Why can’t I find some emails/files/records in the backup archives?

Once set up, SysCloud is designed to automatically run backups once every 24 hours assuming the users or entities are configured to be backed up; available to be backed up; there are no retention settings or any other exclusions to run the backup job; the SaaS API returns the data requested by SysCloud to complete the backup successfully.

It is possible that some of the metadata and/or data that’s available in the SaaS application being backed up (example: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or Salesforce) may not be found in the backup archives due to the following reasons.

 

1. Not an instantaneous/real-time backup

SysCloud runs daily point in time incremental backups that capture changes to the data or newly available data at a specific point in time.

- When a file is available for backup all the changes/versions may not be backed up by SysCloud. For example, if a file is edited multiple times at 8 AM, 9 AM, and 10 AM, and SysCloud’s automated backup job starts at 11 AM, only the latest file version (edited at 10 AM) will be backed up.

- If a file was created and deleted by a user being backed up between 8 AM and 9 AM, and SysCloud’s automated backup job starts at 11 AM, the deleted file will not be backed up by SysCloud because it is no longer available to be backed up.

 

2. SaaS application API limitations

SysCloud accesses the data being backed up via the API provided and managed by the SaaS application vendor. SaaS APIs often have usage limits in the form of daily quotas and may limit access to the metadata and/or data for any reason.

Here are some examples of such limitations:

  1. Google imposes daily API usage quota for every Google account
  2. Google Drive API does not provide access to backup files created by third-party plugins
  3. Google may return an undefined error message for a file or email when SysCloud requests access to the file or email

SysCloud is designed to automatically attempt multiple retry attempts to overcome API limitations when attempting to access a file for backup. Some of these limitations are recorded and shown as in-app messages/updates in the backup archives.

 

3. Other SaaS Limitations

Every SaaS app being backed up by SysCloud has a unique set of limitations that may not allow SysCloud to back up every file, email, or record. For example, we cannot backup Google Drive files belonging to suspended users as Google APIs do not allow it. Some of these instances are recorded and shown in the backup archives.

 

For any further queries, please raise a support ticket.