More and more centralized management tools are emerging on the market to allow companies a large number of advantages in the operation of their daily tasks. At a time when connectivity, immediacy and customer experience dominates the market, companies need digital management tools adapted to the times and the specific demands it creates. Among this type of tool, we find the SaaS which means Software as a Service. This type of software solution brings many possibilities adapted to the realities of the current world of work and for the same reason, is propelled by strong growth. If the SaaS is unquestionably useful, is it cybersecurity safe? Not totally and in an enterprise context, here’s why you should protect your SaaS data.

What is Software as a Service (Saas)?

Software as a Service is a cloud-based software solution hosted and operated from a network. In other words, the SaaS is operable from the Internet with a personal account through a website or an application. Thus, the management software is installed not on a computer or a telephone, but on a remote server. Most of the time, the Software as a Service is payable from a monthly or annual subscription and then executed online. Apart from the web browser and the Software as a Service, SaaS users do not install anything on their computers, since it is possible to use the application from the cloud or the network.

What is an example of Saas?

There are currently several versions of Software as a Service on the market. Among the most popular are:

• Google (in the first Software as a Service providers!)
• Microsoft Office 365
• DropBox
• SalesForce
• Slack
• Trello
• Hubspot
• And many more.

Why integrate your data into Software as a Service (SaaS)?

At a time when customer satisfaction is more important than ever and remote work is becoming more and more popular, the use of SaaS in an enterprise context has proven to be extremely useful. Among other things, the use of a SaaS allows you to:

• Forget time-consuming and expensive updates;
• Protect your data and sensitive information;
• Have access to your data at all times, no matter where you are;
• Benefit from a simple configuration that facilitates the implementation of Software as a Service;
• Save on equipment or maintenance costs;
• Benefit from a larger storage space on your computer, since the Software as a Service does not take up space;
• Centralize and efficiently organize your activities;
• Optimize communication between teams and departments and get a better overview;
• Study and analyze the data collected to further strengthen your marketing campaigns with a detailed dashboard;
• Improve your customer relationship management (CRM);
• Create detailed and meaningful reports;
• Simplify your working methods;
• Automate certain tasks, thus increasing your productivity, in the really important tasks to which your presence can make a difference;
• Optimize human resource management;
• Collaborate with your colleagues in an intuitive and fast way;
• Save time and unnecessary costs;
• Make videoconference calls, send emails, write in word processing, coordinate teams, etc.

All the reasons are good for using Software as a Service. Service providers have understood that our work tools benefit from adapting to the professional world. That’s why SaaS is collaborative, intuitive and cloud-based. However, it’s not perfect. While the digital world offers us many benefits, particularly in terms of efficiency and personalization, a powerful tool can always be misused if it ends up in the wrong hands. This is also the case for software as a service, which has certain limits.

Why protect your SaaS (Software as a Service) data?

While backing up data in cloud software is recommended cybersecurity practices, that doesn’t mean SaaS is foolproof. Indeed, even if the cloud and the Software as a Service is a secure and protected way to maintain your data, it does not indicate that the SaaS is not likely to undergo:

• Account theft: someone takes control of your personal account using your login information;
• Data theft: you store sensitive and privileged information in the SaaS. Cybercriminals are snatching them up for a staggering sum. The cloud is a storage location just as vulnerable to data theft as any other storage system! ;
• A phishing attack: your SaaS may very well contain a mailbox used by the company. Any inbox can fall victim to sending dangerous emails. If you do not have a good anti-spam or the knowledge necessary to recognize spam, you may well be infiltrated by malicious individuals;
• Errors from global access: Because your entire organization has access to the information contained in the SaaS (as it is useful for communication and management among employees), less experienced people may delete or move some important data which is then difficult to restore;
• Ransomware: Software as a Service cannot completely compensate for the appearance of malicious software. What’s more, the automatic synchronization made possible thanks to the SaaS makes it possible to spread the malware even more quickly if it were to have one.

You will therefore have understood that it is essential to protect your data in a business context when you use Software as a Service (SaaS). By adequately protecting your data, you will avoid:

• Loss of time related to restoring data or other;
• Significant expenses related to cybersecurity errors;
• A loss of productivity spent managing lost data;
• A notorious lack of credibility linked to the disclosure of private information;
• Any type of inadvertent infiltration into your business operations.

With a simple backup, a lot can be avoided. We have the annoying habit of believing that this kind of inconvenience only happens to others, and yet! Every day, businesses lose or experience data theft.

On the contrary, protecting your SaaS data will:

• Protect your data in case of hacking;
• Save time in case of loss or theft;
• Guarantee the integrity of your data;
• Ensure the security of your data at no cost;
• Ensure your peace of mind in the event of a natural disaster, mistake or phishing.

In short, protecting your SaaS data is super important: don’t wait! Why not start today? DMIB tells you what to do.

How to protect your SaaS (Software as a Service) data?

While it is important to protect the data contained and recorded in its Software as a Service (SaaS), you still need to know how to do it! Here are some practices to put in place to adequately protect your data in your SaaS:

• Use strong authentication. Multi-factor authentication adds multiple layers of security to the simple login and password combination. Combine two or more factors among: what you know (codes, security questions), what you have (a card, a chip) and what you are (retina, fingerprint, facial recognition).
• Always, create different and complex passwords that do not relate to your privacy. The more complicated, random and remote your passwords are from what concerns you, the harder you make life for those who try to extract your data!
• Intelligently back up your information to an external hard drive. One of the good practices in cybersecurity in general is to make three separate backups, on two different media, including one outside the office. This last component is supported by your Cloud service (cloud computing). All that remains is to save on another medium, such as an external hard drive or a USB key!
• In general, raise awareness and educate your employees and collaborators on the importance of properly backing up their data. Cybersecurity is all the more important since the majority of our actions are now designed and executed from the web: it is not without danger, you have to know how to use it!

In short, like everything we do with the help of digital technologies, we must know how to adopt a safe and foresighted attitude. The awesome tools for business offered in the market with the advent of the Internet make our job easier every day. And yet: everything can quickly turn sour if you don’t know how to do it! By taking precautions and being aware of the danger, we can make a difference and avoid damage rather than clean out the mess. Would you like to be accompanied in your SaaS data protection process? Consult our team: it will be a real pleasure to guide you towards a safer and more careful approach to the digital world!