Backup and Recovery Management for Small Offices
Backup and recovery management decides what gets copied, where those copies live, how fresh they stay and who may restore them to a live system. The proof is a restore test.
What a small business forgets to back up
The file server is usually covered. The rest often is not. Mailboxes and shared drives in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, the accounting file on one laptop, the website database and the router settings all sit outside a server backup. Cloud suppliers keep their own service running, yet they do not promise to bring back a file that a member of staff deleted by mistake. Start with an honest list.
What the arrangement has to settle
Restore tests and the limits of backup
A good test brings back one real file, one mailbox item and, now and then, a whole system onto a spare machine, then records how long it took. Backup still has hard limits. It cannot undo a bad decision made before the copy ran, and a copy taken overnight loses everything typed since the previous evening. Old systems may need matching hardware.
Frequently asked questions
How often should restores be tested?
At least once a quarter. Run an extra test after any change to servers, storage or the backup tool, because those changes quietly break the jobs that used to work. A full restore needs planning.
Is Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace already backed up?
Not in the way owners assume. The supplier keeps the service available and holds deleted items for a limited period, but it will not rebuild a mailbox that a leaver emptied on purpose. A separate backup closes that gap.
Who should be allowed to restore data?
Only a few named people. Usually that means the owner and the IT contact, each with a personal login and a second sign-in step, while everyone else asks through a ticket. Tickets leave a record.
When is backup alone not enough?
When downtime is unaffordable. Restoring always takes time, so a business that cannot stop for even a morning needs a standby system running beside the main one. That costs more to run.
Tell us what you need.
Share your requirements and one of our engineers will come back to you within one business day.
What happens after you share your requirements
- A senior engineer reads your answers. Nobody phones first.
- Within one business day you get a written note: what we understood, what we would start with, and the questions we still have.
- If it fits, a proposal follows with the order of work, what we need from you and what you receive at each step.
- No call is booked and nothing is paid until you have read the note. Your details stay with us.
Start with your requirements
Seven short steps that tell us what you need. A senior engineer reads them before anyone gets in touch.
Share your requirements