Comparison
Backup is not disaster recovery
Having a copy of your data does not mean your business can operate tomorrow. Backup preserves information; disaster recovery restores the systems, networks and processes that use it, within a time you have agreed in advance.
The gap that appears during an outage
A backup answers the question "do we still have the data?". Disaster recovery answers "how long until people can work, and how much data will we have lost?". Those two numbers, recovery time objective and recovery point objective, are what the business actually feels.
We often find backups that restore files but not the servers, identity services and network configuration needed to use them. Aligning both is a business decision first and a technology decision second.
Side by side
Backup vs Disaster recovery
| Backup | Disaster recovery | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Preserve copies of data and configurations. | Restore operations after a disruption. |
| Scope | Files, databases, mailboxes and system images. | Entire workloads, dependencies, network and access. |
| Key metric | Recovery point: how recent is the last good copy. | Recovery time and recovery point together. |
| Typical failure covered | Deletion, corruption, hardware loss. | Site loss, ransomware, major cloud or platform outages. |
| Recovery speed | Hours to days depending on data volume. | Minutes to hours when replicated and orchestrated. |
| Planning needed | Retention policy and schedules. | Business impact analysis, runbooks and priorities. |
| Testing | Sample restores of data. | Scheduled failover exercises with documented results. |
| Cost drivers | Storage volume and retention. | Standby capacity, replication and orchestration. |
Related
Services and solutions behind this
- Cloud & InfrastructureDesign, migrate, and optimize secure, scalable cloud environments built for performance.
- Managed IT ServicesProactive management and support to keep your business running at its best.
- Disaster RecoveryBe ready. Keep your business moving.
- Cloud MigrationModernize with minimal disruption.
Do we need disaster recovery for every system?
No. We tier systems by business impact so critical applications get fast recovery while low-impact systems rely on simpler backup restore.
Does cloud backup count as disaster recovery?
Not by itself. Cloud backup stores copies; disaster recovery also requires somewhere to run the workloads, network paths and identity services, plus a tested procedure.
How often should we test?
Critical systems should be tested at least annually, and after major changes. We document the recovery time achieved so objectives rest on evidence.
How is it priced?
Scoped per engagement according to the systems and objectives involved. Request a consultation to receive a proposal.
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