A backup only counts if it restores.
Most businesses learn how good their backup is on the worst day of the year: a failed server, a ransom note on every screen, a flooded office after a storm. Backup and disaster recovery here is built the other way round. It starts with what the business needs back and how fast, then designs the copies, tests the restores and writes the plan down. Off-site copies sit on infrastructure we own and operate.
Servers, office computers and cloud accounts, plus the business that runs on them.
The copies are only half of it. Each one has to be complete, current and somewhere a disaster at your building cannot reach.
- Server backup of file servers, databases and the applications your staff rely on, captured whole so a failed machine can be rebuilt rather than just having its files fished out.
- Off-site copies held away from your office, so a fire, flood or break-in at the building does not take the backup with it.
- Ransomware resistance. Copies are kept out of reach of the everyday accounts that ransomware tends to hijack.
- Cloud accounts such as company mail and shared files, which the provider keeps available but does not keep as the long history most owners assume.
- Monitored jobs. A failed backup raises an alert instead of being discovered in the middle of a crisis.
The plan answers two questions: what comes back first, and how quickly.
Everything else follows from those answers.
Recovery planning
Each system gets a target for how much recent work the business can afford to lose and how long it can run without that system. Those targets decide the backup schedule and the recovery method. They are written in plain language, not vendor jargon.
Restore testing
A file. A mailbox. A whole server. Restores are tested on a schedule and the outcome is recorded, so the first real restore is never the first attempt.
Business continuity
Beyond the data sits a short list of decisions: who makes the call, how staff reach phones and email, which vendors to contact, where people work if the office is closed. In Florida, storm season makes this a working document rather than a binder on a shelf.
Server and infrastructure backup
Businesses running their own servers get image-level backup alongside file backup. Workloads that would be better off on managed hardware are covered on the dedicated servers page.
Hosted sites and applications
Websites and applications on our hosting already have scheduled backups held away from the server they came from, so they fold into the same recovery plan.
Start from what you would need back on a bad Monday.
The first step is an inventory of which systems hold data, where they run and what stops when each one fails. From that come the recovery targets, the backup design and a test schedule, all agreed in writing before anything is installed. Central Florida offices also plan for the week the building is closed after a hurricane, so the plan says how staff keep working from somewhere else.
- Inventory.Systems, data and what depends on each.
- Targets.Acceptable loss and downtime, per system, in writing.
- Build.Backups configured and copies sent off site.
- Test.Restores proven on a schedule and reported.
Part of looking after systems, not a separate product to forget about.
- It can be added to a managed IT plan, so the people watching your systems also watch the backups.
- Regulated offices get documented backups and controlled access, with the compliance requirements that apply to them written into the service scope.
- Ransomware is only one threat. The detection side is on the cybersecurity page.
- On-site work across Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Volusia, Brevard and Polk counties, with the off-site copies held on infrastructure we operate.
Worth answering before anything fails.
Is cloud file sync the same as a backup?
No. A synced folder copies deletions and encrypted files as faithfully as good ones. A backup keeps earlier versions apart from the live data, so you can go back to a point before the problem started.
How often should backups run?
As often as the business can afford to lose work. For key data in many offices that means several times a day. The plan sets the schedule system by system.
How do we know a backup will actually restore?
Because it is tested. Restore tests run on a schedule, and the results are recorded and reported to you.
Where are the off-site copies kept?
On infrastructure we own and operate, away from your premises and out of reach of the everyday user accounts in your office.
Do you back up home computers?
No. The service is for businesses: servers, office computers and company cloud accounts.
Find out when your backup was last restored, and bring the answer to the call.
A 15 to 30 minute call. A straight answer on fit, and the right next session if there is one.