Frequently Asked Questions

What is IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup?

IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup is a SaaS backup and recovery service that offers a comprehensive backup, export, and restore solution for your Google Workspace data. IDrive Google Workspace Backup adds an additional layer of security against accidental data deletions, cyber-attacks, and ransomware encryptions.

Why do you need to backup your Google Workspace?

According to Google Workspace’s Shared Responsibility Model, Google is responsible only for the bulk of security and service uptime on the platform. The onus of securing the data on the platform against loss falls solely on the user.

Additionally, in-built tools like Google Vault and Google Admin provide only data archival, and partial recovery flexibilities. With no options for backups, versioning, or point-in-time data recoveries, your Workspace data is rendered vulnerable to loss due to human error, malware, or hardware failure. Hence, it is essential to protect your Google Workspace data with a reliable third-party backup and recovery solution.

Which Google Workspace applications are supported by IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup and Restore ?

IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup supports backup of Gmail, Google Drive, Google Shared Drives, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar.

Below are brief details of the data that can be backed up and restored using the application.

Gmail

• Search data by username or email address
• Backup and recover specific data, labels, or individual messages
• Backup and restore an entire label or entire mailbox

Google Drive

• Backup, search, export, and recover data from My Drive
• Backup items included in Shared Drives

Note:

• IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup currently supports Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Google Drawings.
• Currently, it does not support the backup of shared drives that are inaccessible to the Super Administrator of the Google Workspace account.

Google Contacts

Users can backup, export and restore all contacts or individual contact cards.

Note:

• External contact profiles (Directory profile, Google profile) and contact photos are not included in the backup.
• The Other contacts folder and the Directory folder are excluded from the backup.

Google Calendar

Users can backup, export, and restore entire Calendars or individual Calendar events.

Note:

• Birthdays, reminders, appointment slots, event conferencing fields, and folders attached to events are excluded from backup.
• The automatically-accepted invitations and all-day event notifications are excluded from backup.

Are my Shared Drives backed up by IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup?

Yes, IDrive Google Workspace Backup automatically detects and backups all the Google Shared Drives accessible to the Super Administrator of your Google Workspace account.

Shared Drives that are not accessible to the Super Administrator of the Google Workspace account are currently not supported for backup.

How does IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup work?

To be able to use IDrive Google Workspace Backup, the Super Administrator of the Google Workspace account needs to authorize IDrive to sync the Google account data for automated backup.

First, you need to create a new Google Cloud project in your Google Workspace account to add your Google Workspace to the IDrive service. Once done you will have to copy and paste the private key from the JSON file obtained while configuring your Google Workspace account for backup. Refer this guide to know how to obtain the private key as a JSON file.

How do I get started with IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup?

To get started,

1. Sign in to your IDrive account.
2. Enter the encryption key set by you during your first login.
3. Click Google Workspace on the LHS menu in the dashboard.
   
4. Click Enable.
   
5. Enter the email of the Super Administrator of the Google Workspace account that you want to backup.
   
6. Enter the private key of the Google Workspace account or import the key as a JSON file. Refer this guide to know how to obtain the private key as a JSON file.
   
7. Click Create.

Once authorized, you will be redirected to the dashboard of your IDrive Google Workspace Backup account.

Your Google Workspace will be automatically synced with IDrive Google Workspace Backup application for backup, and the user data will be displayed on the screen. You can now manage backups, exports and restores for all the users and shared drives in your Google Workspace account from the web console.

How to add and manage new domains in IDrive^® Google Workspace for backup?

To add a new domain, you must have enabled IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup.

1. Click Enter for Google Workspace Backup.
2. In the Choose Domain pop-up, hover on the list and select a domain.

For domains that have been enabled but not configured:

1. Click Configure. You will be redirected to the Configure page.
   
2. Enter the email of the Super Administrator of the Google Workspace account that you want to backup.
3. Enter the private key of the Google Workspace account or import the key as a JSON file. Refer this guide to know how to obtain the private key as a JSON file.
4. Click Create. You will be redirected to the Google Workspace Backup dashboard.




For domains that have been enabled and configured:

1. Click Enter in the Choose Domain pop-up. You will be redirected to the Google Workspace Backup dashboard.
   
3. In the Overview tab, go to Administrative Center > Manage Domains from the RHS.
   
4. Go to Manage > Domains from the LHS.
5. Click Add Domain.
6. Select Google Workspace Backup and follow the above steps to enable and configure.
   
