Backup and disaster recovery (BDR) has always been critical to any cybersecurity strategy. However, the discipline has significantly evolved as organizations expand their IT infrastructures. Today, MSPs must cast a much wider net to address data stored in various formats and residing in different locations to support their clients’ cybersecurity strategies and BDR efforts.
You should adopt a cloud-first approach to protecting a client’s SaaS data (e.g. Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, etc) and use a leading BDR solution, like N-able Cove, to support a comprehensive, airtight implementation.
Meanwhile, your strategy must enable flexible recovery without complex and expensive manual processes. Plus, you should have access to the right expertise to set up and monitor the system for ongoing success. Let’s review the latest BDR considerations to incorporate in your services:
1. Define a holistic data protection strategy
Tailor each client’s recovery plan to their overarching objectives and industry requirements. Address specific disruptions (e.g. natural disasters and ransomware) it will most likely encounter. Moreover, ensure your strategy covers a broad spectrum and includes a cloud-first approach to handle data stored on-premises and in all cloud environments.
2. Gain an overview of the data landscape
Understand the data types you need to back up (e.g. system, application, and operational data) and the backup type each requires (e.g. full or differential backups). Define the backup method and location for each, plus the recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO).
3. Automate regular backups
Based on the PRO and RTO, set up regular, automated backups to minimize data loss during a disaster or cybersecurity incident. The backup schedule should align with each client’s BDR objectives and specific requirements, addressing data volatility and criticality. Your backup technology should also allow you to perform granular recovery to restore single files, emails, or records.
4. Define a data lifecycle policy
Create a framework to outline how data progresses from creation or acquisition to disposal or archiving efficiently and securely. By defining specific procedures for each stage in the lifecycle, you can help your clients select the appropriate BDR capabilities to optimize resource utilization, minimize risks, and reduce storage costs without compromising immediate access to critical information.
5. Consider scalability and flexibility
A fully managed SaaS solution takes repetitive BDR tasks off your plate and offers a cost-effective solution to scale up quickly. It should support a broad range of operating systems, tools, and storage vendors to help you quickly adapt to each client’s infrastructure and requirements. Plus, it should offer robust automation and remote management features to improve your productivity.
6. Ensure security and compliance
Create BDR policy and strategy to address each client’s data privacy and security requirements — especially for those in highly regulated industries that collect and store personally identifiable information (PII) as part of their business processes. Also, ensure the data storage locations comply with local regulations (i.e. data sovereignty requirements).
7. Implement testing, monitoring, and reporting
Regularly test and validate your backups to ensure their recoverability. Also, use a BDR solution with robust monitoring and reporting features to track backup performance, identify potential issues, and generate reports for clients to demonstrate compliance and system health.
8. Don’t forget your own backyard
Perform the same rigorous processes for your internal BDR strategy. A comprehensive approach helps minimize damage and downtime, allowing you to continue serving your clients and avoid business interruptions if your practice was to experience a natural disaster or cybersecurity event.
Take the guesswork out of BDR deployment
Your clients depend on you to design and implement an airtight BDR strategy. Do you have the knowledge and expertise to cover all the bases?
The good news is that you can have an expert team at your fingertips. RedQor’s Professional Services, an on-demand project delivery solution designed for MSPs, helps you deliver BDR solutions faster and scale up to service more clients quickly without lengthy and costly in-house recruitment efforts.
Our specialist resources help you plug skills or resource gaps — performing backup solution migration, backup greenfield deployments, disaster recovery solution implementation, BDR testing and validation, and more to ensure your clients are well-protected.
Learn more about our versatile Professional Services and tell us your requirements to get started.