This one might be a bit dry, but hopefully it helps you understand modern day Business Continuity Plans….
In the past, when we talked about a Business Continuity (BCDR) Plan, we were really worried about data loss from server failures. Today, it’s far more likely that Malware, Ransomware, or User Error will lead to your next “disaster.”
What exactly is a BCDR plan? There are two main factors to consider when you implement this sort of system.
- Recovery Time Objective – How long can your business be without its data and applications before there is irreparable damage?
- Recovery Point Objective – How much data can your business afford to lose before there is irreparable damage?
Recovery Time Objective
Most organizations would be in dire straights if they lost all access to systems for 1 week, and yet most of the backup systems we see when talking to new clients would take at least that long before a full restore was completed.
Recovery Point Objective
Much like above, most organizations would face some serious problems if they lost a week’s worth of data.
The History of Data Backups
In the past, backups were typically taken each night. Usually, the initial backup was the only “full” backup, and then each night an “incremental” or “differential” was taken which only backed up the changes from the “full” initial. By doing this, a Chain is created where each link is required to do a restore. Lose one link, and you lose the whole chain.
Here’s the problem with these systems:
- Because they’re a chain, they take forever to restore from.
- If you’re restoring because of a hardware failure, you first must get replacement hardware, and that can take weeks.
- If the chain is broken, so is your backup.
Modern Day BCDR Systems
Datto, the company we use, has solved all these problems. Where an old backup system essentially made a photocopy of your files each night, Datto backup systems take a snapshot, more like a 3D holographic picture of the whole server including hardware. In a disaster scenario, Datto systems can basically 3D print the whole server back up to a running state within minutes.
On top of that, Datto takes backups every 60 minutes and moves a copy offsite each 24hour period.
Disgruntled employee delete your main file share before leaving? Restore from 60 minutes ago. Joe in accounting open that ransomware? Restore from 60 minutes ago. Server light on fire? Restore from 60 minutes ago right to your Datto appliance. Building burn down? Spin up your last offsite backup and work from home.
Datto really is the world’s best BCDR company and the reason Adaptive uses them with all our clients is that we know how valuable your data is, even if you don’t.