Having backups isn’t the same as being able to recover
Almost every business we meet says, “Don’t worry, we have backups.” Then we ask a few questions. What exactly is being backed up? Where do the copies live? When did someone last test a restore? How long would it take to get everything running again?
That’s often where the confidence fades. A backup is a copy of your data. Backup and disaster recovery is the ability to keep your business running when something goes wrong. The difference only shows up on your worst day, which is exactly why it’s worth closing the gap now.
Common backup problems we find
- Backups failing silently for weeks or months because nobody was watching the alerts.
- Only part of the business protected. The server is backed up, but laptops, cloud apps or a critical database are not.
- Backups sitting next to what they protect. An external drive plugged into the server can be lost to the same fire, flood, theft or ransomware attack.
- Cloud data assumed to be safe. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace keep their services running, but their built-in retention isn’t a true backup.
- No idea how long a restore takes. Pulling terabytes of data back over an office internet connection can take days.
Start with two numbers: RTO and RPO
Good disaster recovery starts with business decisions, not technology. We help you answer two questions for each important system:
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO): how long can you afford to be down? For some systems a day is fine. For your billing, scheduling or client files, it might be an hour or two.
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO): how much work can you afford to lose? A nightly backup means you could lose up to a day of work. For some data that’s acceptable. For some it isn’t.
Once those answers are clear, the right tools and costs follow, and you avoid overpaying for systems that don’t need it or underprotecting the ones that do.
How we protect your data
We build backup around the 3-2-1-1-0 rule: three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, with one copy off-site, one copy immutable or offline, and zero errors confirmed by testing.
- Image-based backups of servers and key workstations, so we can restore a single file or an entire machine, including its applications and settings.
- Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup covering email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams. It’s included in our Business and Premium plans.
- Off-site, immutable copies that can’t be altered or deleted for a set period, even by someone with stolen administrator credentials. It’s one of the most important defenses against ransomware.
- Daily monitoring, so a failed backup is noticed and fixed right away, not discovered during an emergency.
- Scheduled restore testing, with results documented. A backup that has never been restored is still just a hope.
- Rapid recovery options that can bring a critical server back online quickly while the original hardware is repaired or replaced.
A disaster recovery plan you can actually use
Technology is only half of recovery. The other half is knowing what to do, in what order, and who does it. A written plan covers:
- An inventory of what matters: systems, data, applications and the vendors behind them.
- Recovery priorities, so the systems that keep money coming in come back first.
- Step-by-step procedures for the scenarios most likely to hit a small business: hardware failure, ransomware, accidental deletion and loss of the office.
- Contacts and communication, so employees, clients and your insurance carrier know what’s happening.
- Regular reviews and tests, because a plan written three years ago describes a business that no longer exists.
Our Premium plan includes annual business continuity planning, and every client gets monitored backups and restore testing appropriate to their environment.
Backup is also a security control
When ransomware hits, a clean, recent, off-site backup is often what separates a bad day from a business-threatening one. That’s why backup is part of our layered cybersecurity services, and why we protect backup systems with the same care as everything else. For a plain-English walkthrough of how to build a plan, read Your Backups Aren’t a Plan: How to Build a Disaster Recovery Strategy You Can Trust.
Frequently asked questions
How often are backups tested?
Backups are monitored every day, and test restores are performed on a regular schedule that we agree on with you. Results are documented, so you know your data can actually be recovered.
Isn’t our data already safe in the cloud?
Cloud providers keep their platforms running, but protecting your data from deletion, compromised accounts and ransomware is your responsibility. A separate cloud backup closes that gap.
What does immutable mean?
An immutable backup can’t be changed or deleted until its retention period ends, even by an administrator. Ransomware and attackers can’t encrypt or erase it.
How much does backup and disaster recovery cost?
It depends on how much data you have, how many servers and systems need protecting, and how quickly you need to recover. Microsoft 365 backup is included in our Business and Premium plans, and server backup is quoted after a free assessment.
Can you help us recover from a failure that already happened?
We’ll certainly try. Call us right away and avoid making changes to the affected system. The sooner we can look, the better the chances of recovery.
