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Are you ready to make technology work for you?
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Tune in to Act on Tech, the podcast where we break down the latest tech trends and show you how to boost your productivity at home and in your business.
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So, subscribe to Act On Tech today and visit alexcustomtech.com to see how we can take your business to the next level.
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That's Act On Tech, your guide to smarter tech for a smarter business.
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Alex Custom Tech, IT means integrity and trust.
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Hello, hi, and welcome to Acton Tech where we talk all things technology.
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I'm Alex of Alex Custom Tech, and today I want to talk about something that almost every business knows and know they should have.
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A backup, a backup system, backup procedure.
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Now, if you ask a hundred small business owners whether their business information has been backed up, I imagine a good number of them will tell you yes.
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And that's good.
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But I have another question.
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Not when the last time your backup software ran, I'm not asking you that.
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And not when was the last time somebody checked to see whether the backup drive is connected, I'm not asking you that.
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When was the last time you took information from your backup and successfully restored it?
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Where you could use it again, or you could replace something, you know, you could, you know, something like that.
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That's how you test if your backup system is working because you don't want to wait until you don't have the file you need, and then you try to receive it from the backup, and then that file is corrupted and not working, and you gotta figure that out months in advance.
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So that's what we're gonna take on to on this topic today, which I'm pretty sure I probably talked about it before in some degree, but we're gonna talk about it again, right?
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So your backup is useless until you test it.
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That's pretty much what I'm what I'm trying to drive at.
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Now that's just that's a strong statement I'm making, and I make a lot of strong statements and and and affirmative statements and non-negotiable statements, which is sometimes people don't like.
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Every business requires it.
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I never I know I'm literally never come across a business where backup is not needed, even in your own personal life, you need backups.
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So backup is not longer a nice to have, it's a necessity, I think.
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Because we live to technology now.
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So until you test it, you don't actually have one, until you test it, you don't actually know.
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So one part of backup is not one part of backing up is not the same as recovering.
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So there's two steps to it, right?
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So let's start with something simple.
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What exactly is a backup?
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Maybe I never really explained this before.
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So a backup is a separate copy of information that you can use to restore the information if something happens to the original, right?
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You have a record, you buy a record.
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That's what we used to do back in the day when I used to when I was a teenager.
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I'll buy an actual album, vinyl, and because vinyl is so delicate in a sense, in a form, like if you scratch it, everything happened to it, you know, it gets damaged, so you don't want to always be messing around with it.
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So you buy the vinyl and you make a copy on a on a cassette, and that's what you beat to hell, and then the vinyl is stored.
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The vinyl wouldn't known as in in IT would known as cold storage.
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You take out the vinyl, which is the original copies.
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I think music people do that too.
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In actual you have they have the um the hard copy, and then they'll make copies, and then you have the original copy, and that's kind of what it is.
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So the basic idea is that the business sometimes confuse having copies of the information, having having to recovers.
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I'm gonna repeat this off, but sometime businesses sometime business confuse having copies of their information with having a recovery strategy.
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So we can have a couple of copies of the less.
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Oh, we got it covered, but that's not what it is.
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So let's say you have an accounting computer, it's an accounting computer by itself, and every night that computer backs up its files to an external hard drive, something that's connected to it.
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The software runs, the backup finishes, everything looks good.
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Then one more one morning the accounting computer fails the computer itself.
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Now you need those files.
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You connect the external drive to another computer, and suddenly you discover something.
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But nobody knows how to restore it to the application.
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See, no procedure, or maybe the backup contains only certain folders, or perhaps the application requires a database that wasn't included in the backup, or maybe the backup is encrypted and nobody knows the password, which I just came across that the other day, or perhaps the backup software requires a license to configure it, you no longer have that.
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See, you technically have the backup, but you don't have a working recovery procedure, and that's the distinction in what I want to businesses to understand.
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So it's not like we say, Oh, backup, back up, and beating you over the head with this one thing.
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It's like it's important, you need to have it in place, and you have a procedure in place so that when something happens, it's one, two, three, you're back up and running.
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So, the successful backup notification.
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So, let's talk about something that I think creates false sense of security.
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A little green check mark says the backup works, right?
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The backup software runs overnight.
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You come in the morning, you say the notification you think everything is okay, and nobody tests, nobody everybody feels good, nobody tests it, but that's a misunderstanding, right?
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So, you absolutely want to know whether your backup job is completed, but what does that notification actually tell you?
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Usually it tells you that the backup software completed the operation it was configured to perform, which might be one thing, right?
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It doesn't necessarily tell you everything in your business need is good to go, it doesn't tell you that.
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So backup software might be doing it's a job, but you won't know until you're testing, pretty much.
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Alright, so what are we actually protecting?
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It's not a thing of ourself, right?
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Well, this brings us back to something I've discussed on this show before IT inventory.
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You cannot protect what you don't know you have, right?
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Right now, I'm going through a process right now with my business.
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I have a you know in my house I have this the storage area, which is really my garage or two-car garage, and I'm one once one for the garage is where my storage is.
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I have a lot of equipment in there, computers and everything in there, and servers, and I'm I need to do some work instead of me buying servers, I can pull up one of those servers to see.
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So I'm going through my inventory to see what is available and what I can use.
