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Business backup: checking that your data can be restored
Having copies is a first step. To prepare for recovery after an incident, you also need to know which data is covered, how the backups can be reached and how long a restore takes.
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Define what has to be backed up
Files, email, applications and configurations do not necessarily share the same protection. The inventory must identify what is covered and what needs an additional solution.
Tell synchronisation apart from backup
A synchronisation tool can pass on an unwanted deletion or change. Some services offer recovery features, whose capabilities and retention periods vary. They must be examined before concluding that they meet the need for a backup.
Spread and protect the copies
Copies must be organised so that a single failure cannot take them all. Where they sit, who holds administration rights and what protects them against change or deletion are all part of assessing the arrangement.
Set recovery objectives
Decide how much data the business can afford to lose and how long each service can stay unavailable. These objectives drive how often backups run and what is needed to restore them.
Run documented tests
How often to test depends on how critical the systems are and how much they change. A test must check access to the copies, the restore itself and whether the data can then be used, in an environment set aside for the purpose.
Prepare the questions to ask
- Which data is covered by the current arrangement?
- Which copies would still be reachable after an incident?
- Who holds the rights that would allow them to be deleted?
- When was the last restore test carried out?
- What limits did that test reveal?
These answers show which actions to take, and separate what is genuinely protected from what is merely configured.
Discuss how your backups are organised
The free audit is a way to review the scope covered and the checks actually carried out.