Without proper backups, your business risks losing critical data permanently if something goes wrong—whether due to accidental deletion, hardware failure, cyberattacks like ransomware, or even natural disasters. Backups act as a safety net, allowing you to restore files, systems, and operations quickly, minimising disruption and financial loss.
Why this matters for UK SMEs
For small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK, data loss can mean more than just inconvenience. It can lead to extended downtime, lost sales, damaged reputation, and breaches of compliance obligations such as the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. If customer or employee data is lost or corrupted, you may face regulatory scrutiny from the ICO, potential fines, and loss of customer trust.
Moreover, without reliable backups, recovering from a ransomware attack becomes far more difficult. Cybercriminals often encrypt files and demand payment for the decryption key. If you have no recent backup, you might feel pressured to pay, which is risky and not guaranteed to restore your data.
A typical scenario
Imagine a UK SME with around 50 employees that relies on shared network drives and local servers for storing client projects and financial records. One day, a staff member accidentally deletes a key folder, and the IT team discovers that the last full backup was several weeks old and incomplete. Restoring data takes days, causing project delays and missed deadlines. The IT partner then helps implement a managed backup solution with daily automated backups stored offsite and tested regularly, reducing future risks.
Practical checklist: What you can do now
- Ask your IT provider: How often are backups performed? Are backups stored offsite or in the cloud? Do you test restore processes regularly to ensure data integrity?
- Review backup SLAs: Check recovery point objectives (RPO) and recovery time objectives (RTO) to understand how much data loss and downtime are acceptable.
- Check internal access: Who can access backup data? Are access controls and multi-factor authentication (MFA) in place to prevent unauthorised access?
- Verify backup scope: Ensure all critical systems, including endpoints, servers, and cloud services, are covered by backups.
- Test restores: Conduct periodic restore drills to confirm backups can be recovered quickly and completely.
- Document backup policies: Maintain clear policies and procedures for backup management and incident response to support audit readiness.
Next steps
If you're unsure about your current backup arrangements or want to improve resilience, consider discussing your needs with a trusted managed IT provider or IT consultant. They can assess your risks, recommend appropriate backup strategies, and help implement solutions aligned with UK compliance standards and best practices. Taking these steps now can safeguard your business against costly data loss and operational disruption.