WHEN DISASTER STRIKES, YOU RECOVER
Ransomware, hardware failures, natural disasters, and human error can all take your business offline. AlfeNet designs and manages backup and disaster recovery solutions that ensure your data is protected and your business can recover quickly — whether you lose a single file or an entire office.
The Real Cost of Not Having a Recovery Plan
We have seen it too many times: a business gets hit by ransomware, checks their backups, and discovers they have not been running for months. Or a server fails, and the backup drive sitting next to it is corrupted. The average cost of downtime for a small business is over $8,000 per hour, and 93% of businesses that lose critical data for more than 10 days file for bankruptcy within a year. A proper backup and disaster recovery plan is not optional — it is a business survival strategy.
- 40% of small businesses never reopen after a major data loss event
- The average ransomware payment demanded from SMBs is $170,000
- Natural disasters, fires, and floods can destroy on-premises backups
- Human error (accidental deletion) accounts for 29% of data loss incidents
Our Multi-Layer Backup Approach
AlfeNet implements a 3-2-1 backup strategy for every client: three copies of your data, on two different media types, with one copy stored offsite or in the cloud. We use enterprise-grade backup solutions from Veeam, Datto, and Acronis to protect servers, workstations, Microsoft 365 data, and cloud workloads. Every backup is encrypted, monitored, and tested regularly to ensure recoverability.
- Image-based server backups with bare-metal recovery capability
- Microsoft 365 backup (Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams) — Microsoft does not back up your data for you
- Cloud-to-cloud backup for AWS and Azure workloads
- Endpoint backup for critical workstations and laptops
- Encrypted offsite replication to geographically separate data centers
- Automated backup verification with screenshot-based recovery testing
Disaster Recovery Planning & Testing
Having backups is only half the equation. You also need a tested plan for how to recover and how long it will take. AlfeNet develops customized disaster recovery plans that define your Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) for each critical system. We test these plans quarterly, including full failover tests, so you know exactly what will happen when disaster strikes — not hope it works.
- Business Impact Analysis to identify critical systems and acceptable downtime
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) definition
- Quarterly disaster recovery testing with documented results
- Runbook documentation so any member of our team can execute the recovery
Ransomware-Proof Backups
Modern ransomware specifically targets backup systems — encrypting or deleting them before encrypting your production data. AlfeNet implements ransomware-resistant backup architectures including air-gapped copies, immutable storage, and anomaly detection that alerts us if backup data is being tampered with. If you do get hit by ransomware, we can restore your systems from clean backups without paying the ransom.
Benefits
Automated & Monitored
Backups run automatically on schedule and are monitored 24/7. If a backup fails, we know about it immediately and fix it — not weeks later when you need it.
Tested Recovery Plans
We test your disaster recovery plan quarterly with real failover exercises. You see proof that your data is recoverable, not just a green checkmark on a dashboard.
Ransomware Protection
Immutable backups and air-gapped copies that ransomware cannot encrypt. If you get attacked, your clean backups are waiting.
Fast Recovery Times
Depending on your plan, we can have critical systems back online in minutes to hours — not days. Every minute of downtime costs your business money.
Microsoft 365 Backup
Microsoft does not back up your data. We do. Full backup and recovery for Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams data.
Compliance Ready
Our backup solutions meet retention requirements for HIPAA, SOC 2, and other regulatory frameworks. Encrypted, auditable, and documented.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Microsoft 365 back up my data automatically?
No. Microsoft provides infrastructure redundancy, but they do not back up your data. Their service agreement explicitly states that you are responsible for your own data protection. If an employee accidentally deletes files or a malicious actor wipes your mailbox, Microsoft cannot restore it beyond their limited retention window (typically 30 days for deleted items).
How often should backups run?
For most businesses, we configure backups to run every 1-4 hours for servers and critical systems, and daily for workstations. The right frequency depends on your Recovery Point Objective — how much data can you afford to lose? We help you determine this during the planning phase.
What is the difference between backup and disaster recovery?
Backup is the process of copying your data to a safe location. Disaster recovery is the entire plan for getting your business operational again after a major disruption — including restoring systems, reconfiguring networks, and communicating with stakeholders. You need both.
How quickly can you restore our systems after a disaster?
It depends on the severity and your disaster recovery plan. For a single server failure, we can typically restore from backup within 1-4 hours. For a full site disaster (fire, flood, ransomware across the network), we can spin up your environment in the cloud within hours using our business continuity solutions.