Why Backups Matter
Backups exist for one reason: protection. They are the safety net when something goes wrong, whether that is accidental deletion, ransomware, or a failed change. The goal is simple: when the unexpected happens, you can bring services back without panic or guesswork. As one of our clients put it, “Backups aren’t backups until they’re tested.”
How Backups Help the Business
Backups keep projects moving when incidents occur. They protect revenue by limiting downtime, safeguard reputation by maintaining customer trust, and support compliance by proving responsible data stewardship.
Two targets keep this practical:
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO) – how quickly you must get systems working again.
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO) – how much data loss is tolerable, measured as a point in time you can roll back to.
These are standard terms used in recognised guidance and give a shared language for risk and prioritisation.
Why Testing Matters
A backup you have never restored is an assumption. Testing proves three things: the data is complete, the process works, and the team can do it quickly under pressure.
In the major clouds, this is supported by built-in tooling:
- AWS Backup includes restore testing, which can run scheduled, automated restores and report how long they took. This provides clear evidence that you can meet your time-based recovery targets.
- Azure Backup Center provides centralised visibility and reporting across your environment, showing backup and restore activity over time.
- Azure Site Recovery supports non-disruptive test failovers, allowing teams to validate full recovery workflows without impacting production.
Make Testing a Routine, Not a Rescue
For stakeholders, confidence comes from cadence. Set a light-touch rhythm and keep it measurable.
- Set targets everyone understands. Confirm RTO and RPO per service and prioritise what matters most.
- Schedule restores. In AWS, create restore testing plans on a timetable and track duration; in Azure, perform controlled restores and log outcomes in Backup Center.
- Drill whole-service recovery. Run periodic disaster recovery exercises, such as Azure Site Recovery test failovers, to validate dependencies, networking, and access.
- Assign ownership and evidence. Name an owner, store results, and trend time-to-restore against RTO. Treat gaps as improvements to be made, not as blame.
- Keep it simple. Start with partial restores of high-value data, then expand. The aim is repeatable recovery, not a once-a-year event.
Disaster recovery isn’t theory – it’s proof.
Read our Energy Trader case study to find out how we turned disaster recovery from a manual exercise into a measurable, repeatable process with automated solutions.
If you’re ready to bring the same resilience to your environment, get in touch with us to start your own recovery validation journey today.
