A Guide to Google Cloud Backups

Human error, malware, cyberattacks, hard drive failures, and other incidents can lead to the loss of critical digital information. That’s why having a fast and reliable backup system in place is essential for protecting company data stored on the cloud.

Google Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery (DR) allows businesses to restore data instantly and maintain operations. The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) offers centralized backup management from the Google Cloud console, so admins can efficiently manage backups spanning multiple workloads.

What Is the Shared Responsibility Model?

The Google Cloud Platform operates under the Shared Responsibility Model. This framework outlines the security and compliance responsibilities of cloud service providers (CSPs) and their customers. Simply put, GCP monitors security threats to the cloud and cloud infrastructure, while end users are responsible for protecting their data.

If you store data or applications on the cloud, your business should have a backup. With Google Cloud Backup and DR, data protection and backup creation and management are easy. 

GCP Backup Tools Once Had Their Fair Share of Limitations

Before Cloud Backup and DR, the Google Cloud Platform did not offer a comprehensive way to back up customer data. Some tools provide limited backup functionality, such as Snapshots, which periodically captures the state of your persistent disks. However, these tools usually require manual backing and are not always easily accessible. GCP Backup tools also did not have centralized backup management or robust data protection capabilities.

The 2022 rollout of Google Cloud Backup and DR has made protecting your data and applications simple. Organizations can take advantage of automated backups and manage a broad spectrum of workloads from a central, easy-to-use dashboard.

Using Google Cloud Backup and DR

Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery is an effective tool for application and data protection. Google Cloud customers can take advantage of intuitive, centralized backup management and a holistic view of their backups across multiple workloads.

This makes cloud data management more convenient and complete. You can generate application- and crash-consistent backups for VMs on Google Cloud VMware Engine, Compute Engine, or on-premises VMware, network file systems, and databases (such as SQL Server).

Customers can even leverage cost-effective cloud storage with Cloud Backup and DR. Your backup data is stored in its original, application-readable format. This allows you to access backup data directly without translation or movement, accelerating data recovery. Not only do you save time and money, but you can also return to your daily operations immediately.

Your company can also benefit from reduced storage consumption costs. Google designed its cloud backup service to implement “incremental forever” storage technology, which lowers the total cost of ownership and allows you to only pay for what you need.

After your initial backup, subsequent backups exclusively store data that has changed since the prior backup. That means new data gets backed up faster. Additionally, the amount of Cloud storage consumed and the network bandwidth required to transfer the associated data are lower.

Steps to Enable Google Cloud Backup and DR

You can activate Google Cloud Backup and DR from the Google Cloud console. Here is a step-by-step guide to show you how.

1. From the menu, navigate to Operations and click Backup and DR.
2. Click Enable. A setup wizard for Backup and DR will appear to navigate you through the process.
3. Under the Activate the management console section, choose the location for the management console (the Google Cloud region). 
4. Select a VPC network. If you do not already have a Private Service Connection ready, a wizard will open to help you set one up. Hit continue.
5. Under the Deploy your first backup/recovery appliance section, choose the Target Project where you will deploy a backup/recovery appliance.
6. Select the Region and Zone where you would like to locate the backup/recovery appliances.
7. Choose the Subnetwork.
8. Select a Storage Type for backups.
9. Click Begin Installation, which will redirect you to a status page. Deployment typically takes about one hour.
10.  After installation is complete, click Log in to the management console. This will open the console in a new window.

How Promevo Can Help

As a Google Cloud customer, you’ll have access to a variety of services built to help transform and innovate the way you do business. Whether it’s scaling resources and storage with ease, enhancing collaboration, or improving data protection and security, the Cloud has solutions for companies of all sizes.

Unfortunately, there can be a bit of a learning curve for those unfamiliar with the Google Cloud Platform. Let Promevo be your guide to the Cloud. We offer custom end-to-end solutions tailored to your organization’s goals and needs, as well as a suite of packaged Cloud solutions to accelerate project timelines and streamline your Cloud migration.

We can help your team navigate the Cloud through advisory workshops and expert guidance. Our Google Certified Cloud Architects and Engineers are available to provide exceptional support.

Why Promevo?

Leverage the full potential of Google Cloud with Promevo. As a Google partner, we take a holistic approach to your Google life. We provide our customers with free expert support from Google certified specialists to help you seamlessly implement and manage Google Cloud Backup and DR.

Promevo is 100% Google-focused, from Google Workspace management solutions to Chrome device solutions. We provide comprehensive Google services to better serve your business, no matter how big or small, and set you up for success. Contact us to begin your Cloud migration and management journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Google have a cloud backup?

Google has a Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery service that offers centralized backup management. With this solution, admins can manage backups across multiple workloads.

How does Google Cloud Backup work?

Google Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery stores data in its original format. When you need to access backup data from different workloads, it will be available straight from long-term backup storage without tedious data movement or translation.

How do I access my Google Cloud backup?

You can access data from your Google Cloud Storage Buckets from any device at any time. To do so, you must create a Google Cloud Storage account. Simply sign into your account through the website or mobile app to access your files. Make sure you have the proper permissions in place, or you may be denied access.