A Glossary of HR Tech & Cloud Security Terms for Encrypted Backups

In today’s fast-paced HR and recruiting landscape, understanding the intricate web of technology and security terms is no longer optional—it’s essential. From selecting the right software to ensuring the utmost data protection, HR professionals are increasingly at the forefront of strategic technology decisions. This glossary provides clear, authoritative definitions for key terms related to HR technology, cloud security, and the critical importance of encrypted backups, helping you navigate this complex terrain with confidence. Each definition is tailored to highlight practical implications for your HR operations and data security posture.

Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software designed to manage the recruitment and hiring process. It allows organizations to post job openings, collect resumes and applications, screen candidates, schedule interviews, and track the entire applicant journey from initial contact to hire. For HR and recruiting professionals, an ATS streamlines workflows, improves efficiency, and ensures compliance. From a security perspective, an ATS holds vast amounts of sensitive personal data (PII). Encrypted backups of your ATS data are crucial to protect against data loss from system failures, cyberattacks, or accidental deletion, ensuring business continuity and compliance with data protection regulations.

Human Resources Information System (HRIS)

An HRIS is a comprehensive software solution that integrates various HR functions into a single platform. It typically manages core HR tasks such as employee data management, payroll processing, benefits administration, time and attendance, and sometimes recruitment. An HRIS provides a centralized database for all employee-related information, helping HR teams manage the employee lifecycle more efficiently. Given the extensive sensitive data stored—from financial details to medical information—the security of an HRIS is paramount. Regular, encrypted backups of your HRIS are vital to prevent catastrophic data loss and maintain operational integrity, especially when integrating with other systems via automation platforms like Make.com.

Human Capital Management (HCM)

Human Capital Management (HCM) is an evolution of HRIS, encompassing a broader strategic approach to managing human resources. While HRIS focuses on administrative HR functions, HCM extends to strategic initiatives like talent management (recruitment, onboarding, performance management, learning and development), workforce planning, and succession planning. HCM suites often include analytics capabilities to help organizations make data-driven decisions about their workforce. Because HCM systems contain an even wider array of strategic and sensitive employee data, robust cloud security practices and comprehensive, encrypted backup solutions are non-negotiable. This ensures that valuable talent data is protected and always available for strategic planning.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a cloud computing model where a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the internet. Instead of installing and maintaining software, you simply access it via a web browser. Examples include most modern ATS, HRIS, and CRM systems. SaaS offers scalability, cost-effectiveness, and automatic updates, freeing HR teams from IT management burdens. However, reliance on SaaS means your data resides in the provider’s cloud. While providers offer some backup, taking control with your own encrypted backups of critical data (e.g., via APIs to platforms like Keap or High Level) is essential for data ownership, rapid recovery, and compliance, especially if vendor lock-in or service outages occur.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing service that provides fundamental computing resources—virtualized servers, storage, networks, and operating systems—over the internet. With IaaS, organizations rent these resources and manage their own applications, data, runtime, and middleware. It offers more control and flexibility than SaaS, making it suitable for custom applications or specific development needs. While IaaS providers manage the underlying infrastructure, customers are responsible for securing their data, applications, and operating systems. This “shared responsibility model” means implementing your own encrypted backup strategies for your applications and data hosted on IaaS is critical for disaster recovery and maintaining data integrity.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud computing model that provides a complete development and deployment environment in the cloud, with resources that enable you to deliver everything from simple cloud-based apps to sophisticated, cloud-enabled enterprise applications. PaaS includes infrastructure (servers, storage, and networking) and middleware, development tools, business intelligence services, database management systems, and more. It simplifies web application development by abstracting away the underlying infrastructure. For HR, this might involve custom portals or integrations. Similar to IaaS, while the platform is managed by the provider, your applications and data within that platform require diligent security measures and, crucially, independent, encrypted backup solutions to ensure business continuity and compliance.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing refers to the on-demand delivery of computing services—including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the Internet (“the cloud”). Instead of owning computing infrastructure or data centers, you can access services from a cloud provider like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure. For HR, cloud solutions offer flexibility, scalability, and accessibility, enabling remote work and dynamic team structures. However, this convenience introduces new security considerations. While cloud providers offer security features, organizations are responsible for securing their data within the cloud, making encrypted backups a cornerstone of a robust cloud security strategy.

