5 Crucial Issues Avoided with Zerto Backup for Zendesk powered by Keepit
Assessing the Need for Backing Up Your Zendesk Data
Zendesk offers data backup for large-scale disaster recovery, although such incidents are uncommon. However, it lacks the capability for granular data restoration and doesn’t safeguard against accidental deletion or modifications to your automations.
The value you place on your data and your preferred backup depth are personal decisions. Yet, considering the significance of elements like automations, macros, and triggers, which are vital for your support operations, it’s essential to base your decision on factual insights.
In the field of IT, encountering issues that demand swift data recovery with a short RTO (recovery time objective) is not uncommon. Failing to meet this requirement not only necessitates explaining the situation but also entails the negative business repercussions of not being able to restore crucial data.
Support teams remain vigilant in instances where accidental deletions or alterations in automations, triggers, macros, or views disrupt support workflows, potentially jeopardizing the operational efficiency of your service organization.
Zendesk Backup: Be Aware of How Zendesk Currently Backups Your Data
While Zendesk does offer features to enhance data accessibility within their system, these functionalities are primarily tailored for a broad, general purpose.
Zendesk conducts regular automatic backups of all data on their platform, not specifically to safeguard individual account data, but rather to ensure the platform’s resilience in the event of a disaster. Consequently, Zendesk could restore all accounts following a platform-wide incident such as a hacker attack; however, they do not guarantee the recovery of information specific to your account in such circumstances.
Although Zendesk hasn’t publicly reported any major instances of customer data loss, there remain significant potential challenges that could disrupt business operations despite the existence of automated backups.
How to Mitigate 5 Crucial and Expensive Issues Zendesk Doesn’t Safeguard Against
1. Disruption caused by accidental workflow interruption
Automations stand out as a pivotal feature driving companies’ admiration for Zendesk. However, what unfolds when these automations are lost due to a minor error? It leads to significant chaos and operational disruptions.
Consider a typical scenario involving Zendesk automations:
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- All billing-related tickets are automatically directed to the finance team.
- Tickets left untouched for more than four hours are automatically escalated.
Now, envision the turmoil resulting from the loss of any of these automations. Without these automated processes, your support system would notably lose its efficiency. Conversely, if you do rely on them, the entire support infrastructure suffers if access is suddenly lost. Rebuilding everything swiftly becomes imperative, with the hope of customer understanding.
→ Mitigation: However, in a scenario where a third-party backup tool is implemented, automated daily backups of Zendesk automations can be easily restored to a point before the deletion occurred. Subsequently, locating and reinstating the automation within the system becomes a matter of a few clicks, ensuring swift recovery.
2. Inability to restore data with granular precision
As I mentioned earlier, Zendesk has a disaster recovery feature they use in extreme cases. It is designed to recover huge amounts of data in bulk.
If a disaster happens and Zendesk performs a disaster recovery, you get your data back in a big downloadable blob of CSV or XML data. Recovering a single, important ticket or customer interaction would force you to look for a needle in a massive haystack.
→ Mitigation: On the other hand, if your data is backed up in a third-party system, you simply “search,” “preview,” and “restore.” That’s all that needs to be done so you can find needle right there, within a minute.
3. Deleted data irretrievable beyond a 40-day window
When you delete an item in Zendesk, it goes in the recycle bin. But it only stays there for 40 days, then it is gone forever. It is very simple, yet far too few Zendesk users realize the finality of this functionality.
In the event of a disaster triggering Zendesk’s recovery process, your data is restored as a single, extensive downloadable file in CSV or XML format. Retrieving a specific, crucial ticket or customer interaction from this file would entail sifting through a vast amount of data akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
→ Mitigation: Conversely, if your data is backed up within a third-party system, the restoration process is significantly streamlined. With simple actions like “search,” “preview,” and “restore,” you can swiftly locate the required data, minimizing downtime and ensuring prompt resolution.
4. Automatic Archiving of Employee Data upon Departure
Employee turnover is a common occurrence in any business, including the departure of support agents. This is a natural aspect of operations, with many companies worldwide experiencing frequent changes within their support teams.
However, what happens to the views, tickets, and other data associated with an agent’s account once they are no longer active users in Zendesk? You have a few options:
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- Continue paying the fees for the departed agent’s license, which can be costly, particularly with a high percentage of turnover, considering the high costs of licensing per agent per month.
- Follow Zendesk’s recommendation to reassign the tickets, downgrade the agent’s account, and eventually suspend it. It’s important to note that downgrading the agent’s account will result in the permanent deletion of all macros and views, potentially leading to significant losses.
→ Mitigation: The most favorable option is to utilize a third-party backup service to archive the data. This ensures continued access to all data even after the agent’s departure. With daily backups, you can easily restore or preview any data, providing a seamless solution for data management and retention.
5. Zendesk’s Disaster Recovery: Cost Considerations
Zendesk offers a comprehensive system inclusive of multi-zone data replication and various protective features to safeguard your data in the event of a disaster. However, it’s crucial to highlight that this feature is exclusively available in enterprise plans, which can incur significant expenses. Additionally, it’s important to note that Zendesk’s disaster recovery does not cover the protection of automations, triggers, macros, and views.
→ Mitigation: Alternatively, opting for a third-party backup solution can provide cost savings for your organization. These solutions typically start at a few dollars per agent per month and offer comprehensive backup functionalities. For example, Zerto Backup for Zendesk empowers you to evaluate your risk tolerance, especially after recognizing the potential high cost associated with the sudden loss of Zendesk data, whether due to human error or malicious intent.
Zerto Backup for Zendesk: Ensuring Swift and Seamless Recovery
Here are the key advantages of using Zerto Backup for Zendesk summarized:
- Safeguard Automations: Protect vital components like automations, macros, and triggers, which form the backbone of Zendesk’s functionality.
- Unlimited Data Retention: Enjoy peace of mind knowing that all your data is securely stored in four copies across multiple data centers.
- Cost-Effective Backup Solutions: Benefit from a comprehensive backup solution that offers unlimited hot storage and data archiving, helping you keep backup costs under control.
- User-Friendly Interface: Simplify the data recovery process with an intuitive interface that requires no specialized training, making it accessible to all users.
- Rapid Recovery: Retrieve your data within seconds using the Search-Preview-Restore feature, supported by intelligent search capabilities and granular restoration options.
To learn more, visit our Zerto Backup for SaaS page and see what other SaaS applications can also be protected.
For more specific questions, simply get in touch or request a demo.
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Sarah Doherty Senior Product Marketing Manager
