The cloud syncs your files. But syncing is not backing up. When a file gets corrupted, encrypted by ransomware, or deleted by mistake, sync replicates the problem to every connected device within seconds. If your company calls that a “backup,” you have a critical problem you do not know you have.
The difference between sync and backup
OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox are synchronization tools. A backup is a separate copy, with immutable versions, stored in a different location, periodically verified, and recoverable in a defined timeframe. Those four characteristics — separation, immutability, verification, and defined recovery time — determine whether your company can survive a data loss incident.
The scenario no manager wants to face
Imagine an employee opens an email attachment on Monday morning. In 20 minutes, ransomware encrypts all company work files. OneDrive syncs the encrypted files to the cloud. The version history has a 30-day limit and does not always work with custom encryption extensions. Can your company recover three years of quotes, contracts, and accounting records? In how many hours? At what cost? That scenario is not hypothetical. We have seen it happen in Costa Rica.
What a real enterprise backup looks like
The 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies of the data (original plus two backups); 2 different media (local disk and cloud storage); 1 offline copy disconnected from the network, inaccessible to ransomware. An enterprise backup also defines two critical metrics: RPO (Recovery Point Objective — how much data can be lost) and RTO (Recovery Time Objective — how quickly the company must be back online). Without those metrics defined and tested, the backup exists only on paper.
The test is the part nobody does
Fewer than 20% of SMBs in Costa Rica have performed a full backup restoration in the last 12 months. In an audit we conducted in 2025, a financial services company had an active backup system running for three years. When we tested the restore, the backup agent had been silently failing for 14 months. They had 14 months of unprotected data and did not know it.
Warning signs in your current backup strategy
- You only use cloud sync as your backup.
- You do not have an offline copy or copy at a separate physical location.
- You have not performed a test restoration in the last 6 months.
- You do not know your RPO or RTO.
- You do not receive automatic alerts when a backup fails.
When did you last test your backup? AVN Networks audits backup strategies and designs enterprise solutions for Costa Rican SMBs. Talk to us before you need it.