Happy World Backup Day! It’s a day to celebrate the importance of backing up your data and to raise awareness of the potential risks and consequences of not doing so.

To emphasize the importance of backing up your data, let’s take a look at some scary statistics.

According to Consoltech and Comparitech:

• Almost 70% of small businesses close within a year of a large data loss
• 33% of all folders in an average company are not protected at all
• Up to 94% of companies that experience a severe data loss never recover
• 51% of companies close within two years of the incident
• 43% do not reopen again

These numbers highlight the critical importance of implementing a solid backup and disaster recovery plan.

Unfortunately, I have personally witnessed the consequences of inadequate backup and disaster recovery planning. For example, I was once contacted by a company that had lost hundreds of computers and servers to ransomware. Due to poor backup practices, Michael Paul and I had to rebuild the entire environment and salvage what data we could, costing the company a significant amount of money. In another case, I encountered a company that had only one copy of their backups on a USB hard drive, and their systems were hit by ransomware. To my utter amazement, the IT manager had connected the only copy of their data to the infected server, and by the time I arrived, the ransomware had destroyed that too. That IT manager no longer works for the company!

On the other hand, I have also witnessed the benefits of a solid backup and disaster recovery plan. By implementing the 321 approach to backups (3 copies of data, 2 different media, and 1 offsite copy of data), we can protect against data loss. Additionally, by adding an offline or immutable copy of data, we can protect against the risk of a disgruntled or rogue employee deleting all backups. To ensure that backups are recoverable, it’s crucial to test backup files regularly using tools such as Veeam Sure Backup.

This is known as the 32110 approach to backup and it breaks down like this:

In conclusion, backing up your data is essential to protect against data loss, financial loss, and even business closure. By implementing best practices and regularly testing backup files, we can ensure that we are prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Are you confident that your backups are reliable? Business leaders, can you guarantee that your IT department has solid backup practices in place and a well-defined plan for disaster recovery? Don’t wait until it’s too late. Take action now and seek expert advice to assess your ability to recover from a catastrophic event.

It’s crucial to prioritize backup and disaster recovery planning to ensure that your business can continue to operate in the event of a data loss or system failure. Failure to do so could result in severe consequences, such as financial loss or even business closure.

So, act now and get a professional assessment of your backup and disaster recovery plan. Don’t take any chances with your critical business data. It’s better to be proactive and prepared than to suffer the consequences of inadequate planning.

Happy World Backup Day!