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So let's say you own a small business and with 50 employees, roughly, right?
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You have a few office computers, you share, you have a shared file server, an accounting software, customer records, emails, you know, maybe, right?
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Maybe a cloud-based scheduling application, right?
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CRM, whatever, maybe a database with that, right?
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And perhaps some industry specific software that only runs on one of the comp one of the computers, right?
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Now you so the question we're asking is what what are we backing up?
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And the answer isn't necessary, everything is everything has to get back up the same way because certain things are more important than others, and you have to define that and decide that and figure out what that is.
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So some information might already exist in the cloud platform you already own, you don't need to worry about that.
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Some files might require a separate backup, some applications might require database awareness backup.
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Alright, um, some computers might be easily rebuilt, and others might be extremely difficult to bring back to life.
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That's why a backup strategy should begin with the understanding of the environment, not with buying a backup software and say, Hey, backup, you know, um, the software comes later after you decide or you define what you need to do.
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So that being said, another aspect you have to think about is not all data is equally important, kind of like leaning off what I just said.
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And here's another point not all business information has the same importance.
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Let's say you lose a folder containing all marketing material, like some old flyers or whatever.
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That's an inconvenience, but it's not that important.
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But maybe you can't recreate those, maybe you can recreate those materials right now.
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Imagine losing a customer's database or your accounting record or information needed to process orders.
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That's completely different situation.
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So business need to ask what information can I afford to lose and what I can't, and how long can we afford to be without something?
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So those two questions are extremely important in disaster recovery.
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We have time we have terms, we have terms what IT guys use for them.
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We have recovery point object and recovery time object.
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Now I know those sounds technical.
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But sometimes I have to plan like kind of say these things you can get like an idea of what we're talking about in the industry.
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But the concepts are actually pretty simple.
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So, how much data you can afford to lose, right?
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So recovery point object R RPO is ex essential, it's an essential asking.
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Well, it's essentially asking how much recent information can your business afford to lose.
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So let's say your business backs up once every like one and second say back up once every 12 every 24 hours, right?
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And the backups run every night at midnight now image now image the server feels now.
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The image the server feels and at say four o'clock in the morning or four o'clock in the afternoon.
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Your most recent backup is from midnight, all right.
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So what you do when you start the day to four o'clock, you don't have that because you back up at midnight, so you're back up at the end of the day.
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Can you afford to lose what you did from 9 to 4 p.m.?
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Making any sense?
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Let's try to go over it again.
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Your business back up everything you do during the day at the end of the night.
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Tomorrow you come in, you're working, everything goes down at 12 at 4 o'clock, 4 p.m.
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Right?
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Can you would you be okay to just pull from yesterday's backups, or you're gonna be in big trouble because you lost the you lost the the the the the nine to four data that you had?
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This is kind of what we have to ask yourself, right?
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And potentially you have lost 16 hours of changes, take by the confirm 12 right for midnight now.
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Depending on the business, that might be acceptable or not acceptable, and that's what I'm talking about.
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Maybe you can recreate the missing information, but what if your procedure or what if the process or what if the transaction everything you do that they're gone?
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Or what if you're updating customer records constantly in opposed to you know writing it down or or a spreadsheet or something like that with Google Clouds, right?
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Or what if you're taking orders, right?
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All these things come into play, and suddenly 16 hours becomes a serious problem.
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And I'm calling 16 because I'm calling from the midnight too, because again, maybe the business is is uh you know something that runs 24 hours, which happens.
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I've come across people have like um have like uh you know websites with um selling things online, that's that's 24 hours pretty much, right?
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So or perhaps that business needs backup every hour, that's that's an option too, right?
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Or some other strategy appropriate for the application.
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The point isn't that everybody needs constant backup, it just depends on the business that you have and what and what the information you need to retain, right?
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And that's kind of what that is in a nutshell, like the best way that I can explain it.
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How long can you afford to be down if it happens?
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So, now let's talk about recovery time objective.
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You lose it, a file, you lose some things.
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How long can you afford to be down?
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This is the way of asking yourself how long can the business afford to be down without the system?
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Now, let's say you have a backup of your server, wonderful, right?
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But restoring the server takes three days, which as it's very possible.
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Don't misjust me, trust me, it's very possible.
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I have the radio station right here, Polyval97 FM, and the reason why I have two automation server servers is because of that very system, because it's a database, it's a big database, and for me to rebuild that it's gonna take me a couple hours.
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So actually a day, if I'm gonna be honest with you, like one whole day.
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So, yeah, I have to have two.
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So while I'm building one, the other one is playing, and but restoring it takes three days.
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Can your business be can your business operate without those three days?
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Maybe maybe not.
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It's up to you.
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If your server runs an application, up an application employees use once a week, then three days is not a problem, right?
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But if your server handles your orders, your inventory, your customer records, and your daily operations, well, that's a whole different whole different thing, and I think about that, right?
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I mean to to backups doesn't automatically guarantee a fast recovery.
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You might have every file you need, you have to refine your deliverything light, but you still need somewhere to restore it.
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You might have to buy a computer, might have to get a computer built, you might have to.
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I mean, you might replace hardware, all these you have to operating system, you have to probably get license, you have to you know, you might need network configuration, you might need credentials that might hold you up.
