We often talk about having a backup plan, a contingency strategy in the event something unforeseen happens. In our private lives we buy life and auto insurance; we build emergency funds, and we install generators. But how careful are we with the precious data and software that fuels our organizations? Managed backup services are a critical component of any IT support for small businesses strategy.
A recent post by Security Magazine cited cyber-attacks globally increased by 38% in 2022 over 2021. Hackers using various techniques seek to steal or expose private information, but these bad actors pose only one threat to our networks. Natural disasters, power failures, equipment breakdowns, and even human error can destroy some or all of our data.
Today most organizations know they need a Disaster Recovery Plan, a contingency strategy for resuming business after a breakdown in operations. But an effective recovery relies on the availability of comprehensive backups as well as the ability to restore data and systems quickly. And ensuring these backups happen demands disciplined management. For this reason, organizations mitigate their risk by contracting with a managed backup service.
What can a managed service provider (MSP) offering backup services do for you?
Design
Secure backup services start with a healthy backup plan. Do you use on-site or off-site storage? Have you employed automatic cloud backup? Does your backup schedule ensure you retain data that can support effective recovery? You may backup your data nightly, but you could lose permanently activity occurring during the day the failure happens. An MSP provides professionals who not only manage your managed cloud backup services, but they also help you design backup schedules to minimize data loss and downtime.
Manage
You begin with a good design, but who is ensuring backups are occurring? And, are those backups keeping pace with your growing needs? Managed cloud backup services not only monitor your backups, their professionals run tests periodically to ensure those backups can effectively restore your data. The MSPs know the state-of-the-art tools and hardware and can alert you to upgrades to keep your data secure.
Recover
In the event your data becomes corrupted or destroyed, you likely have related issues to address. Your managed service provider can focus on recovering your data, freeing you to address other matters. They can also help you tackle any related hardware problems, if needed. The MSP can design your backup procedures to use tools such as virtualized environments to reduce the time required to restore your data and reduce costly downtime.
Consider engaging managed backup services to design effective backup plans, to administer those plans, and, in the event of data corruption or a hardware failure, restore your system and data in a timely fashion.
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