Not in the way most organizations mean “backup.” Google Workspace is designed for high availability and continuity of the service and it includes helpful native capabilities (like recycle bins, version history and retention features). However, those features are not the same as an independent, comprehensive backup that lets you restore data on demand across scenarios such as accidental deletion, malicious activity, misconfiguration or tenant-level incidents.
In practice, Google Workspace follows a shared responsibility approach: Google secures and operates the cloud service, while your organization remains responsible for protecting its own data and ensuring it can be recovered when needed.

For reliable Google Workspace backup, organizations typically choose a dedicated third-party backup that is built specifically for backup and recovery. With Mindtime Google Workspace Backup, the goal is straightforward: create an independent copy of your critical Google Workspace data and make recovery fast and predictable, whether you need to restore a single email, a folder or larger sets of data.
A good Google Workspace backup approach should also support clear scheduling (to meet your RPO/RTO needs), granular restores and strong search to help with operational recovery as well as compliance and eDiscovery-related requests.

We provide a 30-day retention policy for Google Workspace backups. Retention determines how long we keep the previous version of a modified file or a deleted item — including files, contacts, calendar entries, and more.
When a new version of an item is backed up, we retain the previous version until the end of the 30-day retention period. After that, it's permanently removed from the backup.

Google’s native and first-party options can be useful in specific situations, but many organizations still choose a dedicated backup for one core reason: independence.

• A separate backup copy (so recovery doesn’t depend on the same environment where the incident occurs)
• Control over restore and retention aligned with your organization’s operational and compliance needs
• A clear fit for organizations operating in the EU market (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany) where data governance, accountability, and audit readiness matter day-to-day

A user usually represents one unique Google Workspace account that you want to protect. Even if that person subscribes to multiple services (such as Gmail, Google Drive, Contacts, Calendar), this generally counts as one user from a backup perspective.
The exact count may vary depending on the domain structure and the use of shared accounts or service accounts.

In most organizations, the safest answer is: all users that generate or handle business-critical data. Every mailbox, Google Drive and collaboration space can contain information that matters for continuity, legal obligations, customer commitments or simply day-to-day operations. Leaving gaps creates risk, because the one account you didn’t protect can become the one you urgently need during a recovery or compliance request.