Backup & Recovery Systems

Who it's for

Teams that have backups in place — but haven't fully validated whether they can recover systems quickly and reliably. Especially where downtime would have real operational or financial impact, and where the last time anyone tried a full restore was a long time ago (or never).

What we actually build

A usable recovery capability — not just backup jobs. Designed so recovery works under pressure, not just on paper.

• Backups aligned with system structure What gets backed up matches how the system actually runs — not just "everything, somewhere, hopefully".
• Clear recovery paths for critical systems For each system that matters, a documented, walked-through path from "broken" to "back online".
• Verified restore processes Restores you've actually performed — not ones you hope will work because the green status light has been on for two years.
• Defined recovery expectations How long it takes, what comes back first, and in which order — known up front, not discovered during an incident.

What's included

• Backup design What gets backed up, how often, and where — scoped to what actually matters, not a blanket "everything just in case".
• Retention strategy Balance between recovery needs, cost, and compliance. How far back you actually need to go, not how far back you could afford to go.
• Restore testing Actually performing restores — not just assuming they work because the backup job ran green last night.
• Recovery procedures Step-by-step recovery paths for real scenarios, written in language your team can follow under pressure.
• Priority & dependency mapping What needs to come back first — and in what order. Because restoring the app before its database comes back gets you nowhere.
• Monitoring & validation Basic checks to ensure backups are running and actually usable — not just that the job exited successfully.
• Documentation & handover Clear instructions your team can follow during an incident, when nobody has time to figure things out from scratch.

Typical problems we fix

Every environment has its own version of this, but these show up almost every time. Most of it only becomes visible during an actual incident.

• Backups exist but have never been restored The backup job runs. The status is green. Nobody has actually pulled data out of it in two years. Hope is not a strategy.
• Restore process unclear or incomplete "We have backups" isn't a recovery plan. Nobody's quite sure what the steps are, and the doc (if it exists) is from three admins ago.
• Recovery depends on one person Only one person knows how to restore the production database. When they're on vacation, everyone holds their breath.
• Systems backed up inconsistently Some systems are backed up nightly, some weekly, some not at all — and nobody has a clear picture of which is which.
• No understanding of recovery time You can probably recover. How long will it take? Hours? Days? Nobody knows until it's happening.
• Missing dependencies during restore You restore the app, but it won't start because a config, a certificate, or a sister system is missing. The restore isn't actually complete.

What you walk away with

What you have at the end of the engagement:

• Verified ability to restore systems Restores that have been performed end-to-end at least once — so you know they work, not that you hope they do.
• Clear recovery procedures under pressure Step-by-step guides for each critical scenario, written for someone who's stressed and short on time.
• Reduced downtime and uncertainty When something breaks, you know how long it will take to come back — and you can tell the business that honestly.
• Better alignment between backups and real needs You're not paying to store data you don't actually need to recover, and you're not missing data you do.
• Less reliance on specific individuals Confidence that recovery will work when it matters — not confidence that a specific person is still on the team.

What this is not

Most "backup solutions" stop at running a backup job and calling it done. That's the opposite of this service.

• Not just "backup enabled" A backup that hasn't been restored isn't a backup — it's a hope.
• Not just a green status in a dashboard Successful job runs only tell you the backup wrote something somewhere. They don't tell you it can be read back or used.
• Not just a compliance checkbox Checking a box for an auditor doesn't recover a database at 3 a.m. The goal is recovery, not compliance theatre.

Tools we work with

Tool choice depends on environment — the goal is proven recovery, not a specific product. Common setups include:

Also object storage · off-site replication · immutable backup targets