Business continuity
Business backups and disaster recovery
Protect the systems and information your organisation depends on, then document how they would actually be restored.
More than copying files
A backup is useful only if it protects the right information and can be restored
The starting point is not a product. It is understanding what must be recovered, how much data the business could afford to lose and how long an interruption could reasonably last.
JM Restart can design and support file-level and full-device image backups for agreed workstations, servers, network-attached storage and virtual machines. Local, off-site, offline and suitably immutable options can be combined where they fit the risk, systems and budget.
Routine backup media normally remain under the customer’s control. The agreed design should make responsibilities clear, including who checks reports, rotates or disconnects media, responds to failures and authorises a restore.
Systems we can consider
- Business workstations and laptops
- Physical and virtual servers
- Network-attached storage devices
- Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace data
- Important files and application data
- Full-device images where suitable
The exact workloads, exclusions and recovery method must be confirmed in the quotation and documented plan.
From review to recovery procedure
Build the service around the workload rather than forcing every customer into one product
JM Restart works with current business backup platforms, Microsoft cloud services and carefully designed file-copy methods. The selected product, edition and licence must match the agreed workload and recovery plan.
Discover and scope
Identify important data, applications, configurations, dependencies and the interruption that each part of the business could tolerate.
Design and implement
Agree the backup frequency, retention, destinations, separation, access controls, encryption and customer responsibilities before implementation.
Monitor and respond
Where monitoring is included, review the supported reports or alerts and define who investigates a failure. A successful notification is not proof that every item can be restored.
Test and document
Carry out agreed restore tests, record the result and maintain the recovery instructions, credentials and dependencies needed during a real incident.
Related but different
Backup, synchronisation and disaster recovery are not interchangeable
Synchronisation
Services such as file synchronisation help make current files available across devices. Unwanted deletion, corruption or encryption can also synchronise, so synchronisation alone is not an independent backup.
Backup
A backup creates separate recoverable copies according to an agreed schedule and retention policy. It may protect selected files, applications, whole devices or cloud-service data.
Disaster recovery
A recovery plan explains priorities, people, dependencies, alternative arrangements and the order in which systems and data should be restored after a serious interruption.
Copies that do not share every risk
Use separation as well as quantity
A popular starting point is the 3-2-1 approach: at least three copies, on two devices or types of storage, with one copy off site.
That is a useful prompt rather than a guarantee. Important backups may also need logical separation, offline periods or controls that resist unauthorised alteration and deletion. A removable drive permanently connected beside the protected computer may be reached by the same ransomware, power event, theft or physical incident.
Encryption can protect backup data if media is lost or stolen, but the keys and recovery information must also be managed. No safe, cloud service, drive or security feature removes every risk.
Questions a plan should answer
- What data and systems are essential?
- How often should copies be created?
- How long should versions be retained?
- Which risks affect each copy?
- Who checks and responds to failures?
- How will access and encryption keys be recovered?
- When was the last successful test restore?
Recovery objectives
Decide what acceptable recovery means before an incident
Recovery point objective
The recovery point objective describes the maximum amount of recent data loss the plan is designed around. It influences backup frequency, storage and cost.
Recovery time objective
The recovery time objective describes the target time for restoring an agreed service. It is not created automatically by owning a backup and must reflect the full recovery route.
Test restore
A test restore gives evidence that selected data can be recovered and helps expose missing instructions, credentials, dependencies or capacity. JM Restart recommends discussing quarterly testing.
Common questions
Business backup and recovery, explained
Is RAID a backup?
No. RAID can improve availability after some drive failures, depending on its design, but deletion, corruption, malware, theft or a wider system failure can affect the array. Important data still needs a separate backup.
Does Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace remove the need for backup?
No. Cloud providers operate resilient services, but customers still control identities, access, retention choices and much of the data lifecycle. Built-in recycle bins and version history are useful but are not automatically the same as an independently managed backup.
Will JM Restart monitor every backup?
Only where monitoring is included in the agreed service and supported by the chosen platform. For non-contract customers, checking backup status remains the customer’s responsibility unless a separate monitoring service is agreed.
Can you help after a major incident?
JM Restart can provide documented recovery planning for existing customers and may provide emergency recovery assistance under the applicable arrangements. Any response or recovery-time commitment must be individually designed and agreed.
How much does a backup system cost?
It depends on the systems, data volume, backup frequency, retention, storage locations, recovery speed, monitoring and customer responsibilities. We review the requirement and provide a written quotation rather than promoting one universal package.
Would your current backups support a real recovery?
Tell us which systems matter, what is already protected and which interruptions would be hardest for the business. We can help review the gaps and prepare a quotation-led plan.
