Backup & Disaster Recovery - Managed Business Continuity

If your server goes down, how quickly can you recover? Managed Business Continuity Services keep your data safe in the event of a security breach or natural disaster.

Physical Hardrive versus The Cloud

Standard Backup vs Backup & Disaster Recovery

The traditional form of backup uses physical servers and drives. Files are simply transferred to a medium and stored separately away from your main servers. Not only is this slow and outdated; it rarely backs up the server in its entirety.

However, Cloud-to-cloud backup has been growing in popularity because it provides an extra layer of protection for critical data; storing it in more than one place, rather than just onsite at an offsite facility.

Our Managed Business Continuity services back up your cloud-hosted data to a cloud-hosted backup repository –  no physical storage needed. Because of this, cloud-to-cloud does not require you to maintain hardware to store your backups, making it highly cost-effective.

You’ll never have to worry about losing critical information due to server downtime, human error or system malfunction. Disaster Recovery Services allow you to sleep easy knowing that your business is protected against disaster, and ready to recover data quickly.

Why do I need Disaster Recovery Services?

We get it. Keeping your server backups up-to-date can easily fall on the back burner. Business is busy, and there’s so much work to get done.

But take a look at these recent figures. You really don’t want to become a disaster statistic.

Permanent Closure Data Protection

60% of UK businesses who lose their data close down within six months of the disaster.

Protecting your data using managed backup services mitigates the risk of your business permanently closing due to a data protection breach or breaking of GDPR Laws.

In the event of a natural disaster, one call to BCS and we can turn on your server in the cloud and enable you to access it from any laptop or PC. This means you can continue to serve your clients in some capacity and at least have access to all of your data and systems in under an hour. Once your new server is then built and ready we can easily transfer the data and system state to the new server and you can continue as before.

Offsite Backups

42% of UK businesses have no server backups separate from their main office sites.

Disaster Recovery Services are so much more than a backup. Business Disaster Recovery makes multiple copies of your data both locally and cloud-based; and not just the data, but also your entire systems. If your backups are only held onsite and there was severe flooding or a fire, you data would be lost forever.

Business continuity services should include offsite backups and are essential when avoiding any threats to your business. The result? A ready-to-run complete duplicate of your system that we can turn on and run from the cloud.

Human Error DLP (Data Loss Protection)

According to the ICO, human error was the cause of approximately 90% of data breaches in 2019. 

Disaster recovery also covers human error, which is far more common than you’d think. Businesses that don’t train their end users in IT are often more susceptible to data loss, because staff members don’t understand the technology they are using.

Additionally, don’t rule out malicious attempts to delete data from internal members or ex-employees.

Server Backup Testing (Twice a year)

77% of server backups don’t work when tested, and only 34% of UK businesses bother to test them anyway!

Our Managed Business Continuity service performs backup testing as standard, twice a year to ensure your data is being backup correctly all year round. This allows you peace of mind, knowing that there is an up-to-date copy of your data always available and not corrupt.

Testing is important as it allows us to verify that all the data is transferred and ready to use in case of an emergency.

Disaster Recovery Planning (Business Continuity)

68% of SMBs don’t have a Disaster Recovery Plan in place to protect their networks.

Not all managed backup services include a disaster recovery plan, however this is included as standard with our BDR solution. This plan might not seem like a pressing matter, but once disaster strikes, it’ll be the first thing you’ll reach for.

A good plan will include:

  • Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
  • Hardware and Software Inventory
  • Identify Key Personnel Roles
  • List of Disaster Recovery Sites
  • Communication Plan (Internal & External)

Data Breaches (External & Internal)

43% of  UK businesses identified cyber security breaches or attacks in the last year (2020)

Data breaches can come at any time, no matter what size your business is or how secure you are. Managed backup services become crucial when your data is being targeted – meaning you can shut down your operations, eject the hacker and can continue to run safely whilst you get back to normal.

As previously mentioned, data breaches can also come from within – it’s good to have a range of different backups, and  in different locations in case someone from your organisation decides to steal or corrupt your data.

Permanent Closure Data Protection

Permanent Closure Data Protection

60% of UK businesses who lose their data close down within six months of the disaster.

Protecting your data using managed backup services mitigates the risk of your business permanently closing due to a data protection breach or breaking of GDPR Laws.

In the event of a natural disaster, one call to BCS and we can turn on your server in the cloud and enable you to access it from any laptop or PC. This means you can continue to serve your clients in some capacity and at least have access to all of your data and systems in under an hour. Once your new server is then built and ready we can easily transfer the data and system state to the new server and you can continue as before.