7. Alternatively, you can hover on the required domain in the Domains tab and click Enter or Configure.

Note:

• You cannot enter more domains before configuring the previously enabled domain.
• Each domain is charged as a seat.

Can I access my backed-up Google Workspace data from anywhere?

Yes, you can access your backed-up data across Drive, Gmail, Shared Drives, Calendar, and Contacts from anywhere via the web console. Similarly, manage backups and restore the backed-up data from any location via the web.

The web console has the following sections:

• Overview: Get an overview of the user accounts, and backup, exports, and restore summary of all Google Workspace users across Drive, Gmail, Shared Drives, Contacts, and Calendar.

• Seat Management: Add, view, and manage user accounts as well as shared drives across the entire Google Workspace. You can backup individual app data across specific users and view backup summaries with ease.

• Recovery: View, manage and restore point-in-time backups of all users across Drive, Gmail, Shared Drives, Contacts, and Calendar. Search, download, restore and monitor specific data from specific users and shared drives.

• Activity Logs: View activity logs of the scheduled system events and user actions like backup, restore, search, and web operations.

How does IDrive^® Google Workspace backup secure my data?

IDrive^® Google Workspace prioritizes data security in the following ways:

Automated data backup
Your data is automatically backed up three times a day, providing regular and reliable protection for critical business data.

Multi-layered data security

• IDrive^® Google Workspace backup stores your data across top-notch data centers and secures with industry-standard 256-bit AES encryption on both transfer and storage.
• Each authenticated data transmission and user interaction from Google Workspace are processed through TLS 1.2 encrypted connections.
• IDrive uses 0Auth-based authentication to verify your Google Workspace user accounts without requiring their passwords.

Business compliance

IDrive implements data control measures across operations, software, and infrastructure to assist companies in adhering to various regulatory standards such as HIPAA, SOX, GLBA, SEC/FINRA, and PCI DSS.

How does IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup meet the HIPAA compliance requirements?

IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup uses IDrive^® e2 technology. IDrive^® e2 ensures the following and assists users to meet HIPAA compliance:

• Physical security of the data centers
• Strong authentication and authorization controls for cloud, storage, and networking infrastructure
• Encrypts data at rest and in transit to safeguard confidential patient information

How does IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup run backups?

Once configured with Google Workspace, IDrive Google Workspace Backup runs a full automated backup of your Gmail, Google Drive, Google Shared Drives, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar for all users.

IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup enables automated data synchronization, so that after the full initial backup, all the subsequent changes are incrementally backed up.

How are the IDrive^® Google Workspace Backups scheduled?

IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup runs three automated backups everyday for all the users of your organization. These system backups run on a predefined schedule for the entire organization.

In the event of a failed backup, the backup is run again immediately till successful.

How do I run a backup for a specific user from my IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup account?

To perform backup for any specific user,

1. Go to the Recovery tab on your IDrive^® Google Workspace backup dashboard.
2. Select the required application from which you want to backup data for the user:
   • Drive - To backup the user’s drive data.
   • Gmail - To backup the user’s mail, contacts, and calendar data.
   • Shared Drives - To backup the user’s shared drive data.
   • Calendar - To backup the user’s calendar schedules and events.
   • Contacts - To backup the user’s contact cards.
3. Click the user account or shared drive for which you want to backup data.
4. Select the files or folder that you want to backup by clicking the checkbox against the files/folders.
5. Click Backup now.
   

The backup progress will be displayed in real time. The backup details can be viewed under Backups.

Note: Running a manual backup does not affect the auto-scheduled backups.

How does snapshot and versioning work in IDrive^® Google Workspace backup?

IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup retains previous versions of the backed-up data as point-in-time snapshots, enabling you to run point-in-time restores of your data to the exact state it was in at the time of your backup.

The snapshots are retained and consolidated in the following manner:

• IDrive runs automated backups daily 3 times, that are retained for 30 days
• After 30 days, IDrive saves one of the 3 daily backups per user
• After 90 days, IDrive saves one weekly backup per user
• After 365 days, IDrive saves one monthly backup per user

What information can I view from the Overview tab on my dashboard?

The Overview tab gives you a quick glance of your users along with their restores, exports, and backups.

