Backups are a crucial component of data security. Businesses use their safeguarding and restoration practices to protect their assets against cyber and physical security threats. Whether the organizations delegate backup responsibilities to in-house IT teams or rely on their cloud service provider to automatically back up data, it is crucial to have an up-to-date data protection strategy.
It is likely that when selecting a service provider to partner with, clients will contribute to data protection solutions and offers, so managed services providers (MSPs) should offer a variety of backup and recovery services and IT support in Sydney to maintain competition.
Many companies turn to MSPs for backup and recovery solutions, and it is essential to know the range of different backup solutions. Here are some of the capabilities your MSP would like to offer in the field of data protection:
- Cloud-first backups: These are an efficient way to secure customer data offsite, and a hybrid also retains a second copy on the ground with your choice of storage equipment.
- Automatic backups several times a day: many MSPs give customers various recovery points throughout the day. This is the best way to store multiple versions of company data and prevent data loss, helping to achieve recovery goals.
- Encryption backups: Data security during backup is paramount, and always make sure that servers and workstations aren’t exposed to greater risk when data is in transit or resting. End-to-end encryption is the best practice.
- Version Control: It’s essential to have effective versioning to back up databases, devices, or documents. You can only access your last use if you only maintain the latest version of your data. This may be particularly risky if ransomware has modified or corrupted your data before your last backup, as your previous version can’t be restored.
- Retention Control: The retention control is closely linked and can be carried out with “versioning.” Retention regulates the amount of time and frequency at which you can retain backup data. This would probably rely on how long you need the data and the criteria for your geographical location and your industry. It is also helpful to evaluate how much storage you are acquiring.
- Cloud backup archiving: Archiving your data can be an ideal option if you don’t need to prune your retention points frequently. This is more practical, especially if you don’t need to retain data for a longer time. Service providers should provide backup archiving beyond the typical retention periods, which might be significant for compliance concerns — especially if you or your client need to prove data security over time.
How can Managed Service Provider Helps you implement a Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan
Classification and Data Backup.
MSPs organize your information based on four standard classifications:
- Public: Data readily available to employees.
- Internal-only: Data solely accessible to internal personnel that has access to them.
- Confidential: Data requiring specific approval and clearance before accessibility.
- Restricted: Data could result in legal sanctions or irreparable damage to the organization if accessed without authorization.
By classifying your data, you can identify the files you need to most securely. They will then back up your data to various storage media and regularly monitor its availability and integrity. MSPs also provide proactive backup management, where they frequently test backups for recovery in the case of a disaster.
Identifying Stakeholders.
The infrastructure personnel and senior management are not the only parties to your BDR plan’s success. Your MSP can help you identify other companies, including database managers and application testers, who should be involved. These staff can provide valuable insights and help you to discover resources to restore your systems.
BDR Plan Creation.
When building your disaster recovery plan, MSPs assist you in evaluating the maximum downtime that your organization can afford to decide your recovery point objective(RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO).
RPO is the amount of information your company can lose. Therefore, if you can lose only two days’ worth of your data, your systems must be working within 48 hours of downtime. In the meanwhile, RTO refers to your organization’s maximum downtime.
Based on the RTO and RPO thresholds, MSPs combined with the results of their IT infrastructure will prepare, develop and implement a BDR plan for your organization. This allows your company to get back on track in case of disasters.
Costs Saving.
Besides offering your corporation the most reliable BDR process, MSPs also keep in mind your business’s budget by consistently identifying the most cost-effective alternatives. Instead of buying many servers, they can use the cloud to store your data and apps.
Additional IT Support.
When building a backup and disaster recovery plan, you may sometimes find out other areas in which your IT support is missing. If you want to, you may jump in and provide one-time consulting or continuing. IT helps to guarantee that you are thoroughly looked after.
Final Words.
Every firm encounters some form of calamity sooner or later. Whether your website is hacked or your data center is destroyed, a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery plan is the key to resolving problems promptly. Partnering with your MSP helps you to ensure that your plan works when necessary.
