Are You Absolutely Sure Your Backups are Working?

No one wants to think about the consequences of a fire or damage to their tech resources. But if something does happen, will your backups be ready?

Most organizations assume that because a backup job has run, their data is protected. In reality, hardware failures, misconfigured jobs, storage issues, ransomware, or even simple human error can render backups unusable when you need them most.

The only way to know your backup will perform under pressure is to test your backups regularly—before an incident forces your hand. Although a majority of people have run a backup of their data, are they conducting these tests consistently?

Reliability is a must-have for instilling confidence during a potential disaster. Your backups must be prepared to work, not just scheduled to run. This means validating backup logs, performing routine test restores, and confirming that critical systems, applications, and databases can be brought back online within your required RTOs and RPOs.

One way to do this is by verifying that backup processes are operating the way they should be. Your business should also create a data protection strategy and disaster-proof your backups by defining what needs to be protected, how often, and where the data should reside (local, cloud, or hybrid).

Document your recovery procedures in clear, step-by-step runbooks so anyone on your team can follow them under pressure. Test these procedures on a regular schedule—such as quarterly or after any major change—to confirm you can actually restore systems, applications, and data within your defined RTOs and RPOs.

As your environment, compliance requirements, or workloads change, review the results of those tests, update your documentation, and refine your plan so it remains aligned with current infrastructure, regulatory standards, and business priorities. 

For more on ensuring that your backups will rise to the occasion, and to see how NovaBACKUP can help you implement reliable, testable local and cloud backup with fast recovery, reach out to one of our backup experts.