Evolve Your Own Backup Solution For Clients, or Get a Partner?

Craig Wilson
Backupology
Published in
3 min readAug 19, 2021

Imagine you received the next panic call from a CEO at one of your client companies — and think about how you would like to be prepared to deal with it.

Your client’s CEO calls to tell you that his staff is locked out of their network and all of their data and that all screens display a message to buy software that requires a large bitcoin payment or hackers will permanently destroy the company’s data.

You can apprehend the urgency in his speech. His business is in question. And your reputation. That means it engages you. As the tech service partner, you have a redundant, cloud-based backup solution deployed to cover him for such an emergency — what a relief!

Based on the many consultations we have had with businesses that have approached us about their needs and collection needs, here are the five most typical components we must have that we have found that companies will require any backup solution.

The Capacity to Reach Recovery Time Objectives (RTOS)

If you are new to the backup world, one of the most critical metrics in assessing the value of a backup system is whether it can meet your recovery or RTO goals.

RTO is the maximum time that a business will tolerate between the failure of a technology or process and that system being rebuilt.

This route is usually based on how long the business can take before the downtime causes material damage to its operations.

Highly Secure and Reliable Data Storage

An advanced set of security protocols is also at the top of the list for any successful backup system to protect your clients’ data 24/7 from cyber and physical attacks.

As the power of companies’ digital assets grows, those assets cover an increasing threat of breach, theft, fraud, destruction, hijacking, and other kinds of attack.

Your customers know that their critical mission data is at constant risk from hackers.

It means that when researching backup and cloud recovery providers, they are likely to look for evidence that these systems offer the highest level of security and encryption for their data.

Backup and Recovery Methods That Meet Regulatory Requirements

For each of your clients who handle personal data (PII) for their clients — medical history, financial records, student records, etc. — those companies will be regulated by at least one of the many federal data privacy laws.

The result of these federal laws is that your customers are legally required to take steps to protect their customers’ data.

These steps may include encrypting that data for both transmission and storage, implementing controls that restrict access to authorized personnel only, documenting a recovery plan or business continuity for a disaster, and so on.

A Backup and Recovery Solution That Is Completely Editable

Concerning data backup, a successful solution, by definition, needs to be customized.

Each company’s backup and recovery needs are different, as there is an infinite number of configurations for the technology infrastructure and business processes.

Your customers’ technology profiles undoubtedly differ in operating systems, cloud applications, mobile devices, hardware systems, storage capacity, existing data management rules, and many additional variables.

A Great Level of Technical and Business Support

At last, most customers will look for a solid support system built into any backup and data recovery solution they are considering purchasing.

These services, by definition, are there for emergencies — and in an emergency, your customer does not want to hear a recording of your customer support number telling them you are closed until tomorrow morning.

Backup and recovery suppliers work on a range of quality-from overnight operations, without support, experience, or infrastructure, to longtime experts providing 24/7 support and even actively monitoring your backups so that they can act as a problem. Even before you know, something is wrong.

It is always an excellent idea to have a proper partner with the right backup solution.

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Craig Wilson
Backupology

I am a tech journalist, and I enjoy meeting new people and finding ways to help them have an uplifting experience.