Business Continuity vs Data Backup

What is the difference between Business Continuity and Data Backup?

Video: Business Continuity vs Data Backup

Watch this short video about backup vs. business continuity

A place to start is to ensure you have your files backed up. A copy needs to be off-site, preferably in the secure cloud. Data backup alone is not enough because the risks from viruses, ransomware, and human error are always looming.

You need a Business Continuity Solution to ensure your backed up data is usable, non-corrupted and virus-free. This short video talks about:

The difference between backups and continuity
What to look for in a Business Continuity Solution
- Image-based backup
- Stored locally and securely in the cloud
- Backup data tested for validity
- Upgrade as you grow

Watch this short video about what is instant virtualization

Outages and Disasters Happen

In many firms, leaders assume the data is getting backed up and if an outage or disaster happens (i.e. virus, computer/server crash, human error, etc.) the IT guy will go to the backup and restore the data. Good-to-go in a few minutes, right?

Are you positive your data is where you think it is? How would you answer the following:

Do you have two copies of your backup and is one off-site?
Have you tested the restore from your backup in the past month?
If you have backup databases, have you tested a restore of the database?

Data backup is a critical business function that requires continuous monitoring and management to ensure it works when you need it. We can do this for you faster, easier, and at a lower cost than you doing it yourself. We will execute the agreed to strategy to protect your business now and in the future.

Backup and disaster recovery (BDR) and business continuity solutions enable the rapid recovery of individual files or entire systems, on-site, or in the cloud. Multiple recovery options increase your agility, protect your productivity, and enhance competitiveness by allowing the continuous operation of your IT systems.

What is Business Continuity?

Business continuity involves keeping all essential aspects of a business functioning despite significant disruptive events. The event could be a natural or human-induced disaster.

Determining the business impact of an event requires the evaluation of two functions. What is your Recovery Point Object (RPO)? How much data can you tolerate not being recovered depends on your specific situation. For example, is it acceptable to loose 2 days of data or just 1 hour of data?

What is your Recovery Time Objective (RTO). What is your tolerance for the amount of time required to restore a service?

Source: Wikipedia

Backup Alone Not Enough

Peace of mind with faster recovery and security
Sends screenshot report of success
Hybrid Cloud solution guarantees uptime
Secure with end-to-end encryption

What is Disaster Recovery?

Disaster recovery can be thought of as a subset of business continuity. It focuses on the technology systems supporting critical business functions.

Disaster recovery is “a set of policies, tools and procedures to enable the recovery or continuation of vital technology infrastructure and systems following a natural or human-induced disaster.“

Planning, testing and verification of the recovery process are critical activities in disaster recovery. It happens far too often that a backup restoration has not been tested and parts or all of the backup cannot be used.

Source: Wikipedia

File Backup Vs. Image Backup

File backup copies select individual file that could be restored, if needed. Image backup creates an image containing everything required to get the application or service running again.

For example, your accounting solution is not just the data files. You need the user accounts, permissions, operating system, and the application to get the accounting service (or function) to work.

Image backups allow you to recover and run the entire service. File backups require you to get another system configured to consume the files. That can be a challenge and take time.

Backup is Only the Beginning

3 Differentiators to Demand from Your Backup Supplier

3-differentiators-to-demand-from-your-backup-supplier-2-of-3-Transparent-Pricing-results-matter-cloud-services-infographic

3-differentiators-to-demand-from-your-backup-supplier-3-of-3-Genuine-Partnership-Pricing-results-matter-cloud-services-infographic

The Risk

83% of Canadian IT Pros Confirm Data Break in 2018: Vendor Survey

According to a report released by Carbon Black in March 2019, attacks are increasing in numbers and complexity. The key survey research findings are:

The average number of breaches per surveyed organization is 3.42
26% of firms report being breached 5 or more times in the past 12 months
85% of surveyed organizations plan to increase spending on cyber defense

The survey was conducted by an independent research organization, Opinion Matters in January 2019. 250 Canadian CIOs, CTOs and CISOs were surveyed from companies in a range of industries including: financial, healthcare, government, retail, manufacturing, food and beverage, oil and gas, professional services, and media and entertainment.¹

Size Matters

According to the survey, 83% of businesses with over 5,000 employees reported an increase in attacks. This contrasts with only 65% of businesses with less than 250 employees reporting increased attacks.

SMB’s: How Will You Recover From A Breach?

85% of surveyed organizations say they plan to increase spending on cyber defense. Businesses with less than 50 employees were the least likely to increase spending on cyber defense.

Cyber defense is only part of the equation. You need a recovery strategy.

Recovery Strategy

How would you recover from a ransomware attack on your cloud based email solution? Who will help you recover and to what point would you be able to recover? How long can you afford to have your email unavailable?

Make sure you know who is responsible for what before a security incident occurs. From this survey, you can see it is just a matter of time until a cyber event affects your business.

Let us assess your current cyber defense and your recovery approach to answer:

How long can you be down?
Exactly how will you recover from a cyber incident?
What is the SOP (standard operating procedure) for a cyber incident recovery?
What were the results of your last end-to-end test?

References

¹Carbon Black, (March 12, 2019). Press release: First Canadian Threat Report from Cybersecurity Firm Carbon Black Finds That 83% of Surveyed Canadian Businesses Have Been Breached During the Last 12 Months. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.carbonblack.com/company/news/press-releases/first-canadian-threat-report-from-cybersecurity-firm-carbon-black-finds-that-83-of-surveyed-canadian-businesses-have-been-breached-during-the-last-12-months

Understanding The Cost of Downtime

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What does downtime cost your business? To find out, click here or call 403-455-5969.

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Case Study: Ransomware Recovery at Law Firm

Recovery with no business interruption and data loss. PBC (Practical Business Continuity) solution delivered as promised.

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Practical Business Continuity (PBC): Options and Prices

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