Introduction

Scenarios like Google Workspace migration or creating more storage space in your Google account create the need to back up Google Workspace data. Backing up Google Workspace data requires you to securely access and download all components of G Suite. All your emails, Google Drive data, Contacts, Google Groups, Calendars (meetings and appointments), and Google Hangouts/Chats will be saved locally.

Backups also help to minimize the risk of data loss in case of any human or technical error. Google offers a few manual ways for Google Workspace email backup, such as Data Export tool and Google Takeout. We have listed a few reliable methods to securely access your G Suite account and save complete data items to your local computer. Anyone, technical or non-technical, can use the user-friendly methods to back up their Google’s data.

Why Should One Backup G Suite?

Data management, better data accessibility & security, and several other factors may compel a user to backup data. Most common reasons are:

Data Migration: Migration requires a complete or selective transfer of data from one server to another. To avoid any data loss or corruption, organizations always create a complete data backup before any migration.

Safeguard Data: Cloud, without any doubt, provides a safe environment to store your emails, attachments, files, Excel sheets, etc. However, a backup boosts user’s confidence regarding data safety from any technical problem.

Storage Limitations: Online platforms come with limited data storage capacity. Running out of the storage quota can create situations like issues with receiving and sending emails. To prevent such problems, many organizations download and store data offline as a backup. Users have the option to scale up the storage, but backup is more economical and safer.

Need Offline Access: To access your emails, files, presentation from any device and any time you require an uninterrupted internet connection. Therefore, some people prefer having an offline copy of their data that they can access without the internet. This approach is mainly seen in cases with frequent internet issues.

Things to Know Before Initiating a Google Workspace Backup?

You can’t just open your laptop or PC and begin the backup process. To ensure a complete G Suite backup, you must consider the following points:

High Internet Bandwidth: In addition to uninterrupted internet connectivity, you also need a fast internet connection. Files on Google can range from a few MBs to GBs. Lower bandwidth will increase the backup time significantly, depending on the data size.

Permission to Save Data: You need data access permissions. You must be an administrator or at least editor level permission to download and save data locally. Without these permissions, your data backup may give errors like ” PERMISSION_DENIED.”

Local Storage Availability: Before you begin downloading the data, check your local hard disk storage space. Your Google Workspace backup will not be done if the storage runs out in the middle of the operation.

Methods for Google Workspace Backup

A secure and quick data backup requires reliable Google Workspace backup solutions. You can use the following G Suite backup manual methods:

Method 1. Google Takeout

Google Takeout enables users to download complete or selective Google Workspace data. You can choose what data you want to save, like emails, Google Keep, contacts, blogs, drive, etc. The step-by-step process is given below:

Step 1:  Go to https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout and log in with your Google account.

Step 2: Select all the relevant data to download.

Step 3: In the next section, select the file type, frequency, and the destination.  After that, click Create export to begin the data export.

Step 4: Data export will take some time, depending on the data size. You will get a download link when the export is ready.

Method 2. Data Export tool

Another tool you can utilize is Google’s Data Export tool. You can access the tool through the Google Workspace admin console. Yon can create a zip file of your complete Workspace data easily with just a few clicks. However, you can only use this method once a month. Also, you must have the Google Cloud Platform to access the exported data. Follow the steps:

Step 1: Navigate to Google Workspace admin panel. Click on Data > Data import & export > Data Export.

Step 2: Click Start Export to create an archive file. When the file is ready, you will receive an email.

This method does not allow you to select any specific Google component’s data. Instead, it will archive the complete Workspace data.

Method 3: Using Google Drive for Desktop

Google Drive for Desktop is a client-side application that provides direct access to data available in the online Drive account. You can use the application in your local system without the need for an internet browser.

Drive for Desktop allows you to download and synchronize your online data in your local system. You can access the downloaded data anytime, even without the internet. To download all your folders and files present in cloud, use the following steps:

Step 1: Download Drive for Desktop from this link. Install it and open the application.

Step 2: Log in with the Google Workspace account. You must have the administrator privilege to save complete data.

Step 3: After setting up the Drive for Desktop application, go to online Drive on web and select the file/folder you want to save. Right-click on the file and select “Make available offline”. You can also select the Download option to save them.

Why Use a 3rd Party Tool?

Tools from Google are authentic and reliable. But they carry certain limitations, like you can only backup data once a month, inability to schedule the backup. Also, downloading data from Drive one by one is a tedious task that may take up a lot of your time.

You can bypass these limitations with the use of an automated tool like Kernel for Google Workspace Backup and Restore. The optimization in the Google Workspace Backup Tool provides a smooth data backup. The embedded algorithms maintain complete data integrity throughout the backup operation.

Conclusion

Google Workspace cloud backup solutions discussed in this blog will help you to download and save your data locally. However, the free manual methods come with restrictions. Therefore, we recommend using a specialized G Suite backup tool like Kernel Google Workspace Backup and Restore. The tool’s user-friendly interface provides easy backup and restore of your complete Google data whenever you want.

Read also : How to import IMAP email to Gmail?