With the emergence of Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, education has evolved to include online learning, leading to a rising demand for efficient data management. SaaS services are often used for storing educational data from various platforms and institutes to meet changing IT requirements.
Microsoft 365 services now provide students and faculty members with the tools they need to collaborate seamlessly as well as safeguard and access their data quickly. Yet, their SaaS data may be not as safe as they think. Schools may have to deal with hackers that impersonate cloud service providers that want to access login credentials illegally, which could lead to compromised accounts, ransomware attacks, or even data loss.
In addition to external threats, humans may be prone to making simple mistakes that could lead to data loss. To ensure that SaaS data is stored safely, it needs to be backed up with a reliable Backup as a Service (BaaS) solution.
Should I be concerned about storing data in the cloud?
Since many educational institutes are now moving towards implementing SaaS services, there has been a growing volume of educational content online. With student data and lesson plans all being stored in the cloud, this comes with its own set of challenges.
SaaS services abide by the Shared Responsibility Model which states that SaaS service providers are only responsible for operating and managing the infrastructure used to run the SaaS service. This means that users are responsible for safeguarding their data by using a reliable backup service to back up their data.
Due to poor data management practices, many schools and universities may implement backup policies that could put their data at risk.
What are the benefits of using a BaaS solution to back up data?
BaaS solutions come with many benefits, most notably cloud scalability. With a Backup as a Service solution, educational institutes can scale their resources on demand and securely store their data off-site in the cloud, without worrying about increasing costs as their data needs change.
Schools and universities can adjust their IT resources without needing to deploy new devices or additional personnel when looking to grow their storage, making it an ideal solution for educational institutes on a budget.
BaaS solutions come with a low upfront cost and require zero hardware maintenance, unlike in-house IT infrastructure which comes with additional expenses for maintenance.
As data is backed up directly from one cloud to another, educational institutes won’t need to use internal network resources to back up data anymore, reducing network latency and bottlenecks.
At the same time, BaaS solutions use advanced encrypted methods to ensure that data is encrypted during transit and at rest. To reduce the risk of ransomware, only permitted users will be able to access data with the help of private keys.
Meet C2 Backup: The ideal solution for backing up SaaS data
For educational institutes looking to secure their data in the cloud, look to C2 Backup as it allows institutes to successfully scale their data, even when faced with an ever-growing amount of data and a limited number of personnel and resources.
As an example, the East Aurora School District in Illinois, U.S.A, was able to back up thousands of Microsoft 365 accounts with C2 Backup for Business. Click here to find out more.
Educational institutes could also qualify for Synology’s C2 Education Program, in which we offer custom services to assist schools and universities in protecting their data. C2 Backup comes with secure file sharing capabilities and offers users a pay-as-you go pricing model with a low TCO. This allows schools to focus their resources on what matters the most, educating their students.
C2 Backup is a cloud-to-cloud backup service that provides users with a dependable service that reduces the chance of data loss, ransomware attacks, and even data loss due to human error.
It allows users to directly back up data from SaaS platforms such as Microsoft 365 to cloud services such as C2 Backup, therefore reducing the workload of IT admins who would otherwise need to first back up then upload data onto a central platform manually. Click here to learn more.
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