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You might need someone who understands how everything fits together, and and that's what I want you to kind of like.
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And I'm really breaking down backups in like it's intricate detail in this podcast because I want you to think about it again.
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This stuff is for your MSP and you to discuss.
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Um, this is why I beat CM dead hearts about getting an MSP, getting an MSP.
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Um, it's very important if you have a business you're not doing this, unless you know how to do this, but if you know how to do this and you're doing this, are you really focusing on your business itself?
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That you know, so the point is you're supposed to focus on your business, they're supposed to run in the background with a reliable team, and this is why you need an MSP, right?
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This is why you need an MSP or an in-in-house IT guy that manages this.
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I don't really I don't, I mean, I think it's alright, multiple people, not just one, but uh a team of people that handle this.
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I would say MSP because they do this every day.
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This is like they eat and breathe this, right?
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So let's talk about one more thing before I close, right?
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Test the restore, right?
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Let's just I'm gonna do this and wrap it up, right?
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So, how do you know whether your backups strategy actually works?
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We test it, and testing doesn't necessarily mean shutting down the entire business.
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There's a different level of testing.
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There's simple tests, restore a file, pick off pick a file from a backup and restore it to a temporary location.
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You can open it.
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Is it complete?
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Is it correct?
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Is it a correct version?
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Then move the move further, then move further, restore an entire folder, restore and restore a database into a test environment, restore a virtual machine.
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This is a very important one.
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People don't know that you can actually make an image of your machine, back up that image, and then you can get a new computer and restore the image back to the computer.
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That's one thing you can do, right?
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Or rebuild a test system from backups.
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That's how you do it.
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You you create the environment that can happen if stuff goes down, and you test it to see if if if something happens will.
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This backup work, that's what you do.
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That's what you do.
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Um, I I I can I don't want to talk about clients that I have or have had in the past, um, because I want to put them out there because a lot of times I get called sometimes because of this problem.
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But I can talk about my setup.
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So in my radio station, like I said, I have two computers, one of them is the main automation computer that hangles that manages the radio station programming and scheduling and all that stuff, right?
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And that has a massive database behind it.
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And I back up the database.
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The database is is stored somewhere else, but it's important because if one of those computers go down, I can just switch over to another computer and pull the database from that from from from where it's stored and run it on the other computer while I rebuild the original computer that's that's down.
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So say computer one goes down, I just switch over to computer two, pull the database to computer two, and then work from that, and then while I'm while it's working, nobody knows anything on the other hand, listen to the radio station, and I can build rebuild back what's broke on the under computer one, and that's how you do it.
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Yeah, and I test that all the time.
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I just don't have it there.
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I test it right now.
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I'm gonna go into the Christmas programming couple months amount, and I'm testing all that database right because the database Christmas database is backed up.
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I'm gonna test it, make sure it's working, and then I'm gonna deploy it.
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And that's how you do it.
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So you don't wait for something to happen, you test it before, and that's why I say MSPs are important because this is what they're doing or supposed to do for you.
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Alright, so with that, I'm gonna close.
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Alright, um, Abby's gonna take it over with the Abby Minute, kind of like make what I say make more sense, and like I always say, stay productive.
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Hi everyone, I'm AI Abby, and here's your Abby Minute.
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Alex has spent today's episode talking about backups, and I want to approach this from a slightly different perspective, because when we talk about backups, we tend to focus on the technology, the software, the storage, the cloud, the schedule, and of course, that little green check mark telling us everything completed successfully.
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But here's something I want you to consider.
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What exactly are you trusting that green check mark to tell you?
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Imagine you own a small business.
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Every night, your backup software runs automatically.
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Every morning, you receive a notification saying everything completed successfully, and for three years you've never had a problem.
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Then one Monday morning, your server fails.
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You call your IT provider.
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They tell you not to worry because the backups have been running successfully.
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Wonderful.
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Except when they attempt to restore the system, they discover something important was missing.
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Maybe it was a database.
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Maybe it was an application configuration.
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Maybe the files are there, but the software needed to open them isn't.
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Or perhaps everything is present, but restoring it takes three days.
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And your business can't afford to be down for three days.
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Suddenly, that green check mark doesn't feel quite so reassuring.
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And that's the distinction Alex has been making throughout this episode.
00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:26.079
A backup is not the same thing as a recovery plan.
00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:28.319
A backup is a copy of information.
00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:31.680
A recovery plan explains how you get your business working again.
00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:35.279
And the only way to know whether that plan works is to test it.
00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:37.680
Now, here's where I think this gets interesting.
00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:39.759
Businesses test things all the time.
00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:42.799
You test a new computer before putting it into production.
00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:45.759
You test software before rolling it out to employees.
00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:48.720
You test your internet connection when something isn't working.
00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:50.720
You might even test your fire alarm.
00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:55.200
But how often do you test the one system you're depending on when everything else fails?
00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:56.319
Think about that.
00:25:56.480 --> 00:26:02.559
Your backup system might be the last line of defense between a temporary inconvenience and a permanent loss.
00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:09.279
And yet, for many businesses, it's something they configure once and rarely think about again until they need it.
00:26:09.519 --> 00:26:17.839
Now, I'm not suggesting that every small business needs to shut everything down once a month and perform a complete disaster recovery exercise.
