BackUp vs Disaster Recovery - What’s the difference?

BackUp and Disaster Recovery (DR) are often mistaken for one another, or combined without providing any form of differentiation, but do you know what the difference between the two of them is?

In straightforward terms, BackUp is the process of making the file copies. Whilst DR is the plan and processes used for the copies to quickly restore access to applications, data and IT resources after an outage. Think of it this way, if you just have copies of the data, it doesn’t mean much if your service isn’t available for your customers, you must also ensure business continuity. To do this you need a robust, and tested, backup and disaster recovery plan. 

3-2-1 BackUp Strategy

Data backup involves making copies of your data from their original sources and adding them to different locations. One backup copy is not enough. For example, if you backup your computer to an external hard drive you keep in your office, and there was a fire in the office, you would lose both your computer and the external drive. 

The 3-2-1 backup strategy rule removes this risk. Doubling the protection of your data by keeping backup copies locally, off-site and on external storage devices. 

3.  Create three copies of data, the original and two copies

2.  Store data on different media storage types

1.  Keep one backup copy in a separate geographic location.

Whilst the 3-2-1 rule is important, you must also determine a timetable to backup your system on a regular basis. Establish a frequent backup schedule, this should be determined based on how much data you are willing to use. Most people back up on a daily or weekly basis. But you don’t have to remember to do this manually, you can use software which automatically manages this for you. Who said money can’t buy peace of mind?

Disaster Recovery plan

Normal business operations after a downtime or data loss incident can take days or weeks to resume. Can you afford to wait before resuming service? Will your customers understand and stick around? Or will they move their business to a competitor with a strong disaster recovery program? 

You need a disaster recovery plan which will provide you with immediate access to your data, enabling you to resume services as quickly as possible. With the use of cloud-based disaster recovery services this is now much easier to manage, as well as more affordable, even for smaller businesses. But what do you need to consider when building a DR plan?

• Perform a business impact analysis (BIA) – This will help you determine the scope of potential aftereffects and impacts in case of disruption to the business
• Perform risk analysis and vulnerability assessments – Anticipate and plan for the worst case scenario
• Identify roles and responsibilities – Define the recovery teams roles and responsibilities in the event of a disaster
• Take inventory – Look at your IT infrastructure, including hardware, software, applications and critical data so you can prioritise the most essential systems and assets
• Communication plan – Confirm who and when you will report any incidents, keeping in mind local compliance and regulatory laws
• Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) – Determine how long your business can manage with an interruption to normal operations, and how much data you can stand to lose (typically measured in time, days, hours, minutes)

Build and test your plan

Now you understand the difference between backup and disaster recovery, and why you need both. But you shouldn’t just implement these solutions and step back. You need to create an incident response plan which should include: 

• Names and numbers of core internal and external contacts in hard copy form
• A reliable fallback internal communications channel in the event you cannot access email
• Documented communications plan which highlights who need to be contacted and by whom.

You should review and test this plan regularly to check for any gaps or problems. 

Conclusion

It’s not so much a case of if an attack will happen to your business, but more of a case of when.

The latest surge of cyberthreats attacks has increased the average cost of a data breach from $4.55 million per incident to $5.53 million according to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach 2024 report. You need to plan for the probability that an attack will happen and build the defences to ensure your business continues in the aftermath of data loss and/or downtime. 

If you are planning how you can reduce the threat of data loss and downtime to your business let’s talk! We’re happy to help.