If, like many Colorado businesses, you use Google for a variety of services, you probably have a large amount of data stored on Google servers. While Google servers can be convenient, having a local copy of your company’s most essential information can prove to be life-saving should there be a complication with your account. Fortunately, Colorado businesses can create offline copies, or archives of their data to work around this problem.
How to Archive Your Google Data
When you sign up for a Google account, you gain access to a multitude of services, including GMail and Google Docs. As you use these services to create documents, emails, spreadsheets, and other items, you will accumulate a considerable amount of data. This information may be critical to your work or personal life, making it challenging if you cannot access it offline. You can export and download data from multiple Google platforms, including email, documents, calendar, and photos. No matter what type of data you are looking to archive, creating an offline copy of your Google data is a fairly straightforward process that can be accomplished in a few simple steps.
Step 1: Select your data
Google allows users to store a variety of data. From spreadsheets, to emails, to PDFs and audio recordings, the platform enables the storage of a wide array of information. This makes Google data archiving an extremely useful asset for a Colorado business, especially if your business is part of an industry that places high value and security on customer information, such as healthcare or financial services. To select which data you’d like to include in your archive, start by visiting Google’s download your data page. This page will include a list of all data connected to your business’ account, separated by sections.
Step 2: Customize your archive format
While selecting which of your Google data to archive, you will probably notice that there are multiple formats for archiving your data. Certain types of data, for example contacts, can only be archived in one format. On the other hand, data like Drive files can be archived in multiple formats. For those types of data that can be archived in multiple formats, be sure to click on “multiple formats” to explore the different options Google offers. Underneath each formatting option, Google also describes potential use cases for archiving, which can help you decide which format to utilize. While Google’s recommendations may be useful in most cases, you may want more specific recommendations or information on archiving niche data types. In these cases, it is best to consult a Colorado IT consultant, who can guide you through customizing your archive format. Our team here at Integris has extensive experience helping clients archive and manage a variety of Google data for their Colorado businesses. To get started on archiving your most important Google data, contact our team today.
Step 3: Select your delivery method
Once you have decided which data to include in your Google data export, you must next consider the multiple delivery methods available to Colorado businesses. If you need your data as soon as possible, you may want to opt towards adding your data directly to your Drive or Dropbox account. While direct access can be useful, companies who are looking for more security or third-party access may want to opt to receive a download link to their data or add their data to a remote account on Box, a third party data storage service. If you choose this option, Google will email you a link to set up a Box account through which you can access your data.
Step 4: Choose export and file type
Colorado businesses have the ability to choose how often they would like to receive Google data archives. For those looking to archiving data as a one-off case, it may be wise to schedule a single Google data archive. This archive will be sent to you immediately, or two days in the future if your business has enrolled in the Advanced Protection Program. Depending on the amount of data being archived, the process may take anywhere from a few minutes to multiple days. If you’re looking to archive more than 100 GB of data, it is a general best practice to set up multiple data exports to expedite the process. Finally, before you can receive your data export, you will need to select your file type: Zip or Tgz. Generally, Zip files are more compatible with Windows and Mac computers, while Tgz files require more advanced computing to open.
If your business has multiple large swaths of data to archive, you may need to select multiple exports and file types to accommodate your information. If you’re unsure which export formats best fit your data, a Colorado IT consultant can help you determine the right course of action. To get started, schedule a 10-minute consultation with our team today. Our IT experts will be able to walk you through the different export options available so you can be sure you receive your data how and when you want it.
Step 5: Handle the data you’ve deleted
When your archive is finished, you will be emailed a link or file containing your data. D Depending on the amount of information in your account, this process could take from a few minutes to a few days. As you archive your Google data, you may wish to delete a large amount of it to save yourself time and storage. When you delete data, Google follows a specific process to safely and completely wipe it from your account. Deleted information is immediately removed from your account and will not be used by Google to customize your Google account or inform any advertisements. If you think you may have mistakenly deleted data, you can submit a data access request to Google who will be able to confirm the deletion of your information.
Archiving your Google data isn’t the only option for Colorado businesses who are looking to store data in an efficient and secure manner. Migrating your data to the Cloud can save valuable time and storage space, without compromising on the security you need. If looking to store your recently downloaded files on the Cloud, our consultants here at Integris can help you navigate a Cloud migration for your business. Cloud migration services give you the comfort of knowing that your data and systems are secured, accessible by only those who you permit.
Start your next Google data archive with Integris
Accurately cataloging and archiving Google data is a valuable, cost-effective, and secure means of storing customer and company information. Unfortunately, for Colorado businesses with troves of data, archiving Google data can be a complicated and time consuming process if completed independently. By outsourcing a Google data archive to an IT consultant, Colorado businesses can expedite their archive and drive productivity. Integris is your dedicated Colorado data consultant with experience archiving Google data for clients in a variety of industries. Our team can complete your migration in an efficient manner, while walking you through exactly how your information is being stored. To start your Google data archive today, schedule a free, 10-minute consultation with our Boulder or Denver-based team today.