00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:20.000
That wouldn't necessarily make sense.
00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:21.519
But you can start small.
00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:24.799
Restore a document, restore a folder.
00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:28.400
Make sure you can access an older version of an important file.
00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:34.079
If you depend on a database, periodically test restoring that database into a separate environment.
00:26:34.319 --> 00:26:39.200
And for critical systems, make sure you understand what rebuilding them would actually involve.
00:26:39.359 --> 00:26:41.359
Because here's something else worth remembering.
00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:44.799
Recovery takes time, even when the backup is perfect.
00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:46.640
You might need replacement hardware.
00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:48.880
You might need to reinstall applications.
00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:54.079
You might need passwords, encryption keys, licenses, or network configurations.
00:26:54.319 --> 00:27:01.279
And if the only person who knows how to do all that is unavailable, well, now you've discovered another single point of failure.
00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:04.079
And that's something we've talked about on ActonTech before.
00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:07.119
But there's another side to testing that I think deserves attention.
00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:10.319
A failed recovery test can actually be a success.
00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:12.000
Now, that might sound strange.
00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:14.319
How can a failed test be successful?
00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:17.680
Because you discovered the problem before an emergency.
00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:19.599
Maybe the backup was incomplete.
00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:21.359
Maybe the instructions were wrong.
00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:23.839
Maybe the restore took longer than expected.
00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:25.039
But now you know.
00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:28.319
And more importantly, you have an opportunity to fix it.
00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:30.000
That's preventative IT.
00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:32.880
It's not about pretending that technology will never fail.
00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:35.680
It's about preparing for what happens when it does.
00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:39.200
And this is where your MSP should be part of the conversation.
00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:50.880
Not simply installing backup software and sending you a monthly invoice, but helping you understand what you're protecting, what your recovery options are, and whether those options have actually been tested.
00:27:51.119 --> 00:28:00.000
Because at the end of the day, business owners shouldn't have to become backup engineers, but they should be able to ask their IT provider a very simple question.
00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:03.200
If something happens tomorrow, can we get our business back?
00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:05.920
And the answer should be based on something more than hope.
00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:07.359
It should be based on a plan.
00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:13.359
A plan that's documented, a plan that's been tested, and a plan that can be carried out when it's needed.
00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:16.000
So here's my challenge to everyone listening.
00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:21.200
The next time you see that successful backup notification, don't just smile and move on.
00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:25.200
Ask yourself, when was the last time we actually restored something?
00:28:25.359 --> 00:28:28.559
Because that green check mark tells you the backup job finished.
00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:31.920
But a successful restore tells you something much more important.
00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:34.960
It tells you that your information can actually come back.
00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:37.119
And that's what you're really paying for.
00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:40.000
I'm I Abby, and this has been your Abby Minute.
00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:42.400
Remember, a backup is a promise.
00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:44.880
A successful restore is proof.
00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:49.920
Act on simplicity, act on reliability, and keep acting on tech.
00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:52.640
And as always, stay productive.
00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:36.559
With secure networks, reliable backups, and systems designed to run without interruption.
00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:41.359
No guesswork, no quick fixes, just IT that works the way it should.
00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:47.039
For business services and professional camera installations, visit AlexCustomTech.com.
00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:50.559
Stay connected, stay secure, and stay in control.
00:29:50.880 --> 00:29:55.920
This is Abby from Polyvinyl 97 FM saying thank you for listening to Act on Tech.
00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:59.200
And we'll see you next Wednesday, same time, same place.
00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:06.240
Are you ready to make technology work for you?
00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:14.560
Tune in to Act on Tech, the podcast where we break down the latest tech trends and show you how to boost your productivity at home and in your business.
00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:23.199
So, subscribe to Act On Tech today and visit alexcustomtech.com to see how we can take your business to the next level.
00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:27.679
That's Act On Tech, your guide to smarter tech for a smarter business.
00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:31.679
Alex Custom Tech, IT means integrity and trust.
00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:38.000
Hello, hi, and welcome to Acton Tech where we talk all things technology.
00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:47.359
I'm Alex of Alex Custom Tech, and today I want to talk about something that almost every business knows and know they should have.
00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:51.920
A backup, a backup system, backup procedure.
00:00:53.679 --> 00:01:06.959
Now, if you ask a hundred small business owners whether their business information has been backed up, I imagine a good number of them will tell you yes.
00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:09.120
And that's good.
00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:12.959
But I have another question.
00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:32.400
Not when the last time your backup software ran, I'm not asking you that.
00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:51.280
And not when was the last time somebody checked to see whether the backup drive is connected, I'm not asking you that.
00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:59.200
When was the last time you took information from your backup and successfully restored it?
00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:06.879
Where you could use it again, or you could replace something, you know, you could, you know, something like that.
00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:21.120
That's how you test if your backup system is working because you don't want to wait until you don't have the file you need, and then you try to receive it from the backup, and then that file is corrupted and not working, and you gotta figure that out months in advance.
00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:30.400
So that's what we're gonna take on to on this topic today, which I'm pretty sure I probably talked about it before in some degree, but we're gonna talk about it again, right?
00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:34.719
So your backup is useless until you test it.
00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.280
That's pretty much what I'm what I'm trying to drive at.
