Legal & professional services
Consultancy firm backup for client projects and deliverables
Mindtime backs up the Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace tenant, laptops and analysis databases your consultants work in, storing immutable copies in its own data centres in the Netherlands and Germany with an extra copy kept offline.
In Dutch, German or English.
- NL · DEStored only in our own Tier III data centres in the Netherlands and Germany
- ImmutableObject Lock storage plus an air-gapped copy; every backup job is checked
- ISO 27001 · NEN 7510Audited security, with a data processing agreement in every contract
- NL · DE · ENSupport from people, no offshore call centres or chatbots
In short
Consultancy firms need independent backups because client deliverables, data sets and mail usually live in one cloud tenant and on consultants' laptops, and clients increasingly ask suppliers how their data is protected. Mindtime stores immutable copies in its own Dutch and German data centres, with an air-gapped copy, checked backup jobs and 24/7 monitoring.
What's at stake
The data consultancy firms can't afford to lose
Client deliverables and working drafts
Reports, models and slide decks are what the client pays for. Losing the latest version days before a steering committee costs fees and credibility.
Client data sets
Analyses often run on HR, customer or financial data that a client lent you for the project. A loss or leak of that data is a breach of the client's trust and often of a processing agreement.
Proposals, contracts and time records
Signed engagement letters, proposals and project hours underpin your invoices. Without them, disputes about scope and billing are hard to settle.
Rules and obligations
What the rules ask of consultancy firms
Summarised from the sources listed at the bottom of this page. This is general information, not legal advice.
Processing client data makes you a processor
When you handle personal data on a client's instructions and not for your own purposes, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens treats you as a processor. You then need a processing agreement and must secure the data appropriately. [1]
Supply chain security under the Cyberbeveiligingswet
Organisations covered by the Dutch NIS2 law must secure their supply chain, including security aspects of relationships with direct suppliers and service providers. If your clients are in scope, they will ask how you protect their information. [3]
Breach notification within 72 hours
A breach of personal data, including ransomware that makes data unavailable, must be reported to the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens within 72 hours. When you are the processor, your agreement usually sets how fast you must inform the client. [2]
Your own records: seven years
Like every Dutch business, a consultancy must keep its own administration for seven years, including ledgers and sales and purchase records. [5]
NIS2 scope for consultancies
Management consultancy is not a sector in the Cyberbeveiligingswet, which took effect on 15 August 2026. Firms that deliver managed ICT services to businesses should check, because providers of managed services and managed security services are listed. [4]
When it goes wrong
A synced deletion across the team
Illustrative example: during a reorganisation of a shared project site, a consultant at a 25-person firm moves a client's folder structure and a sync error deletes it for everyone. Nobody notices until the client asks for last month's analysis. The firm restores the folder from Mindtime's backup of SharePoint, taken outside Microsoft's environment and checked after each run. The project continues, and the firm can show the client exactly what happened.
How Mindtime protects it
Backup for consultancy firms, workload by workload
- Microsoft 365 backupTeams and SharePoint are where most consultancy project work now happens.
- Google Workspace backupFirms that work in Drive and Gmail need a copy that Google's trash and Vault do not provide.
- Laptop and endpoint backupConsultants work at client sites and on the road, often with local copies of deliverables.
- Database backupClient data sets used for analysis need a recoverable copy for the length of the project.
- Azure backupDashboards and models built in your own Azure subscription are your responsibility to protect.
- NIS2 ComplianceClients covered by NIS2 will ask suppliers about backup and recovery.
The software you use, and what we protect around it
| Simplicate | Cloud CRM, project, hours and invoicing software used by consulting firms. Check Simplicate's export and retention terms; Mindtime protects the documents, mail and laptops your projects depend on. |
|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 (Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive) | Where most project sites and client files live. Mindtime backs up SharePoint, OneDrive and Exchange Online mailboxes outside Microsoft's own retention. |
| Google Workspace (Drive, Gmail) | Common in smaller and newer firms. Mindtime keeps a copy of each consultant's Gmail and Drive in Dutch and German data centres it runs itself. |
| Analysis databases | Client data sets often sit in SQL Server, PostgreSQL or MySQL during a project. Mindtime backs up those databases, whether in the office or in a cloud subscription. |
| Project environments in Azure or AWS | Some firms build dashboards or models in their own cloud subscriptions. Mindtime backs up Azure and AWS workloads to storage outside that cloud. |
Google Workspace
Google Workspace backup for consultancies
Many consultancies keep proposals, client folders and deliverables in Google Drive and communicate through Gmail. Google's trash windows and Vault were not built to restore a firm's project work after deletion or a compromised account.
- Drive removes files permanently after 30 days in the trash, and admins have a 25-day window after a user empties the trash to get files back.
- Vault is meant for retention, holds and eDiscovery; Google's own FAQ states it isn't designed to be a backup or archive tool.
- When you delete the account of a consultant who has left, Google removes all data associated with that account, including client folders they owned.
- With Mindtime, your Gmail and Drive data gets a second home in Mindtime's own Dutch and German data centres. Start with a 7-day free trial.
Before you switch
What consultancy firms ask us first
Microsoft keeps our data safe, doesn't it?
Microsoft runs the service; protecting your content against deletion, sync errors or a compromised account is your side of the deal. Mindtime keeps a separate, immutable copy in its own data centres, and you can test it with a 7-day free trial.
We're a small firm. Will our clients care?
Clients covered by NIS2 must look at their suppliers' security, whatever the supplier's size. Being able to name where your backups are stored, and show a data processing agreement, shortens those questionnaires.
We don't have an IT person to run backups.
You don't need one. Mindtime checks every backup job and monitors the platform 24/7, and its own staff help in Dutch, German or English when you need a restore. Larger firms with special requirements can get a custom solution built with the IT22 development team.
FAQ
Questions about backup for consultancy firms
What should we tell a client who sends a security questionnaire?
Describe where backups are kept and how they are protected. With Mindtime that is: Mindtime's own Tier III data centres in the Netherlands and Germany, immutable storage with Object Lock plus an air-gapped copy, AES-256 encryption in transit, MFA on admin actions, and ISO 27001 and NEN 7510 audits. A data processing agreement comes with every contract.
How do we handle client data after a project ends?
Follow the deletion terms in your agreement with the client, and make sure backup retention fits those terms. Data you delete from the working environment will remain in backups until their retention ends, so agree a period that is both safe and defensible, and record it in your processing register.
Do we need laptop backup if everything is in Microsoft 365?
Often, yes. Consultants save drafts locally, work offline on trains and at client sites, and keep exports of client data on their own machines. Mindtime backs up Windows, macOS and Linux laptops as well as mobile devices, so a lost or broken device means replacing hardware rather than redoing a week of analysis.
Does Mindtime help us with NIS2 if a client requires it?
Mindtime helps with the backup and recovery part: immutable, monitored backups and, if you take disaster recovery, quarterly DR tests. Your broader security policy, access control and incident process remain your own responsibility. The NIS2 section of the Mindtime site goes into more detail.
See it with your own data
Book a 15-minute demo
We show you a backup and a restore, and answer your questions in Dutch, German or English. No offshore call centres, no chatbots.