are covered too where you rely on them; we agree that at setup. We confirm the scope in writing, so you know exactly what is protected.
How long do you keep the data?
Seven years, in UK data centres. That is longer than HMRC and most regulators ask for, so a retention question from an auditor or insurer has a one-word answer.
How fast can you restore?
A single email, file or folder is usually back within the hour of you asking. A whole user takes longer, depending on size, and we will give you a time when you ask.
Where is the data stored?
In UK data centres, outside your Google tenant, encrypted during backup, in an account separate from Google so that a compromised Workspace administrator cannot delete the backup.