Backups you can actually recover from.
A backup only matters if it restores. Your servers are backed up every hour to an appliance at your office, and each one is started from its backup every day to check it works. If a server fails, we can have it running on the appliance in about 15 minutes from diagnosis. Microsoft 365 gets its own independent backup three times a day. All backup data is stored in Canada only.
Backups are not enough. Recovery is the standard.
Any backup tool can take a copy. The real question is whether your business can recover from it, and how fast. We manage backup, daily verification and recovery together, and we show you the evidence that it works.
Three systems, three different jobs.
Each part of your backup does a specific job, and none of them replaces the others. The backup appliance at your office protects your servers: it backs them up, checks every day that each one starts from its backup, and can run a failed server until it is repaired. The Microsoft 365 cloud backup keeps an independent copy of your email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams outside Microsoft. The Synology NAS is a storage device at your office that holds a second, on-site copy of that Microsoft 365 data and can also provide business storage. It can’t run your servers after a failure, and the appliance doesn’t back up Microsoft 365. Everyday shared files belong in SharePoint, and we install and look after Synology devices as part of managed IT support.
A failed server is back in about 15 minutes.
Every hour, the backup appliance captures a complete image of each server: operating system, applications, settings and data. Critical systems can be backed up as often as every five minutes. Each backup is a full recovery point. If a server fails, we can run it straight from its backup on the appliance, or in the cloud, instead of rebuilding it from scratch. Running a server this way is called virtualization, and it typically takes about 15 minutes from diagnosis to running on the appliance. You can also restore a single file or folder. A complete building loss takes longer, because your servers are brought up from the cloud copy instead.
Every server is test-booted, daily.
Every day, the appliance starts each protected server from its latest backup and takes a screenshot to confirm it booted. We don’t just check that backups completed. We check that they start. If a backup or a check fails, we’re alerted and we fix it. On the Complete plan, our engineers also carry out manual restore tests, so a person has confirmed the recovery works, on top of the daily automated checks every plan gets.
Cloud copies are locked against changes.
Server backups are copied from the appliance to cloud storage that is immutable, which means it is designed so stored backups can’t be changed or deleted. The appliance also checks backups for signs of ransomware and alerts our team, so we can restore from a point before the problem started. The cloud copies are geo-redundant, kept in more than one Canadian data centre, so the loss of a single site doesn’t take them with it. If your office itself is lost, your servers can be run from the cloud copy. Keeping backups out of an attacker’s reach is one part of our wider managed cybersecurity and the Sentry platform.
Cloud storage is not the same as backup.
Microsoft 365 stores your data on resilient infrastructure, but that is not the same as a backup. If a user deletes a file past the retention window, if ransomware encrypts a OneDrive, or if an admin wipes a SharePoint site, Microsoft is not responsible for getting it back. That is not a failure on their part. It is the shared responsibility model: they protect the platform, you protect the data. We explain this further in Cloud Services Do Not Back Up Your Data.
Microsoft 365 gets two independent backups.
We close that gap with two layers. Exchange mailboxes, OneDrive files, SharePoint sites and Teams data are backed up three times a day to cloud storage that is independent of Microsoft. A second copy is kept on a Synology NAS at your office. Backups are kept for at least seven years, and unlimited retention is available. We can restore a single email, a single file, or an entire site from any point in that history. Securing the accounts themselves is covered by our Microsoft 365 management.
Your backups stay in Canada.
Server backups and Microsoft 365 backups are stored in Canada only, which supports your PIPEDA and BC PIPA obligations. Your on-site copies stay in your building, and your cloud copies stay in Canadian data centres. If you need to show where your data lives, it is part of the documentation we keep for compliance and risk. For background, read Where Is Your Cloud Data Actually Stored?
What’s included in backup and disaster recovery.
A failed server can run straight from its backup on the on-site appliance or in the cloud, typically about 15 minutes from diagnosis to running. A complete building loss takes longer.
Every protected server is started from its backup and screenshot-verified daily. The Complete plan adds manual restore tests by our engineers.
Server backups are copied to geo-redundant cloud storage in Canada, designed so stored copies can’t be changed or deleted.
Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams backed up in the cloud three times a day, plus an on-site copy on a Synology NAS. Kept for at least seven years.
All backup data is stored in Canada only, which supports your PIPEDA and BC PIPA obligations.
Backups as often as every five minutes for critical systems. Restore a single file, an application, or a whole server from any point in retention.
Frequently asked questions.
Backup is a copy of your data. Disaster recovery is the plan and the equipment that get your business running again when something goes wrong. A backup alone does not help if you have no tested way to restore your systems, no agreed recovery times, and no way to check that your backups actually work. We deliver both: verified backups and a documented, tested recovery plan.
For our clients, we check every day. Each protected server is started from its latest backup and verified with a screenshot, and we’re alerted if a backup or a check fails. Microsoft 365 backups are monitored too. On the Complete plan, our engineers also run manual restore tests. If you aren’t a client yet, we review and verify your existing backups as part of onboarding. We don’t access or test a prospect’s systems before then, but a discovery call is a good place to talk through what you have today.
In most cases, yes. After a server failure or a ransomware incident, we can run the affected server from a backup taken before the problem started, typically about 15 minutes from diagnosis to running on the on-site appliance. Microsoft 365 data can be restored from the cloud backup or the on-site copy. A complete building loss takes longer, because servers are brought up from the cloud copy. With ransomware, restoring systems is only one part of the work. Incident response, including containment, investigation, cleanup and a documented incident report, is part of our managed cybersecurity, so the threat is dealt with before systems are brought back. Read Why Your Business Needs an Incident Response Plan for more.
With a backup that doesn’t depend on Microsoft. Your subscription keeps the service running, but if an employee permanently deletes files, a retention policy expires, or an attacker wipes a mailbox, recovering that data is up to you. We back up Exchange mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams in the cloud three times a day, and keep a second copy on a Synology NAS at your office. The data stays in Canada only and is kept for at least seven years, with unlimited retention available. We can restore anything from a single email to an entire site.
On site and in Canada. Server backups are kept on the backup appliance at your office for fast recovery, and copied to immutable, geo-redundant cloud storage in Canada for larger disasters. Microsoft 365 backups are kept in Canadian cloud storage, with a second copy on the Synology NAS at your office. Everything is stored in Canada only, which supports your PIPEDA and BC PIPA obligations. Backup data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
Managing and monitoring your backups is included in both managed plans, and the Complete plan adds manual restore testing. The backup hardware, such as the backup appliance and the Synology NAS, and the cloud storage are quoted separately, sized to your servers and the amount of data you keep.
Would your backups work if you needed them today?
Book a call. We’ll talk through how you back up today and what recovery would look like with us. Existing backups are reviewed and verified as part of onboarding.