00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:49.199
Now that's just that's a strong statement I'm making, and I make a lot of strong statements and and and affirmative statements and non-negotiable statements, which is sometimes people don't like.
00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:17.120
Every business requires it.
00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:26.479
I never I know I'm literally never come across a business where backup is not needed, even in your own personal life, you need backups.
00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:31.280
So backup is not longer a nice to have, it's a necessity, I think.
00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:34.560
Because we live to technology now.
00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:40.639
So until you test it, you don't actually have one, until you test it, you don't actually know.
00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:49.599
So one part of backup is not one part of backing up is not the same as recovering.
00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:51.680
So there's two steps to it, right?
00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:54.800
So let's start with something simple.
00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:57.680
What exactly is a backup?
00:03:57.840 --> 00:03:59.599
Maybe I never really explained this before.
00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:11.120
So a backup is a separate copy of information that you can use to restore the information if something happens to the original, right?
00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:14.000
You have a record, you buy a record.
00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:16.959
That's what we used to do back in the day when I used to when I was a teenager.
00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:31.439
I'll buy an actual album, vinyl, and because vinyl is so delicate in a sense, in a form, like if you scratch it, everything happened to it, you know, it gets damaged, so you don't want to always be messing around with it.
00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:41.120
So you buy the vinyl and you make a copy on a on a cassette, and that's what you beat to hell, and then the vinyl is stored.
00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:45.199
The vinyl wouldn't known as in in IT would known as cold storage.
00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:48.959
You take out the vinyl, which is the original copies.
00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:50.480
I think music people do that too.
00:04:50.639 --> 00:05:00.160
In actual you have they have the um the hard copy, and then they'll make copies, and then you have the original copy, and that's kind of what it is.
00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:11.120
So the basic idea is that the business sometimes confuse having copies of the information, having having to recovers.
00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:22.000
I'm gonna repeat this off, but sometime businesses sometime business confuse having copies of their information with having a recovery strategy.
00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:24.000
So we can have a couple of copies of the less.
00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:26.319
Oh, we got it covered, but that's not what it is.
00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:42.079
So let's say you have an accounting computer, it's an accounting computer by itself, and every night that computer backs up its files to an external hard drive, something that's connected to it.
00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:47.920
The software runs, the backup finishes, everything looks good.
00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:54.959
Then one more one morning the accounting computer fails the computer itself.
00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:57.920
Now you need those files.
00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:04.879
You connect the external drive to another computer, and suddenly you discover something.
00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:13.680
But nobody knows how to restore it to the application.
00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:43.680
See, no procedure, or maybe the backup contains only certain folders, or perhaps the application requires a database that wasn't included in the backup, or maybe the backup is encrypted and nobody knows the password, which I just came across that the other day, or perhaps the backup software requires a license to configure it, you no longer have that.
00:06:44.240 --> 00:07:00.000
See, you technically have the backup, but you don't have a working recovery procedure, and that's the distinction in what I want to businesses to understand.
00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:03.759
So it's not like we say, Oh, backup, back up, and beating you over the head with this one thing.
00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:14.800
It's like it's important, you need to have it in place, and you have a procedure in place so that when something happens, it's one, two, three, you're back up and running.
00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:20.079
So, the successful backup notification.
00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:25.600
So, let's talk about something that I think creates false sense of security.
00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:31.199
A little green check mark says the backup works, right?
00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:33.040
The backup software runs overnight.
00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:44.319
You come in the morning, you say the notification you think everything is okay, and nobody tests, nobody everybody feels good, nobody tests it, but that's a misunderstanding, right?
00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:54.959
So, you absolutely want to know whether your backup job is completed, but what does that notification actually tell you?
00:07:55.199 --> 00:08:06.000
Usually it tells you that the backup software completed the operation it was configured to perform, which might be one thing, right?
00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:13.759
It doesn't necessarily tell you everything in your business need is good to go, it doesn't tell you that.
00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:45.120
So backup software might be doing it's a job, but you won't know until you're testing, pretty much.
00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:52.720
Alright, so what are we actually protecting?
00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:55.919
It's not a thing of ourself, right?
00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:06.000
Well, this brings us back to something I've discussed on this show before IT inventory.
00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:12.159
You cannot protect what you don't know you have, right?
00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:15.679
Right now, I'm going through a process right now with my business.
00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:25.039
I have a you know in my house I have this the storage area, which is really my garage or two-car garage, and I'm one once one for the garage is where my storage is.
00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:36.320
I have a lot of equipment in there, computers and everything in there, and servers, and I'm I need to do some work instead of me buying servers, I can pull up one of those servers to see.
00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:41.360
So I'm going through my inventory to see what is available and what I can use.
00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:50.960
So let's say you own a small business and with 50 employees, roughly, right?
00:09:51.200 --> 00:10:01.840
You have a few office computers, you share, you have a shared file server, an accounting software, customer records, emails, you know, maybe, right?
00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:05.679
Maybe a cloud-based scheduling application, right?
00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:09.840
CRM, whatever, maybe a database with that, right?
00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:18.320
And perhaps some industry specific software that only runs on one of the comp one of the computers, right?
00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:24.879
Now you so the question we're asking is what what are we backing up?
00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:39.919
And the answer isn't necessary, everything is everything has to get back up the same way because certain things are more important than others, and you have to define that and decide that and figure out what that is.
