• May 20, 2022

How do I backup Trello, and why is it important?

You’re creating a marketing campaign for your company’s newest product. You want a free tool that will allow you to work collaboratively with several different departments across several countries. You opt for Trello.

In one glance, you can see project boards, monitor objectives, see what’s being worked on, set tasks, and share files. You’re five months into the project, and all the assets are coming together nicely.

There is only one month until you go live with your campaign when disaster strikes. You’ve lost your data. Your project timelines, deadlines, assigned tasks, and hundreds of hours of planning have gone. How has this happened? You are not sure yet, but the priority is to recover the data and get back to work.

It’s ok, though, because Trello backs up your data, right?

Not quite. Trello backs up its platform – not your account. You could ask Trello to restore your missing data but nowhere in the T&Cs that you signed does it say they can recover your data. And there is no indication of how long it would take them to do it.

This is what’s known as the shared responsibility model because both the platform and the users share the responsibility for data storage and security.

You need to take control of your data because data loss is more common than you think. Some of the most common reasons for data loss include:

  • Human error – Cards and boards can be “archived”, but once deleted they are gone forever. It could be quite easy for a user to accidental delete board once it has been archived.
  • Nefarious users – Disgruntled or careless employed could maliciously delete boards. PERMANENTLY. This could destroy your Trello system. Even Trello wont be able to help.
  • Platform issues – No cloud app can guarantee 100% uptime. Software glitches and system outages can delay your projects. While data corruption and server crashes could leave you with no data at all.
  • Ransomware and viruses – Unfortunately, this risk is becoming more common. There are plenty of instances where online project platforms have been hit by ransom attacks in recent times. Apps such as Trello are becoming more popular – how long will it be before Trello is affected?

Why is it important to back up your Trello data?

Losing your data could be catastrophic for your business. If you experienced an outage, how long would you be able to work without access to your Trello boards? If your data was deleted, would you know where you stand with your project? How much would it cost your business? Could you afford it? One solution to better to prevent such situations is to invest in a reliable third-party Trello backup such as BackupLABS.

Backing up Trello

Essentially, there are two methods for backing up your Trello boards. You can do it yourself (manually) or work with a backup provider (third-party). Either way, you should understand that your data is always your concern, so you need to make sure it’s properly protected.

Manual back up

Trello allows you to take control of your data with a manual backup. It’s as simple as right-clicking on the board and then clicking download. This gives you complete control of what, when, and where you save your boards.

However, while this method is simple, it can become time-consuming, especially if your project has hundreds of boards. Have you ever tried to copy and back up each individual board? It’s a nightmare. It’s time-consuming, takes up valuable space in your account, interferes with your navigation, introduces confusion, and adds another task to someone’s to-do list.

Plus it is susceptible to human error – boards can easily be missed or accidentally deleted. Finally, have you ever tried to restore from a manual backup directly back into Trello? Its not as easy as you may think.

Third-party back up

Working with a third-party backup specialist, like BackupLABS, can take away all the hassle of backing up your data. Our backup-as-a-service platform automatically backs up your Trello boards, cards, lists, custom fields, labels, checklists, and attachments.

Installing and configuring our solution is easy thanks to our Trello integration. Once installed, we will automatically backup your boards each day. This data is encrypted during transfer and at rest, and it is stored securely on our servers using 256bit AES encryption. We will also shortly be releasing the ability to backup to your favourite cloud storage providers, such as OneDrive and Dropbox.

When you need to use your backup, you can either restore it directly into Trello or save them directly to your local machine. This ensures that in the event of an outage, you can access your data and continue with your project. We know that recovery is an essential part of backing up your data, so our solution enables you to recover your data at any point in the past 30 days, more if required.

The benefits of backing up Trello

  • Unlimited backup history. If any data is compromised, it’s simply not an issue as BackupLABS continuously backs up all your Trello data. We can go to any point in time and restore your cards, boards, lists, timelines, checklists, labels, calendars, attachments etc. It’s quick and easy!
  • Saves money. Having Trello backup allows a fast restore to continue working with minimal downtime – not to mention saving your business $$$’s if you were hit with a ransomware attack. The encryption would not need unlocking or the ransom needs paying.
  • Multi-user support. Trello is a collaborative software, and so is the backup. All team members’ work can be backed up, giving you peace of mind.
  • GDPR compliant. Our backup solution ensures that personal data is compliant with GDPR.
  • HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant. If you are a health or medical organisation then backups are essential. Our solution ensures that your data is safe and can be accessed whenever it is required.

So, if you need a reliable and robust backup partner, get in touch with one of our experts to discuss your requirements and book a free trial. Your projects are in safe hands with BackupLABS.