A backup is useful only if it can support the recovery you need. For service continuity, that means being able to restore an operating system—not merely storing a copy of its data. Backups may also serve compliance or testing and development, so define the purpose before choosing what to retain. For a CTO, the practical question is not just “Do we have backups?” but “Can we restore the service, and how long will it take?” section 13.4 section 13.0
Build the strategy around the recovery you actually need:
- Decide whether to back up data alone, configuration and data, or the application as well. Include third-party services holding important assets, such as source code or cloud-hosted business data. section 13.4
- Document how to rebuild each component: hardware, operating system, software, dependencies, and the steps for creating and restoring backups. Keep the instructions current as systems change. section 11.2.4 section 11.6
- Choose frequency according to how often data changes and how far back recovery must reach. Excessive backups add overhead; longer retention can enable partial recovery of deletions discovered weeks later. Older archives can be thinned from daily to weekly and then monthly copies. section 13.4.1
- Keep archives secure and separate from the systems they protect. Consider encryption and a separate network or cloud account; restrict access to encryption keys so backup operators need not see the stored data. section 13.4 section 13.4.2
- Restore to another system periodically and record the result. A rehearsed recovery provides a more defensible time expectation than an untested backup schedule. section 13.4 section 13.7
The missing dependency
A replacement machine for thumbnail generation could not run its Java application because ImageMagick was missing from the operating system. Poor logs and absent documentation made the cause hard to find. A database export alone would not have rebuilt that service; recovery instructions needed to identify its software dependency. section 11.2.4
For disaster recovery, a backup may be a standby capability that keeps operations going after a site-level failure, often through failover to another geographic location. Fire, flood, and theft matter, but power, network, and hardware failures are more likely scenarios to plan for. Running in the cloud alone does not establish disaster readiness. section 8.4
A useful self-check is straightforward: Are backups automated and stored securely offsite? Can a technically competent colleague follow the documented steps to rebuild a component? When did someone last restore a system and confirm that the backup covered everything required? section 13.7 section 11.2.4 section 13.0
