hard-drive

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the term Disaster Recovery (DR) has received a lot of attention. Most small businesses and companies have realized the importance of being able to bounce back quickly from a disruptive cyber security event. In 2020, about 80% of small businesses reported having an actionable recovery plan in place.1 But are you 100% sure that your business’ data is 100% recoverable?

If you aren’t sure how much of your sensitive business data is recoverable or aren’t testing your disaster recovery solution to catch issues like syncing, having a disaster recovery plan doesn’t make a lot of sense. An effective DR plan for your business must cover a broad spectrum of threats to vital applications and systems, from minor equipment and hardware failure to natural disasters.

Not having a fully and quickly recoverable data environment could lead to:

  • Downtime – For SMBs, downtime costs per hour can be as high as $50,000.2
  • Customer dissatisfaction – Nearly one-third of customers would end their association with a business that has shown they aren’t capable of safely handling their data.3
  • Regulatory penalties – Unsatisfactory data handling practices can lead to government and regulatory penalties worth up to 4% of company turnover.4 

This is where the concept of recovery assurance (RA) finds its importance. Recovery assurance means sufficiently testing backups to ensure quick system recovery in the event of a cyber disruption.

Make sure to incorporate the following features:

  1. Automated Scheduled Recovery Testing

Building in this feature allows you to easily schedule times for your systems to be tested. This solution should automatically install the entire software stack and then load a test environment on the backup server or in the cloud.

  1. Non-Disruptiveness

Your solution should fully restore applications, perform analytics and provide data, measure recovery time and recovery points, and provide information about why certain recoveries fail — without impacting productivity or run time. These benchmarks should be achievable if all testing is performed on the backup server or in the cloud.

  1. Ability to Generate Insightful Reports

The reports generated must be easy to comprehend and be shareable with all of your auditors. The system should be able to identify the number of successful tests and compare the actual recovery point/time to your expected recovery objectives. Additionally, a list of recovery issues and likely causes helps ensure quick remediation.

 

6 Things to Keep in Mind When Choosing a Recovery Solution

There are many different backup offerings available to businesses. A one size fits all solution rarely meets an organization’s needs. However, the following criteria can help small businesses evaluate backup solutions:

  1. Hybrid storage

As most companies are currently dealing with a distributed workforce, just having an on-premise backup will not suffice. Hybrid storage that provides on-premise and cloud storage options is what most businesses need in our post-Covid landscape.

  1. Recoverability

It shouldn’t be only about recovering a single deleted file but rather about quickly getting your entire business restored and running again following a cyber disruption event.

  1. Remote access

Almost no one, especially after the pandemic, runs a business from a single location and system. A modern backup solution should ideally facilitate easy remote access.

  1. Scalability

Every business wants to grow larger at the next best opportunity. The backup solution that you use must be scalable to meet your business’s needs as it grows.

  1. Support

Your backup solution provider must provide timely assistance whenever required. If not, your business could face a hit in productivity, profits and time.

  1. Satisfies Security and Compliance standards

The backup solution must provide encryption of data and only authorized personnel should be able to access it. Similarly, data handling and other vital functionalities must comply with regulatory standards.

Still have questions? TechSeven Partners can help you find and implement the right backup solution for your unique business quickly. Contact us for a consultation today.

 Sources:

  1. TechRepublic
  2. TechRadar
  3. IDC Report
  4. GDPR Associates

 

 

 

Still have questions? We can help you find and implement the right backup solution for your unique business quickly. Contact us for a consultation today.