Why Communication Platforms Need a Backup Strategy
Work has changed fundamentally, moving away from the traditional inbox and into the ever-changing world of instant messaging. Whether it is Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Google Chat, these platforms are the new digital headquarters for businesses worldwide. Decisions are made, information is shared, and plans are laid out through these mediums.
Yet, despite this monumental use of chat-based platforms, companies continue to view the information created through these mediums as temporary and secondary to email. This is a mistake, and it is leaving companies vulnerable to numerous risks. Having a backup system set up for these communication platforms is no longer optional; it is necessary, and it is part of modern technology security. For example, robust Slack backup and recovery solutions ensure business-critical conversations are protected from unexpected data loss.
The Reality of Data Loss
Most companies believe that their cloud-based communication systems are not at risk of losing their information. They believe this because the information is stored on a tech giant’s servers and therefore must be safe forever, right? Wrong! Most cloud service providers operate under a system known as the shared responsibility model. This model ensures the platform is always accessible, but it is then the responsibility of the customer to ensure their own information is secure from both external and internal forces.
The reality is, data loss happens much more often than companies would like to admit, and it is usually due to user error. For example, an employee might delete an important project chat by accident, or an employee might delete the chat history as a form of revenge before leaving the company.
Sadly, this is just the beginning, as outside hackers and thieves are always looking to infiltrate these systems and cause damage. Whether it is through ransomware attacks, phishing scams, or other forms of cyberattacks, this information can be lost forever without having a backup system in place.
Navigating Compliance and Legal Hurdles
For companies in highly regulated industries such as healthcare, finance, or legal, data retention is not merely a best practice; it’s the law. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as well as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, dictate how data is stored, how long it’s retained, and how easily it’s retrievable. Communication platforms are no exception.
Even for companies in non-regulated industries, the specter of litigation is a real one. In the event of a lawsuit, your company may be ordered to produce specific conversations or documents as part of the eDiscovery process. If these messages or documents no longer exist because they were deleted, and you don’t have a third-party solution in place, you are unable to comply with discovery requests. The inability to comply with court orders carries significant legal penalties. Relying on the native retention capabilities of the platform is inadequate because they don’t necessarily prevent data from being permanently deleted by users with administrator privileges.
Ensuring Business Continuity
Downtime costs companies money. When a communication platform goes offline or experiences a significant data loss event, productivity comes to a standstill. Teams no longer have access to historical context, current conversations, or documents. A robust backup solution is an insurance policy for your productivity. It’s a guarantee that no matter how severe the disaster, your company will still have access to your vital knowledge base.
A good continuity plan is all about speed and granularity. Having the data is not the same as being able to restore the data. For instance, with a complete solution that offers backup and restore functionality for Slack, IT administrators can restore individual channels and conversations without rolling back the entire workspace. This granularity is what allows companies to minimize downtime and resume exactly where they left off.
Proactive Protection as a Competitive Advantage
Taking your communication data as seriously as your financial data or customer data is a strategic move. A robust backup and restore solution does more than protect your company from disaster; it makes your company stronger. Companies that take the time to protect their conversation history are companies that are safeguarding their institutional knowledge against technical failures and human mistakes. By investing in a third-party backup solution today, you are protecting your company’s past and your company’s future!
