Many organisations have a backup, but have never tested how quickly systems, applications and data can actually be restored in the event of a disruption, cyberattack or disaster.
Back-up & Disaster Recovery focuses not only on safeguarding data, but above all on restoring business operations when something goes wrong. We look at the availability of data, systems, workstations and critical business processes so that employees can get back to work as quickly as possible.
With Back-up & Disaster Recovery, B/Focused supports organisations in limiting risks, protecting business data and developing recovery strategies that match the organisation’s continuity needs.
Why do organisations choose Back-up & Disaster Recovery?
Protection of business data
Important data remains available when files are deleted, changed or lost.
Protection against ransomware
Backups help restore data faster when systems are affected by ransomware or other cyber incidents.
Shorter recovery times
By setting recovery targets in advance, systems and data can be restored to a workable state more quickly.
Support with compliance
Backup and recovery strategies help organisations demonstrably protect data and manage business risks.
Continuity of business processes
A good recovery strategy helps organisations limit disruptions and resume business processes more quickly after an incident.
Independent backup strategy
Data can be stored outside production environments and cloud platforms, so recovery remains possible when the primary environment is unavailable.
How do we build a Back-up & Disaster Recovery strategy?
Step 1: Inventory & Risk analysis
We map out which data, systems, applications and business processes are critical to your organisation. We look not only at technical systems, but also at their impact on your business operations.
This provides insight into which components have priority for recovery and which risks are acceptable.
Step 2: Design of the Backup strategy
Based on the inventory, we determine how data is safeguarded, where it is stored and which recovery targets apply.
Depending on your needs, recovery points can be reduced from one day to a few minutes, on a backup appliance on site, on replacement hardware, or in the cloud.
Step 3: Disaster Recovery & Continuity
For business-critical environments, recovery scenarios can be set up in which systems are temporarily started up from a secure environment in the data centre in Munich.
This allows critical business processes to often be resumed significantly faster when the primary environment is unavailable.
Step 4: Testing, monitoring & improving
A backup is only valuable when recovery actually works. That’s why recovery procedures are periodically checked, tested and adjusted where necessary to changes within the organisation.
This keeps the recovery strategy aligned with current risks, growth and technological developments.
Why our Back-up & Disaster Recovery approach works differently
Immutable (non-deletable) backups
Our backup environments use immutable storage. This means stored backups cannot be changed, deleted or encrypted for a predetermined period.
This provides extra protection against ransomware, human error and unwanted changes within the backup environment.
European data centres (Germany & Iceland)
Backup data is stored within European data centres, including locations in Germany and Iceland.
This keeps your data stored within Europe in accordance with European regulations, while also ensuring geographic distribution and extra protection against local incidents.
Recovery targets tailored to your organisation
Not every organisation has the same requirements regarding data loss and recovery time.
Depending on the chosen strategy, maximum data loss can be limited to 24 hours or, by using additional backup frequencies, even reduced to a few minutes.
Disaster Recovery from the data centre
With Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCDR), critical systems can be started up from our data centre in Munich when the primary environment is unavailable.
This allows business-critical processes to often be resumed very quickly without having to restore the original infrastructure.
Practical example
One of our clients experienced a fire in which the primary ICT environment was no longer available.
Thanks to pre-arranged backup and recovery procedures, the first employees were able to access their work environment on the server that very morning. This kept the impact on business operations limited and allowed critical work to resume quickly.
This kind of scenario shows that recoverability is often more important than simply having a backup.
Are you dealing with a disruption, cyber incident or disaster?
When systems are unavailable or business processes come to a halt, every minute counts. Our specialists are available to help with recovery, damage limitation and restoring the availability of critical systems.
Call for emergencies 24/7: 045-3030003
Here’s what we can do for you during disaster recovery:
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
For genuine emergencies such as a major fire, hack, water damage or break-in at your business premises, we are available 24/7. Let us know as soon as possible, even in the middle of the night, so we can start the recovery process straight away.
Experience in disaster recovery
In our company’s 20-year history, we have dealt with many disaster scenarios at businesses. Hacks, fire, explosions, water damage, theft or faulty media without a backup: we’ve seen it all before.
Make use of our knowledge in this area.
Scaling up & action
In the event of an incident, we clear our schedule and deploy all our available staff to get your business operational again as quickly as possible. Within an hour we can provide emergency workstations, and within a few hours we can have new hardware available to rebuild your environment.
Frequently asked questions
Can systems be temporarily started up from a data centre?
Yes. With Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCDR), critical systems can be temporarily started up from a data centre environment when the primary infrastructure is unavailable.
How much data can my organisation lose at most?
This is determined by the agreed recovery targets. Depending on the chosen strategy, maximum data loss can be limited to 24 hours or even reduced to a few minutes.
Where are our backups stored?
Depending on the chosen solution, backups can be stored within European data centres, including locations in Germany and Iceland. This keeps data stored within Europe while also ensuring geographic distribution.
What is an immutable backup?
An immutable backup cannot be changed, deleted or encrypted for a predetermined period. This means a recovery point remains available, even when systems are affected by ransomware or unwanted changes.
What is encryption?
Encryption means scrambling data. We use it to protect your data from third parties, but hackers also use it to make your data unusable in order to extort a ransom payment.
We apply data encryption for every one of our clients. This can also be included in your GDPR policy as a measure you have taken to protect your data.
Is a backup on an external hard drive sufficient?
Many organisations still use external hard drives for backups. Although this can help in some situations, this approach often offers insufficient protection against ransomware, theft, fire, water damage or human error.
Modern backup strategies therefore combine encrypted storage, geographic distribution, immutable backups and periodic recovery tests.
We make backups at our second location, that’s well arranged, isn’t it?
Hackers and the viruses they spread always check first whether they can delete the backups that are made. A second location connected to the primary location is therefore fine for an incident such as fire, but not for digital crime. After all, you are still making a backup within your production environment.
Our data is synchronised to another location every night, is this a good backup?
Clearly no. With encryption viruses, you run a huge risk of losing all your data. We know several companies (now new clients) who lost all their data this way. An encryption virus was brought in that started encrypting all files. Staff did not notice this immediately, and overnight all the encrypted files were neatly synchronised to the backup solution, with the result that the following morning both the production data and the synchronised data were encrypted.
I have all my data in the cloud, so a backup is unnecessary, isn’t it?
Although that’s true for standard incidents such as a burnt-down office, a stolen laptop or water damage, it applies much less to the rising tide of digital crime. Hackers are often already inside your systems for a long time and make sure to delete any existing backup copies before they strike. We believe every company should have a backup on a different platform than the production platform on which the data is stored.
What is data retention?
The term data retention refers to the retention period of your backup data. With our standard backup solution, we apply a retention period of 365 days, which can be extended to a longer period, for which we then need more storage. After all: the longer we keep a backup, the more storage we need.
Which data should I include in a backup?
We advise including all production data in a backup in any case. Also think carefully about other data sources within your organisation, such as a time registration or camera system.
For servers, you can also opt for a full server backup for faster recovery times in the event of an incident, in which the entire server can be restored without first having to build a new server. This speeds up recovery during an incident.