Why you need a true disaster recovery expert

More often than not, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) lack the resources and expertise to tackle all that is involved with data backup and disaster recovery (DR). Some choose to take on the task themselves, only to discover that protecting company data through DR planning requires complex preparation and near-perfect execution. This is where a proper managed IT services provider (MSP) comes in, making sure a company is truly prepared for disasters, such as hurricanes, outages, and malware, and can recover quickly in the event of one.

Data backup and disaster recovery is a security measure that must be taken. It protects sensitive company information that is essential to operations and regulatory compliance. However, companies of all sizes are leaving their data vulnerable to natural disasters and cyberattacks. This has resulted in dire consequences, such as stalled operations, lost revenue, reputation damage, and complete business closure.

At most, data backup and DR have become a part-time occupation of many companies, due in part to a lack of time, budget, or real expertise. Companies need something better than in-house IT personnel or a backup administrator. They need a 24/7 team that can plan and execute data backup and disaster recovery strategies. They need an MSP.

An MSP makes sure that companies have cost-effective access to full-time dedicated expertise and solutions for data backup and DR planning that mitigate these risks to business-critical data and preserve business continuity.

A well-suited plan

An MSP can help you determine the critical IT assets and systems of your business. MSP expertise can also help you identify the biggest threats and vulnerabilities. This way, your business will know and prioritize what needs to be protected by resources. An MSP can help you come up with a step-by-step game plan to quickly recover systems, data, and other critical assets quickly after a disruption. Accomplishing these steps successfully during a disaster is only possible with full-time expertise.

The strategy includes formulating your recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) and administering a regular backup schedule of critical business data. An MSP can help determine these critical aspects of data backup, which also form the backbone of your DR strategy.

Lastly, a DR plan isn’t static. A business shouldn’t set one up and leave it at that. An MSP can regularly test it through simulations and analysis, and then adjust it so that it stays relevant to the business and to growth projections.

Correctly back up, secure, and restore systems and data

Another important consideration is data storage or backup solution. Determining an appropriate backup solution is too complicated for a business to do alone. Based on the characteristics of your business, an MSP can recommend the best option to protect your data: an on-premises, a cloud, or a hybrid solution, including great software to quickly restore systems and help operations avoid downtime.

Many SMBs think cloud services are the way to go, but what’s trending as the cutting-edge will not always be the best option. An MSP will gather knowledge of which systems or data needs on-premise copies for quick recovery and which ones are not time-sensitive and can wait for a slower restore via the cloud.

Cloud backup is really complicated, and it’s where MSPs can provide added value. An MSP can create a clear recovery plan from cloud to site or through virtual recovery in the cloud, so your business can bounce back in no time when disaster strikes.

Data should be protected even during the backup process. An MSP can provide end-to-end encryption that protects data from being monitored and intercepted when data is being backed up. It can then protect data storage from unauthorized access, but allow access at any time and from anywhere to entrusted business users through secure channels.

As you can see, you need a full-time expert with the right knowledge and solutions to ensure business continuity. You can’t count on a one-time fix, a fly-by-night operation, or your own IT personnel to do a less thorough job. Spectrumwise has experts at your beck and call 24/7/365. We can equip your business with data backup and DR solutions well-suited to your business, from cloud services to network security to business continuity planning and virtualization. Contact us today for a demo or a free consultation.

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