Offsite Backups

Offsite Backups

42% of UK businesses have no server backups separate from their main office sites.

Disaster Recovery Services are so much more than a backup. Business Disaster Recovery makes multiple copies of your data both locally and cloud-based; and not just the data, but also your entire systems. If your backups are only held onsite and there was severe flooding or a fire, you data would be lost forever.

Business continuity services should include offsite backups and are essential when avoiding any threats to your business. The result? A ready-to-run complete duplicate of your system that we can turn on and run from the cloud.

Human Error DLP

Human Error DLP (Data Loss Protection)

According to the ICO, human error was the cause of approximately 90% of data breaches in 2019. 

Disaster recovery also covers human error, which is far more common than you’d think. Businesses that don’t train their end users in IT are often more susceptible to data loss, because staff members don’t understand the technology they are using.

Additionally, don’t rule out malicious attempts to delete data from internal members or ex-employees.

Server Backup Testing

Server Backup Testing (Twice a year)

77% of server backups don’t work when tested, and only 34% of UK businesses bother to test them anyway!

Our Managed Business Continuity service performs backup testing as standard, twice a year to ensure your data is being backup correctly all year round. This allows you peace of mind, knowing that there is an up-to-date copy of your data always available and not corrupt.

Testing is important as it allows us to verify that all the data is transferred and ready to use in case of an emergency.

Business Continuity Planning

Disaster Recovery Planning (Business Continuity)

68% of SMBs don’t have a Disaster Recovery Plan in place to protect their networks.

Not all managed backup services include a disaster recovery plan, however this is included as standard with our BDR solution. This plan might not seem like a pressing matter, but once disaster strikes, it’ll be the first thing you’ll reach for.

A good plan will include:

  • Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
  • Hardware and Software Inventory
  • Identify Key Personnel Roles
  • List of Disaster Recovery Sites
  • Communication Plan (Internal & External)
Data Breaches

Data Breaches (External & Internal)

43% of  UK businesses identified cyber security breaches or attacks in the last year (2020)

Data breaches can come at any time, no matter what size your business is or how secure you are. Managed backup services become crucial when your data is being targeted – meaning you can shut down your operations, eject the hacker and can continue to run safely whilst you get back to normal.

As previously mentioned, data breaches can also come from within – it’s good to have a range of different backups, and  in different locations in case someone from your organisation decides to steal or corrupt your data.

How does Cloud Backup work?

After installation and setup of our Managed Backup Service, your servers will be continually backed up into the Cloud. This means copies of your data will be transferred to a purpose-built data centre. Then, if one of the devices fails or is stolen, all of your data is safe in the cloud, where a network proxy maps it to its original location.

Not only is this secure, but with data encrypted at AES-256 bit bank-grade encryption – It’s also fast, as once we have the first copy of the data, only amended or brand-new data is transferred each time. The result is an exact server replica that can be accessed within minutes, minimising business disruption if disaster was to strike.

By ensuring that all of your data is backed up and protected, Managed Business Continuity helps you avoid downtime, keeps your business compliant with data protection legislation and allows you to focus on the things that really matter.

A Physical Server Rack

Upgrading your existing backups

Managed Business Continuity will completely replace any existing backup protocols you have in place.

If you’re already paying a monthly fee for your disaster recovery solution, in many cases upgrading to a full Backup & Disaster Recovery solution means a relatively small increase in monthly fees. Backup & Disaster Recovery is a monthly service and the cost is dependent on how much data you have.

Prices start from £190 a month + VAT.

Cloud-to-cloud back up

If you use Microsoft Office 365 and SharePoint, your data is safe, right? Well yes and no. Whilst services such as OneDrive and SharePoint have basic disaster recovery in place – this isn’t guaranteed by Microsoft, so it’s always best practice to back up your cloud-hosted solutions as well – this is known as cloud-to-cloud backup.

We do this so that in the case of human error, data is able to be recovered quickly so you can get back to business as usual. Human error could be the accidental deletion of files or forgetting to save the latest version, as well as
malicious acts where data is destroyed on purpose.

BCS can help protect against accidental deletion and security threats, using third-party backup and recovery tools, whilst ensuring you meet legal and compliance requirements. It’s peace of mind that you’ll be able to restore items and files quickly and easily when using Office 365 and SharePoint.

Man in suit holding umbrella