What’s the Difference Between a Cloud Backup and a Cloud Sync?

Many small businesses think they’re protected because their files are “in the cloud.” But there’s a widespread misunderstanding that could cost companies dearly in the event of data loss.

Storing your files in Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive is not the same as having a proper backup.

In 2025, this confusion continues to catch SMEs off guard especially during ransomware attacks, accidental deletions, or employee exits. In this article, we explain the difference between cloud sync and cloud backup, and why getting it right could be the difference between business as usual and business shut down.

First, What Is Cloud Sync?

Services like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and iCloud fall into this category. These platforms are designed to synchronise files across multiple devices and users.

How Cloud Sync Works:

• You upload a file to your synced folder

• That file appears on all connected devices

• If you edit or delete the file, the changes reflect everywhere instantly

Pros:

• Real-time access across devices

• Easy collaboration for teams

• Great for working on shared documents

The Risk:

If a file is deleted or corrupted, that change is synced across all devices — meaning the deletion is effectively permanent unless caught quickly or stored in a temporary trash folder.

Even ransomware encryptions can be synced — locking up your files across your entire team before you can act.

🛑 Sync is not protection.

What Is Cloud Backup?

Cloud backup refers to services that make point-in-time copies of your files or systems and store them separately often with version history and retention policies.

Think of it like a safety net. If something goes wrong: a mistake, hardware failure, breach, or ransomware ... you can roll back to a clean version.

How Cloud Backup Works:

• Files (or entire systems) are backed up on a schedule

• Backups are stored independently of your live folders

• You can recover deleted or encrypted files from hours, days or weeks earlier

Pros:

• Protects against deletion, ransomware, and corruption

• File versioning and rollback options

• Often includes full system or email backups, not just documents

Common SME Backup Tools:

• Acronis Cyber Protect

• Backblaze Business Backup

• Veeam for Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace

• Datto / Redstor (through Managed Service Providers)

Why This Difference Matters

Let’s say one of your team accidentally deletes a key financial spreadsheet from Dropbox.

Because the folder is synced:

• It disappears from their machine

• It disappears from your machine

• It disappears from your shared folder

• It may even disappear from mobile devices, too

Now imagine if ransomware hit your OneDrive folder. All those encrypted versions overwrite your clean files within seconds across every device.

With proper cloud backup, you could simply:

• Log into your backup platform

• Go to a version from the day before

• Restore the clean file or folder instantly

No panic. No downtime. No data loss.

Common SME Mistakes

• Relying solely on OneDrive or Google Drive without separate backup

• Assuming deleted files can be recovered “somehow” later

• Not testing restoration procedures until it’s too late

• Not backing up email, SharePoint, Teams or cloud databases

According to a 2024 Databarracks study, 39% of UK SMEs had no formal backup in place beyond their cloud storage platform  and 1 in 4 had experienced permanent data loss in the last two years.

✅ What Should SMEs Be Backing Up?

Minimum recommendations:

System	Backup Type
Company files	Cloud-to-cloud file backup (not just sync)
Email (O365 or Gmail)	Full mailbox backup with recovery points
SharePoint / Teams	Point-in-time backups with version control
Finance/ERP/CRM tools	Application-level backups or exports
Local machines	Image-level backup if not fully cloud-based

For critical systems, backup frequency should be daily or hourly, and data should be stored in multiple locations (e.g. UK and EU data centres).

🔄 Cloud Sync and Cloud Backup — Use Both

This isn’t an either-or situation. Smart businesses use sync for collaboration and productivity and backup for protection and resilience.

Use cloud sync for...	Use cloud backup for...
Team collaboration	Recovery after loss or attack
Document sharing	Compliance and archiving
Access from multiple devices	Long-term retention and rollback

The key is to treat them as complementary, not interchangeable.

What to Ask Your IT Provider

Not sure what your business is using right now? Ask:

• Are we backing up our cloud files, or just syncing them?

• Can we recover files from 30, 60 or 90 days ago?

• Is our email, SharePoint or Teams data being backed up separately?

• What happens if we get hit with ransomware?

Your IT provider or managed services partner should be able to answer clearly and help you implement the right layers of protection.

Files in the cloud doesn’t mean files are safe.

Without proper backup, businesses are just one mis-click, malware infection, or rogue employee away from serious data loss.

The good news? Cloud backup is affordable, scalable, and can usually be deployed without changing your current setup. And when things go wrong, you’ll be glad it’s there.