ApproveThis manages your SimpleBackups Integration approvals.

Why Combine Approval Management with Backup Automation?

Businesses handling sensitive data face two critical challenges: maintaining airtight backup processes and ensuring proper oversight. SimpleBackups solves the first problem by automating server/database backups, while ApproveThis brings structure to approval workflows. Together through Zapier, they create a safety net where technical operations align with organizational governance.

Consider a healthcare provider automating patient record backups. While SimpleBackups ensures data preservation, ApproveThis guarantees that only authorized personnel approve retention policies or restoration requests. This combination reduces compliance risks while keeping systems running smoothly.

Key Use Cases for IT Teams and Beyond

1. Governance-Driven Backup Validation

When SimpleBackups creates a new database snapshot, ApproveThis can automatically require sign-off from compliance officers before the backup is marked complete. For financial institutions, this means every transaction record backup gets validated against retention policies. Approvers receive email notifications with backup details and one-click approval options—no need to log into SimpleBackups.

2. Change Management Coordination

During system updates, development teams often need to pause backups temporarily. With this integration, creating an ApproveThis request to modify backup schedules automatically triggers SimpleBackups to pause specific jobs. A SaaS company could use this to coordinate feature deployments, ensuring backups resume only after successful smoke tests.

3. Cross-Departmental Workflows

Marketing teams managing cloud storage backups for campaign assets can route approval requests to legal teams for copyright reviews. Since ApproveThis allows external approvers without SimpleBackups licenses, agencies can involve client stakeholders seamlessly.

Implementation Made Simple with Zapier

Connecting ApproveThis and SimpleBackups takes three steps:

1. Create a Zapier account (if needed) and connect both apps
2. Set triggers: Choose between "New Backup Created" (SimpleBackups) or "New Approval Request" (ApproveThis)
3. Configure actions: Map backup metadata to approval request fields or link approval decisions to backup schedule changes

Example: A logistics company automates driver log backups. Their zap routes each new SimpleBackups entry to fleet managers via ApproveThis, including a calculated field showing backup size. If over 50GB (per compliance rules), approvals escalate automatically to senior ops staff.

Strategic Advantages for Different Teams

IT Operations

Reduce ticket volume by automating backup change approvals. Vacation delegation ensures coverage during outages, while real-time dashboards show pending technical approvals alongside standard requests.

Compliance Officers

Approval thresholds automatically flag backups requiring legal review—like those containing customer PII. All decisions are logged with timestamps for audit trails.

Project Managers

Sync backup schedules with sprint cycles. When ApproveThis detects a new project kickoff request, it triggers SimpleBackups to create dedicated backup jobs for the initiative.

Going Beyond Basic Approvals

ApproveThis adds nuance to SimpleBackups automation through:

• Conditional Routing: Backups containing "financial" tags route to CFO delegates
• Dynamic Escalation: Unanswered requests auto-escalate after 24 hours
• Multi-Layer Signoffs: Require dev lead + sysadmin approval for production backups

A media company uses calculated fields to estimate backup costs. If AWS S3 backups exceed $500/month, ApproveThis requires CTO approval before the next scheduled job runs.

Implementation Best Practices

Do: Use SimpleBackups' metadata (backup size, type, location) to pre-fill ApproveThis request details. This reduces manual entry and ensures approvers have context.

Don't: Overcomplicate workflows initially. Start with single approval steps, then add conditional logic as teams adapt.

Pro Tip: Configure ApproveThis email approvals to include direct links to backup audit logs in SimpleBackups for faster validation.

The Bottom Line: Controlled Automation

While SimpleBackups handles the technical heavy lifting, ApproveThis ensures human oversight scales with your automation. This is critical in regulated industries where "set and forget" backups create compliance risks. Together, they provide audit-ready documentation that automated processes align with business policies.

For teams managing cloud infrastructure, this integration means being able to prove during SOC 2 audits that every production backup received proper approvals. Marketing agencies can demonstrate to clients that campaign data backups were validated by both technical and account leads.

Getting Started

Ready to add governance to your backup strategy? Sign up for ApproveThis, then explore our pre-built Zapier templates for SimpleBackups integrations. For complex environments, request a custom demo to see how approval thresholds and escalation rules can be tailored to your backup policies.