You can view the summary of the following information across Drive, Gmail, Shared Drives, Calendar and Contacts:

• Total users: The total number of active users across the Workspace.
• Backed up users: The number of active Workspace users added to the backup list and who have completed backup within the last 24 hours.
• Users never backed up: Number of active Workspace users not included in the backup list.
• Last backup activity: This displays the last date when every module in the application successfully completed a backup within a 24-hour period.
• Backup history: Shows the status of the last 10 days, represented by the following icons:
  • - Backup failure
  • - Backups were 100% successful
  • - Backup has not yet commenced
• Backup in progress: Total number of ongoing backup operations.
• Exports in progress: Total number of ongoing export operations.
• Restore in progress: Total number of ongoing restore operations.
  

Additionally, you can view a summary of the total data backed up, number of users, and account registration details.

If you have shared drives added to your account, you can view similar information related to them.

What user management tools can I access under seat management?

You can access records of all the users under the Seat Management tab in your IDrive Google Workspace Backup web console, regardless of their backup status.

Navigate to the Users or Shared Drives tab under Seat Management to access the following management tools:

• Auto-add: Discovers and automatically syncs all the new users/shared drives added to your Google Workspace account
• Activate all users/Activate all: Activate backup for all unprotected users and shared drives.
• Filter users/shared drives: Filter records of users or shared drives according to their backup status — active, paused, unprotected.
• Search users/shared drives: Look up specific users and shared drives among the records.
• Download CSV: Download a list of all the selected users and shared drives in CSV format.
• Restore/ Export backed up data: Restore/export backed-up data for users by clicking Click to restore/export backup-data for shared drives.
• Backup status: Hover over View details to view the summary of backup status, or click the button to view a detailed backup status summary
• Backup actions: Pause, add or remove users and shared drives from backup set. For details, refer How do I change seat status for users and shared drives?
  

How do I change seat status for users and shared drives?

You can add and remove the users and shared drives from the backup set, or pause backups by changing their seat status.

To change the seat status for users/shared drives,

1. Go to the Seat Management tab on your IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup dashboard.
2. Go to the Users or Shared Drives tab.
3. Under the Backup actions column corresponding to the user or shared drive, set the seat status as required:
   
• Pause: Pause the backup for the user or shared drive
• Unprotect: Remove the user or shared drive from the IDrive^® Workspace backup set
• Protect: Resume/start backup for unprotected/paused users or shared drives

The status of a user or shared drive added to the backup set will be displayed as Active.

Note: On changing the seat status to Unprotect for a user or shared drive, all backups associated with the user or the drive will be deleted.

How do I add users and shared drives to the IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup set?

Users and shared drives in your Google Workspace are automatically detected and added to the backup set once you configure your Google account with IDrive. Auto-add will be enabled by default to discover new users and shared drives in your Google Workspace. However, if you disable Auto-add, then you will have to enable it again to discover and add the new users and shared drives in your Google Workspace account.

To enable auto-add,

1. Go to the Seat Management tab on your IDrive^® Google Workspace backup dashboard.
2. Navigate to the Users or Shared Drives tab.
3. Enable the toggle switch next to Auto-add.
   

Note: Shared drives that are not accessible to the Super Administrator of the Google Workspace account will not be added to the backup set.

How do I re-add users and shared drives to the IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup set?

You can re-add paused and unprotected users or shared drives to the active backup set by changing their seat status to Protect.

To activate backup for users or shared drives not included in the backup set,

1. Go to the Seat Management tab on your IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup dashboard.
2. Navigate to the Users or Shared Drives tab.
3. Under the Backup actions column next to the paused/archived/unprotected user or shared drive, select Protect from the dropdown menu.
   
4. To activate all unprotected users click Activate all users on the top right. Alternatively, click Activate all for all unprotected shared drives.
   

How do I view the backup status of the users/shared drives?

The Backup status next to each user or shared drive provides an overview of their backup results for each module within the past 24 hours. Click View details to view the following backup status parameters for each module:

• Backup status: Success/failure status of the backup in the past 24 hours, denoted by Completed / Failed
• Storage used: Total space occupied by the backup
• Last backup: Timestamp of the last backup
  

To view the summarized backup status for each module, hover over View details.

How do I restore the backed-up Google Workspace data from my IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup account?

To restore the backed-up Google Workspace data,

1. Go to the Recovery tab on your IDrive^® Google Workspace backup dashboard.
2. Select the required application from which you want to restore data.
3. Click the user account or shared drive from which you want to restore data.
4. Select the appropriate recovery point under Snapshots if you want to perform a point-in-time restore. To restore a specific file or folder, select the item from the list of backed-up items. You can also search for a specific file or folder.
5. Click Restore. A popup window will appear.
6. Select Snapshot or Selected Items as required.
   
