When the Cloud Disappears: Why Your Data Needs a Backup Plan
Jul 11, 2025
Three conversations this year (so far). Three different organisations. One devastating problem.
First message: A small charity I’ve worked with for years had their YouTube account was deactivated. No warning, no explanation, no recovery option. Years of content, gone.
Second conversation: An SME client working on their annual brochure/report. They had lost access to their marketing Google Drive as it had been set up by a former employee. Last year’s promotional materials, testimonials, and documentation gone – all inaccessible.
Third: A close call with another client who nearly lost access to their Slack workspace after a user permissions issue scare.
The Problem We’re Not Talking About
We’ve become dangerously dependent on cloud services we don’t control. iCloud, Slack, Google Drive, YouTube—they’re brilliant until they’re not. And when they fail, they fail completely.
The issue isn’t that these services are unreliable (they’re generally excellent). The problem is treating them as your only* storage solution. You’re essentially trusting your business-critical data to someone else’s decisions, algorithms, and terms of service.
The Unglamorous Truth
Managing your documents isn’t exciting. It won’t drive new business, and it certainly isn’t fun or innovative. But it’s important to stop overlooking it.
The convenience of the cloud leads to complacency. We’re relying on platforms outside of our control, forgetting a fundamental truth: the ‘cloud’ is just someone else’s computer. And someone else’s computer can disappear, malfunction, or simply lock you out.
As a designer and developer primarily working with small businesses, I’m often the person clients ask about tech when things go wrong. While this is out-of-spec, I’m always happy to try and help—but too often this becomes a reactive problem to solve, rather than proactively avoiding it becoming an issue.
What I’ve Learned
After these wake-up calls, I’ve upgraded my business storage strategy. My current setup:
- 2x Local Time Machine backups** (different drives, different locations)
- 1x External cloud backup** (separate from my working cloud storage)
- Regular local exports** of anything stored on third-party platforms
This follows the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies of important data, on 2 different media types, with 1 offsite.
Better Approach
Here’s what I recommend for most businesses:
For Small Businesses:
- Use cloud services for convenience and collaboration
- Keep local copies of everything critical
- Set up automated backups to a different cloud provider
- Export data regularly from platforms you don’t control
For Larger Operations:
- Consider a NAS (Network Attached Storage) system
- Implement automated cloud-to-cloud backups
- Maintain version control for important documents
- Regular audit of what’s stored where
The Reality Check
Ask yourself: If Google Drive, iCloud, or Slack disappeared tomorrow, what would you lose? If the answer is ‘everything’ (or even ‘a fair amount’) you need a backup plan.
Cloud services are tools, not vaults. Treat them accordingly. Remember, the ‘cloud’ just means ‘someone elses computer’
Your Data, Your Responsibility
The convenience of cloud storage has made us complacent. We upload, we share, we forget. But your data is your responsibility, regardless of where it’s stored.
Don’t wait for the conversation. Back up your data today.
Oh, and it’s not just businesses either. Many people keep buying more cloud stoage for a few pennies a month when their phone gets full. Remember to back up your treasured photos and videos too—they’re often the most irreplaceable data you have.