{"id":110910,"date":"2024-02-23T09:15:18","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T17:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/?p=110910"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:26:40","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T20:26:40","slug":"whats-wrong-with-google-drive-dropbox-and-onedrive-more-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/whats-wrong-with-google-drive-dropbox-and-onedrive-more-than-you-think\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Wrong With Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive? More Than You Think"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Cloud drives like Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, and OneDrive have become the go-to data management solution for countless individuals and organizations. Their appeal lies in the initial free storage offering, user-friendly interface, robust file-sharing, and collaboration tools, making it easier to access files from anywhere with an internet connection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, recent developments in the cloud drives space have posed significant challenges for businesses and organizations. Both Google<\/a> and Microsoft<\/a>, leading providers in this space, have announced the discontinuation of some unlimited storage plans, such as those for educational institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, it\u2019s essential to note that cloud drives, which are primarily sync services, do not offer comprehensive data protection. Today, we\u2019re exploring how organizations can recognize the limitations of cloud drives and strategize accordingly to safeguard their data without breaking the bank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Attention Higher Ed<\/h4>\n

Higher education institutions<\/a> have embraced platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, and OneDrive to store vast amounts of data\u2014sometimes reaching into the petabytes. With unlimited plans out the window, they now face the dilemma of either finding alternative storage solutions or deleting data to avoid steep fees. In fact, the education sector reported the highest rates of ransomware attacks<\/a> with 80% of secondary education providers and 79% of higher education providers hit by ransomware in 2023. If you manage IT for a higher ed institution, read on for more on how you can protect your data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sync vs. Backup: Why Cloud Drives Fall Short on Full Data Security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cloud Sync<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cloud drives offer users an easy way to store and protect files online, and it might seem like these services back up your data<\/a>. But, they don\u2019t. These services sync (short for \u201csynchronize\u201d) files or folders on your computer to your other devices running the same application, ensuring that the same and most up-to-date information is merged across each device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The “live update” feature of cloud drives is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it ensures you’re always working on the latest version of a document. On the other, if you need to go back to a specific version of a file from two weeks ago, you might be out of luck depending on your service plan, how far back you need to recover the file from, your organization’s retention settings, and other factors often written in fine print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another important item to note is that if cloud drives are shared with others, often they can make changes to the content which can result in the data changing or being deleted and without notifying other users. With the complexity of larger organizations, this presents a potential vulnerability, even with well-meaning users and proactive management of drive permissions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cloud Backup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unlike cloud sync tools, backup solutions are all about historical data preservation. They utilize block-level backup technology<\/a>, which offers granular protection of your data. After an initial full backup,<\/a> these systems only save the incremental changes that occur in the dataset. This means if you need to recover a file (or an entire system<\/a>) as it existed at a specific point in time, you can do so with precision. This approach is not only more efficient in terms of storage space but also crucial for data recovery scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For organizations where data grows exponentially but is also critically important and sensitive, the difference between sync and backup is a crucial divide between being vulnerable and being secure. While cloud drives offer ease of access and collaboration, they fall short in providing the comprehensive data protection<\/a> that comes from true backup solutions, highlighting the need to identify the gap and choose a solution that better fits your data storage and security goals. A full-scale backup solution will typically include backup software like Veeam, Commvault, and Rubrik, and a storage destination for that data. The backup software allows you to configure the frequency and types of backups, and the backup data is then stored on-premises and\/or off-premises. Ideally, at least one copy is stored in the cloud, like Backblaze B2<\/a>, to provide true off-site, geographically distanced protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learn More About Security Gaps in Cloud Drives\u2014and Solutions Designed to Help<\/h4>\n

This short demo explains the security gaps in cloud drives and how you can migrate to Backblaze B2. If you desire the same sync and share functionality and ease of use of a cloud drive, Backblaze B2 can be paired with an integration like ownCloud. This demo shows you exactly how.<\/p>\n\n