Know how long recovery will take before you need it
A backup is not a recovery plan. We show you what is protected, what is missing and how quickly the business could realistically get working again after a serious incident.
What is the difference between backup and disaster recovery?
A backup helps you recover a lost file, folder, mailbox or system. A disaster recovery plan explains how quickly the business can return to operation after a bigger event, who does what, which systems matter most and what level of data loss is acceptable.
In short: backups protect information. Disaster recovery protects the operation. Both need to be tested before the business is relying on them.
Questions every business should ask
- What systems are backed up?
- How often do backups run?
- When was the last restore test?
- How long can the business tolerate downtime?
Two terms that make recovery easier to understand
RTO: Recovery Time Objective
How quickly do you need a system or process running again? A payroll system, order platform or shared file store may have very different tolerance levels.
RPO: Recovery Point Objective
How much recent data could you afford to lose? Losing one day of work may be acceptable for one system and disastrous for another.
Recovery based on what the business relies on
We start with the systems that matter to your operation, then build backup and recovery around those priorities. That can include Microsoft 365, servers, critical workstations, cloud services and business data.
The key is not only creating backups. It is confirming they work and documenting what happens when recovery is needed. For Microsoft 365, we can protect Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams separately from the live tenant, with granular recovery when a file, email, folder or wider data set needs to be restored.
What affects backup pricing?
Data size, number of systems, retention needs, cloud or local storage, recovery speed and testing frequency.
Do we need Microsoft 365 backup?
Often, yes. Microsoft keeps the service resilient, but that does not remove the need for a separately managed recovery option after deletion, corruption, compromise or retention mistakes.
How often should restores be tested?
At minimum, important systems should be tested on a planned schedule. The frequency depends on risk and business tolerance.
From an incident to a working service
Backup is one stage. The real test is whether you can restore the right data or service in the right order, within a time the business can live with.