Multi-tenancy

Multi-tenancy is an architecture where a single instance of a software application serves multiple customers (tenants). Each tenant’s data is isolated and remains invisible to other tenants, even though they share the same software instance and underlying hardware. This model is common in SaaS applications, including many HRIS and ATS solutions, as it allows providers to efficiently manage resources and reduce costs. For HR professionals, understanding multi-tenancy is crucial because it highlights the importance of strong data isolation and security measures implemented by the vendor. When performing encrypted backups of your data from a multi-tenant HR system, it’s vital to ensure your specific data is correctly extracted and secured, maintaining its isolation even in backup archives.

Data Backup

Data backup is the process of creating copies of data that can be used to restore the original data in the event of data loss. This could be due to hardware failure, cyberattack, human error, or natural disaster. For HR, where data is often sensitive and critical for business operations (payroll, employee records, compliance), regular and reliable data backups are non-negotiable. Without proper backups, losing HR data can lead to severe operational disruptions, financial penalties, and reputational damage. Automation platforms like Make.com can be configured to automate data extraction and backup processes from various HR tech systems, ensuring consistent and timely copies are made.

Encrypted Backup

An encrypted backup is a data backup where the copied data is transformed into an unreadable format using encryption algorithms. Only authorized users with the correct decryption key can access and restore the original data. This adds a critical layer of security, protecting sensitive information even if the backup media falls into the wrong hands. For HR data, which often includes personally identifiable information (PII), financial details, and health records, encrypted backups are essential for compliance (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) and safeguarding privacy. Implementing encrypted backups is a core component of a comprehensive data security strategy, ensuring your sensitive HR data remains confidential during storage and transmission.

Disaster Recovery (DR)

Disaster Recovery (DR) is a set of policies, tools, and procedures that enable the recovery or continuation of vital technology infrastructure and systems following a natural or human-induced disaster. For HR, a DR plan ensures that critical HR operations, such as payroll processing, applicant tracking, and employee data access, can resume quickly after an outage. This involves identifying critical systems, establishing backup and recovery procedures (including encrypted backups), and defining recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO). A robust DR plan is crucial for business continuity, minimizing the impact of unforeseen events on HR services and employee welfare.

Business Continuity Planning (BCP)

Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is a proactive process that identifies potential threats to an organization and designs strategies to ensure that essential business functions can continue to operate during and after a disaster. Unlike Disaster Recovery, which focuses specifically on IT systems, BCP is broader, encompassing all aspects of business operations, including people, processes, and technology. For HR, BCP means having plans for employee communication during crises, alternative payroll processing methods, and ensuring access to essential employee data even if primary systems are unavailable. Encrypted data backups are a foundational element of BCP, ensuring that data is recoverable and secure when needed most.

Data Security

Data security encompasses the measures taken to protect data from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its entire lifecycle. This includes physical security, technical controls (like encryption, firewalls, and access controls), and administrative policies. For HR data, which is highly sensitive and valuable, robust data security is paramount to comply with privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), maintain trust with employees, and prevent reputational damage. Encrypted backups are a key component of data security, ensuring that even if primary systems are compromised or data is exfiltrated, the backup copies remain unreadable and protected.

Compliance (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA)

Compliance refers to adhering to relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards, particularly concerning data privacy and security. For HR, several key regulations impact how employee data must be handled:

• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): A European Union law on data protection and privacy, requiring strict measures for handling personal data of EU citizens.
• CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act): A state statute intended to enhance privacy rights and consumer protection for residents of California.
• HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): A US law protecting sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge.

Failing to comply with these regulations can result in significant fines and legal repercussions. Encrypted backups play a crucial role in compliance by protecting sensitive data at rest and in transit, ensuring data availability for audits, and providing a means for secure data recovery, thereby upholding data integrity and privacy obligations.

Data Sovereignty

Data sovereignty is the concept that data is subject to the laws and regulations of the country in which it is stored. This means that if an organization’s HR data is stored on servers located in a particular country, that data is governed by the legal framework of that country, regardless of where the organization or its employees are located. For global HR teams, data sovereignty adds complexity to cloud storage and backup strategies, as choosing a cloud provider or backup solution requires careful consideration of where data centers are physically located. Ensuring encrypted backups are stored in jurisdictions that align with your compliance requirements is critical to avoid legal and regulatory challenges.

If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: Fortify Your Keap & High Level CRM: Encrypted Backups for HR Data Security & Compliance