7. Select the user account from the Restore to drop-down menu to which you want to restore the snapshot or the selected item. You can restore the data to the same user account, or a different user account.
8. Click Restore.

The restore progress will be displayed on the screen in real time.

Are file permissions restored during a restore operation?

Yes, IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup retains the source file permissions, which are restored to the files during a restore operation.

Can I search for a specific item from my IDrive Google Workspace Backup account during restore?

Yes, IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup enables you to search and recover specific files, entire folders, images, videos, emails, and even contacts and calendars at a granular level.

How do I search and restore a specific file or folder in IDrive Google Workspace Backup?

You can perform both point-in-time and file-level searches across multiple search parameters to perform a granular restore for a specific item.

To perform a point-in-time search for restoring a specific version of the backed-up data from a user account or a shared drive,

1. Go to the Recovery tab on your IDrive^® Google Workspace backup dashboard.
2. Select the required application from which you want to restore data.
3. Click the user account or shared drive for which you want to perform the search.
4. To search for all the snapshots for a specific data, select the date on the calendar. A list of all the recent snapshots will be displayed on screen. Select the required snapshot. Click Latest Snapshot to find the latest snapshot.
   

A file-level search enables you to locate specific backed-up files and folders from a user account or a shared drive.

To perform file-level restore,

1. Go to the Recovery tab on your IDrive^® Google Workspace backup dashboard.
2. Select the required application for which you want to restore data.
3. Go to the Search tab.
4. Enter a valid search term, set the required date and time for snapshots, select single or multiple users/shared drives from the dropdown menu.

   Note: The snapshot closest to the selected timestamp will be displayed.

5. Click Search.
   

To restore the file(s)/folder(s), refer to this FAQ.

How do I export the backed-up Google Workspace data from my IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup account?

To export the backed-up data,

1. Go to the Recovery tab on your IDrive^® Google Workspace backup dashboard.
2. Select the required application for which you want to restore data.
3. Select the appropriate snapshot under Snapshots if you want to perform a point-in-time export. To export a specific file or folder, select the item from the list of backed-up items. You can also search for a specific file or folder.
4. Click Export. A popup window will appear.
5. Select Snapshot or Selected Items as required.
   
6. Click Export.

You can download the generated export files in the Exports tab by clicking next to successful exports. Alternatively, click to delete the export.

Note: Exports will be downloaded as zip files.

Is it possible to restore corrupted files and folders from my IDrive Google Workspace backups?

Yes, you can restore deleted or corrupted files and folders directly to the user account or shared drive. You can also download them on your device while retaining their exact folder structure.

Where can I view the activity logs for my IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup account?

You can generate the activity log reports of scheduled System Events and initiate Admin Actions like backup, restore, search, and web operations across IDrive^® Google Workspace backup from the Activity Logs tab.

How can I view the system activity log reports for my IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup?

To view activity log reports for system-generated automatic backups,

1. Go to the Activity Logs tab on your IDrive^® Google Workspace backup dashboard.
2. Click System Events.
3. Select Date range. To set a custom start and end date, select Custom range.
4. Next, specify the following parameters:
   • Event Type: By default, it will be set as Scheduled.
   • Module: Choose the backed-up service (All, Gmail, Google Drive, Shared Drives, Contacts, Calendar).
   • User: Generate log for specific user(s)/shared drive(s), or all users/shared drives.
5. Click View Event Logs.
   

A list of all the scheduled backup activities including timestamp, user name, backed-up module, and backup status will be displayed on the screen.

To generate a detailed summary report of the activities, click Generate Summary.

You can also download the activity log reports on your system in CSV format by clicking Download CSV.

How can I view the admin activity log reports for my IDrive^® Google Workspace Backup?

To view activity log reports for admin-initiated actions,

1. Go to the Activity Logs tab on your IDrive^® Google Workspace backup dashboard.
2. Click Admin Actions.
3. Select Date range. To set a custom start and end date, select Custom range.
4. Next, specify the following parameters:
   • Event Type: Select the type of operation (All, backup, export, restore, and search)
   • Status: Generate log for all events, successes, or failures.
   • Module: Choose the backed-up service (All, Gmail, Google Drive, Shared Drives, Contacts, Calendar).
   • User: Generate log for specific user(s)/shared drive(s), or all users/shared drives.
5. Click View Event Logs.
   

A list of all the user operations including details such as the event type, timestamp, user name, module, and status will be displayed on the screen.

To generate a detailed summary report of the activities, click Generate Summary. You can also download the activity log reports on your system in CSV format by clicking Download CSV.