Restore and recover are often used interchangeably, but they shouldn’t be. While they’re closely related (and for good reason), their meanings vary across industries and tech. For SaaS data protection, they can be used to describe different stages of getting your data — and your business — back to an operational state. Understanding the difference in a SaaS data context is useful to building effective backup, restoration, and disaster recovery strategies.   

In this blog, we'll look into how we can consider the terms and help frame them with some context — and why planning for both restoration and recovery is essential for true resilience. 

Let’s get into some definitions.  

Restore: Bringing back data or systems 

Data restoration is the act of retrieving data or systems from a backup and returning it to a previously known good state. 

You restore when: 

• A file has been accidentally deleted. 
• A system becomes corrupted and needs to be rolled back. 
• A virtual machine or database needs to be reinstated from a snapshot. 

Restoration focuses on bringing back what was lost, damaged, or compromised — whether that's a single file or an entire application. 

Restore = the process of putting data or systems back into place. 

For a deeper technical definition, see TechTarget’s explanation of restore. 

Recover: Bringing back business operations  

Recovery is about achieving the state where systems, data, and operations are functional again — not just technically restored, but ready for use. 

You have recovered when: 

• Systems and services are running smoothly. 
• Users have full access to the resources they need. 
• Operations can resume without disruption. 

Recovery often involves multiple steps — validation, reconfiguration, testing — to ensure that everything works as expected after a disruption. 

Recover = reaching full operational readiness. 

Restore vs. recover: Why the distinction matters 

Restoration is often one part of a larger recovery process — and as such restoring alone doesn’t guarantee recovery. But, sometimes it does (yes, this is part of why recover and restore are often used interchangeably. 

In the common data loss case involving small amounts of data or files, your entire recovery is completed when clicking “restore in place.” It’s super easy, that is, if you have a backup. If you don’t have backup, it’s suddenly not that easy. In fact, it’s not even possible in that situation. 

Let’s consider these larger recovery processes, such as disaster recovery (DR). For example, in a Microsoft 365 environment, restoring data like SharePoint documents or Exchange mailboxes isn’t enough if Microsoft Entra ID (identity and access management) hasn't been restored first. That’s because without Entra ID operational, users won't be able to authenticate and access the restored data — meaning that even though the information is back, business operations are still stuck. You’ve effectively restored, but not yet recovered. You have your data, but you don’t have your business operations. 

In large (or complicated) data loss scenarios, restoration must happen in a well-calibrated fashion by restoring the right systems, in the right order, to achieve recovery. And by the definition above, recovery is the state of the business being “back.” 

Of course, to make matters complicated, sometimes a restore is "simultaneously” a recovery. Typically, these are small, simple data loss scenarios. Let’s say, for instance, there’s a data loss event involving a single employee overwriting a key budget spreadsheet. With certain third-party backup solutions, a shareable link can be sent to this employee, who can then restore the spreadsheet in place with a couple of clicks. In this moment, the data has been restored, and the “business is back” to how it was. That’s a recovery. The flow is: Back up -> restore -> recover. 

Building a resilient strategy 

To build real resilience, you need to: 

• Ensure you can restore individual files, systems, and services quickly.  
• Design processes that lead to full recovery — not only data restoration.  
• Test both restore procedures (for precision) and recovery plans (for complete readiness). 

Getting your data back is only part of the battle. Real recovery means regaining full operational strength — with systems restored, access reestablished, workflows intact, and confidence that your business can keep moving forward. 

Restoration and recovery work together 

In any data protection strategy, restoration and recovery are closely linked — but they aren’t the same thing. 

Restoring data is a necessary step, but true resilience is about fully recovering operations and services. Restoration brings the pieces back; recovery reconnects them, validates them, and ensures your business can move forward without missing a step. What good is having your data back if you can’t do anything with it? 

By planning for both, you strengthen your ability to bounce back from disruptions and keep your business running strong.