00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:47.200
So some information might already exist in the cloud platform you already own, you don't need to worry about that.
00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:55.279
Some files might require a separate backup, some applications might require database awareness backup.
00:10:55.840 --> 00:11:07.600
Alright, um, some computers might be easily rebuilt, and others might be extremely difficult to bring back to life.
00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:26.960
That's why a backup strategy should begin with the understanding of the environment, not with buying a backup software and say, Hey, backup, you know, um, the software comes later after you decide or you define what you need to do.
00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:38.960
So that being said, another aspect you have to think about is not all data is equally important, kind of like leaning off what I just said.
00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:45.679
And here's another point not all business information has the same importance.
00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:51.919
Let's say you lose a folder containing all marketing material, like some old flyers or whatever.
00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.240
That's an inconvenience, but it's not that important.
00:11:54.559 --> 00:12:02.240
But maybe you can't recreate those, maybe you can recreate those materials right now.
00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:13.679
Imagine losing a customer's database or your accounting record or information needed to process orders.
00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:16.639
That's completely different situation.
00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:29.600
So business need to ask what information can I afford to lose and what I can't, and how long can we afford to be without something?
00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:33.919
So those two questions are extremely important in disaster recovery.
00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:39.919
We have time we have terms, we have terms what IT guys use for them.
00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:45.039
We have recovery point object and recovery time object.
00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:49.519
Now I know those sounds technical.
00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:57.200
But sometimes I have to plan like kind of say these things you can get like an idea of what we're talking about in the industry.
00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:01.519
But the concepts are actually pretty simple.
00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:09.919
So, how much data you can afford to lose, right?
00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:21.360
So recovery point object R RPO is ex essential, it's an essential asking.
00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:28.879
Well, it's essentially asking how much recent information can your business afford to lose.
00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:44.960
So let's say your business backs up once every like one and second say back up once every 12 every 24 hours, right?
00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:57.039
And the backups run every night at midnight now image now image the server feels now.
00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:05.200
The image the server feels and at say four o'clock in the morning or four o'clock in the afternoon.
00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:14.720
Your most recent backup is from midnight, all right.
00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:24.080
So what you do when you start the day to four o'clock, you don't have that because you back up at midnight, so you're back up at the end of the day.
00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:30.159
Can you afford to lose what you did from 9 to 4 p.m.?
00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:32.480
Making any sense?
00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:34.639
Let's try to go over it again.
00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:39.840
Your business back up everything you do during the day at the end of the night.
00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:47.679
Tomorrow you come in, you're working, everything goes down at 12 at 4 o'clock, 4 p.m.
00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:48.799
Right?
00:14:49.440 --> 00:15:04.320
Can you would you be okay to just pull from yesterday's backups, or you're gonna be in big trouble because you lost the you lost the the the the the nine to four data that you had?
00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:07.519
This is kind of what we have to ask yourself, right?
00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:22.399
And potentially you have lost 16 hours of changes, take by the confirm 12 right for midnight now.
00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:27.840
Depending on the business, that might be acceptable or not acceptable, and that's what I'm talking about.
00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:44.399
Maybe you can recreate the missing information, but what if your procedure or what if the process or what if the transaction everything you do that they're gone?
00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:58.240
Or what if you're updating customer records constantly in opposed to you know writing it down or or a spreadsheet or something like that with Google Clouds, right?
00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.000
Or what if you're taking orders, right?
00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:07.360
All these things come into play, and suddenly 16 hours becomes a serious problem.
00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:16.879
And I'm calling 16 because I'm calling from the midnight too, because again, maybe the business is is uh you know something that runs 24 hours, which happens.
00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:27.519
I've come across people have like um have like uh you know websites with um selling things online, that's that's 24 hours pretty much, right?
00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:36.000
So or perhaps that business needs backup every hour, that's that's an option too, right?
00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:41.600
Or some other strategy appropriate for the application.
00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:52.799
The point isn't that everybody needs constant backup, it just depends on the business that you have and what and what the information you need to retain, right?
00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:58.080
And that's kind of what that is in a nutshell, like the best way that I can explain it.
00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:03.600
How long can you afford to be down if it happens?
00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:07.839
So, now let's talk about recovery time objective.
00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:13.119
You lose it, a file, you lose some things.
00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:15.119
How long can you afford to be down?
00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:22.079
This is the way of asking yourself how long can the business afford to be down without the system?
00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:29.759
Now, let's say you have a backup of your server, wonderful, right?
00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:36.319
But restoring the server takes three days, which as it's very possible.
00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:39.039
Don't misjust me, trust me, it's very possible.
00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:54.079
I have the radio station right here, Polyval97 FM, and the reason why I have two automation server servers is because of that very system, because it's a database, it's a big database, and for me to rebuild that it's gonna take me a couple hours.
00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:59.039
So actually a day, if I'm gonna be honest with you, like one whole day.
00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:01.440
So, yeah, I have to have two.
00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:08.720
So while I'm building one, the other one is playing, and but restoring it takes three days.
00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:14.960
Can your business be can your business operate without those three days?
00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:16.240
Maybe maybe not.
00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:17.519
It's up to you.
