Your Backup Works. Until the Day You Need It

Almost every office we visit tells us, "We have a backup." And usually that's true: at some point, someone set one up. The real question is a different one: when did anyone last check that the backup is actually running, and that you can restore from it?

At Oz-Tal we've worked in data recovery and backup for many years, and we've seen plenty of cases where the backup "existed" but didn't help when it mattered.

Why backups fail silently

A backup is a system that nobody looks at most of the time. That's why it can stop working without anyone noticing:

• The external drive filled up a few months ago, and nothing new has been saved since.
• A password was changed, and the cloud backup has been failing every night.
• A new folder was added to the server, but nobody added it to the backup settings.
• The backup is always connected to the network, and a ransomware attack encrypted it too.
• The files were backed up, but they're corrupted, and nobody finds out until they try to open them.

In all of these cases everything on screen looks normal, and the problem only comes to light when a computer breaks down or someone accidentally deletes an important folder. Then, under the pressure of a working day that has ground to a halt, it turns out that the latest copy you can restore from is much older than anyone thought, or doesn't exist at all. At that point the only option left is to attempt data recovery from the failed drive, which takes time and doesn't always fully succeed.

Two habits that make the difference

1. Daily monitoring. Every backup should report whether it succeeded or failed, and someone needs to read that report. One failure isn't a disaster, but failures that go on for weeks without anyone knowing are a serious problem.

2. Restore tests. You only really test a backup when you restore from it. Every so often, pick some files or a folder, restore them to a separate location and check that they open and are complete. Only then do you know your backup really works. It's also worth timing the restore. If restoring the whole server takes two days, you want to know that in advance, not in the middle of a crisis.

One more recommendation: keep at least one copy outside the office and disconnected from the everyday network, so that a single fault or a single attack can't hit both the original and the backup.

Managed backup: we check, you relax

With Oz-Tal's managed backup service, we take on all of this quiet work. We set up the backup around what matters to you, monitor it every day, deal with problems as they come up, and run restore tests.

Every month you'll get a clear report from us: what was backed up, what succeeded, what we fixed and when the last restore test was done. That way you know exactly where you stand, without having to get into the technical details.

The service suits offices, schools, yeshivas and non-profits of any size. We can back up servers, workstations, mailboxes and cloud data, and we'll recommend the combination that fits your amount of data and your budget.

Let's check your backup

Not sure when your backup was last checked? Call us on 02-500-2022 (Sun–Thu, 09:00–16:00). We'll be happy to go over your current setup with you and suggest a solution that fits.