Data backup has always been in practice in the digital world, but its importance has seen immense growth owing to rapid digitalization and technological advancements. There are commonly two approaches to backing up data, i.e., local backup and online backup. The local backup includes backing up data in an external hard drive, network attached storage (NAS), blu ray discs, etc. While online backup includes backing up data in the cloud using different cloud services, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. Local backups seem to be an easy approach, but it involves the risk of data loss due to hardware failure or other malfunctions. Cloud storage such as Google Drive, gives promising data backup without any vulnerability to data loss. Besides that, there are many other key features of Google Drive that makes it one of the ideal choices to carry out data backups.
Key Features of Google Drive
Google Drive is well-reputed for its user-friendly interface and convenience it brings when it comes to data backup. Following are some of the key features that make Google Drive outshine itself:
- Backup any File: Google Drive presents itself as an ideal backup solution, as you can backup any type of file in any format. So, Google Drive diversified file support for pictures, videos, audios, documents, and other data makes the backup process quite convenient.
- Free 15GB Storage Space: Once you create a Google account, you will get 15GB of free storage space. This space can be used in Google Drive, Google Photos, and Gmail. Storage can be extended with other cost-effective storage options that Google Drive offers.
- Easiest Approach to Share: Once files are uploaded in Google Drive, you can share those files with your teammates, friends, and family. You can also set up different permissions, like view only, edit only, etc. You can also restrict only specific people to view the shared data.
- Data Security: Google Drive is SSL encrypted and guarantees that your data is totally secure. This ensures that maybe your hardware or operating systems can malfunction or cause data loss, but all the data that is stored in Google Drive is always secure and ready to be accessed anytime.
- Online Documents Editing: The Word files, Excel sheets, PowerPoint slides, and other documents once uploaded in Google Drive can be edited online with the aid of other unique tools of Google, such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, etc.
Step by Step Guide on Backing up Data using Google Drive
Data backup in Google Drive is super simple and in just a few mins you can backup all of your desired data. Following are the step by step guide on how to backup data using Google Drive:
Step 1. Go to https://drive.google.com/. If you have a Google account, then log in with that details, otherwise create an account.
Step 2. Once you log in, you will see an interface where all of your backed-up data will be shown in the future. To start backing up your data in Google Drive, click on the “+ New” icon located at the top left side of the interface. There you will be asked to specify the type of data that is going to be uploaded, i.e., either it’s a file or folder. So, click the option as per your choice, and then upload that file or folder in Google Drive.
Step 3. You can also create a folder first in Google Drive by clicking the same “+ New” icon and then clicking the first option named “Folder”. Once a folder is created in Google Drive, you can upload your files in that folder by following the above step 2. It is recommended that you first set a folder in your computer where you have all the files and documents placed that you want to back up in Google Drive. Afterward, you just upload the folder in Google Drive.
Step 4. Once all the data is backed up in Google Drive, you can easily view them, edit your documents using Google’s other tools, or even share the data with others.
Step by Step Guide on Restoring Data from Google Drive
Once you have backed up data in Google Drive, you can stay assured that your data is at your access from anywhere at any time you want. All you have to do is to log into your Google Drive account and get access to your data. But in case, if your primary data present in your computer gets deleted or any malfunction causes data loss, then you can restore the data from Google Drive. You have already backed up that deleted files in Google Drive and now it’s time to restore those files back to your computer. Following are the steps you have to follow to restore data from Google Drive:
Step 1. Go to https://drive.google.com/ and log in to your Google Drive account.
Step 2. You will see all the different types of data that you have backed up in your Google cloud storage. Now either select all of your folders and files or select only specific ones.
Step 3. Once you select all the data you want to restore, click on the three vertical dots menu icon located at the top left side. From the drop-down menu, click the “Download” option. Locate the computer directory where you want to download the data and then the data will be downloaded to that specific directory on your computer.
This way, within 3 simple steps, you can restore the data from Google Drive to your computer.
Conclusion
It is always your choice to opt for any backup method that fits your needs, but having a remote location backup (cloud backups) ensures more data safety from any kind of data loss. Google Drive is a leading cloud-based data backup service that fulfills all data backup needs with its technologically advanced features. The process to backup data is also very simple and within a few clicks, you can backup tons of files and folders to your Google Drive account.