00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:28.240
If your server runs an application, up an application employees use once a week, then three days is not a problem, right?
00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:40.720
But if your server handles your orders, your inventory, your customer records, and your daily operations, well, that's a whole different whole different thing, and I think about that, right?
00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:49.200
I mean to to backups doesn't automatically guarantee a fast recovery.
00:18:49.519 --> 00:19:02.160
You might have every file you need, you have to refine your deliverything light, but you still need somewhere to restore it.
00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:07.119
You might have to buy a computer, might have to get a computer built, you might have to.
00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:21.519
I mean, you might replace hardware, all these you have to operating system, you have to probably get license, you have to you know, you might need network configuration, you might need credentials that might hold you up.
00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:31.279
You might need someone who understands how everything fits together, and and that's what I want you to kind of like.
00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:39.200
And I'm really breaking down backups in like it's intricate detail in this podcast because I want you to think about it again.
00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:44.160
This stuff is for your MSP and you to discuss.
00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:49.759
Um, this is why I beat CM dead hearts about getting an MSP, getting an MSP.
00:19:50.240 --> 00:20:01.440
Um, it's very important if you have a business you're not doing this, unless you know how to do this, but if you know how to do this and you're doing this, are you really focusing on your business itself?
00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:11.359
That you know, so the point is you're supposed to focus on your business, they're supposed to run in the background with a reliable team, and this is why you need an MSP, right?
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:16.480
This is why you need an MSP or an in-in-house IT guy that manages this.
00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:23.920
I don't really I don't, I mean, I think it's alright, multiple people, not just one, but uh a team of people that handle this.
00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:27.200
I would say MSP because they do this every day.
00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:29.599
This is like they eat and breathe this, right?
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:33.519
So let's talk about one more thing before I close, right?
00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:40.160
Test the restore, right?
00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:43.200
Let's just I'm gonna do this and wrap it up, right?
00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:50.160
So, how do you know whether your backups strategy actually works?
00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:56.880
We test it, and testing doesn't necessarily mean shutting down the entire business.
00:20:57.200 --> 00:20:59.680
There's a different level of testing.
00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:09.039
There's simple tests, restore a file, pick off pick a file from a backup and restore it to a temporary location.
00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:11.599
You can open it.
00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:14.400
Is it complete?
00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:16.640
Is it correct?
00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:18.559
Is it a correct version?
00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:32.319
Then move the move further, then move further, restore an entire folder, restore and restore a database into a test environment, restore a virtual machine.
00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:33.519
This is a very important one.
00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:41.200
People don't know that you can actually make an image of your machine, back up that image, and then you can get a new computer and restore the image back to the computer.
00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:44.240
That's one thing you can do, right?
00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.319
Or rebuild a test system from backups.
00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:49.440
That's how you do it.
00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:59.759
You you create the environment that can happen if stuff goes down, and you test it to see if if if something happens will.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.039
This backup work, that's what you do.
00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:04.720
That's what you do.
00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:17.359
Um, I I I can I don't want to talk about clients that I have or have had in the past, um, because I want to put them out there because a lot of times I get called sometimes because of this problem.
00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:20.079
But I can talk about my setup.
00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:32.640
So in my radio station, like I said, I have two computers, one of them is the main automation computer that hangles that manages the radio station programming and scheduling and all that stuff, right?
00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:35.519
And that has a massive database behind it.
00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:38.240
And I back up the database.
00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:56.880
The database is is stored somewhere else, but it's important because if one of those computers go down, I can just switch over to another computer and pull the database from that from from from where it's stored and run it on the other computer while I rebuild the original computer that's that's down.
00:22:57.039 --> 00:23:17.440
So say computer one goes down, I just switch over to computer two, pull the database to computer two, and then work from that, and then while I'm while it's working, nobody knows anything on the other hand, listen to the radio station, and I can build rebuild back what's broke on the under computer one, and that's how you do it.
00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:18.880
Yeah, and I test that all the time.
00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:21.119
I just don't have it there.
00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:22.319
I test it right now.
00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:30.640
I'm gonna go into the Christmas programming couple months amount, and I'm testing all that database right because the database Christmas database is backed up.
00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:34.000
I'm gonna test it, make sure it's working, and then I'm gonna deploy it.
00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:35.119
And that's how you do it.
00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:48.640
So you don't wait for something to happen, you test it before, and that's why I say MSPs are important because this is what they're doing or supposed to do for you.
00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:53.119
Alright, so with that, I'm gonna close.
00:23:53.359 --> 00:24:03.920
Alright, um, Abby's gonna take it over with the Abby Minute, kind of like make what I say make more sense, and like I always say, stay productive.
00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:09.519
Hi everyone, I'm AI Abby, and here's your Abby Minute.
00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:29.200
Alex has spent today's episode talking about backups, and I want to approach this from a slightly different perspective, because when we talk about backups, we tend to focus on the technology, the software, the storage, the cloud, the schedule, and of course, that little green check mark telling us everything completed successfully.
00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:31.359
But here's something I want you to consider.
00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:34.880
What exactly are you trusting that green check mark to tell you?
00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:36.880
Imagine you own a small business.
00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:40.000
Every night, your backup software runs automatically.
00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:47.039
Every morning, you receive a notification saying everything completed successfully, and for three years you've never had a problem.
00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:49.759
Then one Monday morning, your server fails.
00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:51.519
You call your IT provider.
00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:55.440
They tell you not to worry because the backups have been running successfully.
00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:56.319
Wonderful.
00:24:56.480 --> 00:25:01.039
Except when they attempt to restore the system, they discover something important was missing.
00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:02.559
Maybe it was a database.
00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:04.720
Maybe it was an application configuration.
00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:08.319
Maybe the files are there, but the software needed to open them isn't.
00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:12.640
Or perhaps everything is present, but restoring it takes three days.
00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:15.680
And your business can't afford to be down for three days.
00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:19.519
Suddenly, that green check mark doesn't feel quite so reassuring.
00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:23.039
And that's the distinction Alex has been making throughout this episode.
00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:26.079
A backup is not the same thing as a recovery plan.
00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:28.319
A backup is a copy of information.
00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:31.680
A recovery plan explains how you get your business working again.
00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:35.279
And the only way to know whether that plan works is to test it.
00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:37.680
Now, here's where I think this gets interesting.
00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:39.759
Businesses test things all the time.
00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:42.799
You test a new computer before putting it into production.
00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:45.759
You test software before rolling it out to employees.
00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:48.720
You test your internet connection when something isn't working.
00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:50.720
You might even test your fire alarm.
00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:55.200
But how often do you test the one system you're depending on when everything else fails?
00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:56.319
Think about that.
00:25:56.480 --> 00:26:02.559
Your backup system might be the last line of defense between a temporary inconvenience and a permanent loss.
00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:09.279
And yet, for many businesses, it's something they configure once and rarely think about again until they need it.
00:26:09.519 --> 00:26:17.839
Now, I'm not suggesting that every small business needs to shut everything down once a month and perform a complete disaster recovery exercise.
00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:20.000
That wouldn't necessarily make sense.
00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:21.519
But you can start small.
00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:24.799
Restore a document, restore a folder.
00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:28.400
Make sure you can access an older version of an important file.
00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:34.079
If you depend on a database, periodically test restoring that database into a separate environment.
00:26:34.319 --> 00:26:39.200
And for critical systems, make sure you understand what rebuilding them would actually involve.
00:26:39.359 --> 00:26:41.359
Because here's something else worth remembering.
00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:44.799
Recovery takes time, even when the backup is perfect.
00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:46.640
You might need replacement hardware.
00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:48.880
You might need to reinstall applications.
00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:54.079
You might need passwords, encryption keys, licenses, or network configurations.
00:26:54.319 --> 00:27:01.279
And if the only person who knows how to do all that is unavailable, well, now you've discovered another single point of failure.
00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:04.079
And that's something we've talked about on ActonTech before.
00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:07.119
But there's another side to testing that I think deserves attention.
00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:10.319
A failed recovery test can actually be a success.
00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:12.000
Now, that might sound strange.
00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:14.319
How can a failed test be successful?
00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:17.680
Because you discovered the problem before an emergency.
00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:19.599
Maybe the backup was incomplete.
00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:21.359
Maybe the instructions were wrong.
00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:23.839
Maybe the restore took longer than expected.
00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:25.039
But now you know.
00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:28.319
And more importantly, you have an opportunity to fix it.
00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:30.000
That's preventative IT.
00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:32.880
It's not about pretending that technology will never fail.
00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:35.680
It's about preparing for what happens when it does.
00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:39.200
And this is where your MSP should be part of the conversation.
00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:50.880
Not simply installing backup software and sending you a monthly invoice, but helping you understand what you're protecting, what your recovery options are, and whether those options have actually been tested.
00:27:51.119 --> 00:28:00.000
Because at the end of the day, business owners shouldn't have to become backup engineers, but they should be able to ask their IT provider a very simple question.
00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:03.200
If something happens tomorrow, can we get our business back?
00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:05.920
And the answer should be based on something more than hope.
00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:07.359
It should be based on a plan.
00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:13.359
A plan that's documented, a plan that's been tested, and a plan that can be carried out when it's needed.
00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:16.000
So here's my challenge to everyone listening.
00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:21.200
The next time you see that successful backup notification, don't just smile and move on.
00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:25.200
Ask yourself, when was the last time we actually restored something?
00:28:25.359 --> 00:28:28.559
Because that green check mark tells you the backup job finished.
00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:31.920
But a successful restore tells you something much more important.
00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:34.960
It tells you that your information can actually come back.
00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:37.119
And that's what you're really paying for.
00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:40.000
I'm I Abby, and this has been your Abby Minute.
00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:42.400
Remember, a backup is a promise.
00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:44.880
A successful restore is proof.
00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:49.920
Act on simplicity, act on reliability, and keep acting on tech.
00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:52.640
And as always, stay productive.
00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:36.559
With secure networks, reliable backups, and systems designed to run without interruption.
00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:41.359
No guesswork, no quick fixes, just IT that works the way it should.
00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:47.039
For business services and professional camera installations, visit AlexCustomTech.com.
00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:50.559
Stay connected, stay secure, and stay in control.
00:29:50.880 --> 00:29:55.920
This is Abby from Polyvinyl 97 FM saying thank you for listening to Act on Tech.
00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:59.200
And we'll see you next Wednesday, same time, same place.
