Plan your backup around what you need to recover

A backup plan should answer a practical question: if this device stopped working, what would you need to continue the next important task? A storage subscription or an external drive is only part of the answer. You also need to know what is protected and how somebody can use it again.

Begin with the work you must continue

Choose a few essential tasks, such as answering current customers or completing an agreed delivery. List the information and access needed for each. Include material stored outside the main documents folder and information held in services managed by another provider.

Name the owner of each item and find out how it is currently protected. Do not assume that everything on a computer is included because one folder shows a synchronisation symbol. Confirm the actual backup scope with the responsible administrator or service provider.

Distinguish a copy from a recovery plan

The NCSC recommends backing up important operational data and checking that it can be restored. For your organisation, record where the protected copy is kept, who can access it and how recovery would begin if the usual device were unavailable.

Discuss how accidental deletion, an overwritten file and loss of a device would be handled. These are different situations. Ask which versions can be recovered and what limits apply rather than assuming every copy preserves every previous state.

Protect the recovery route

Keep backup access under appropriate controls and avoid making one person's memory the only way in. Agree on a substitute without sharing secrets in a general planning document. Follow professional guidance for protecting backup accounts and storage.

Record how often protection runs and how somebody notices a failure. Choose arrangements based on the consequences of losing recent work, not on a schedule copied from another business with different needs.

Rehearse safely

Restore a controlled sample to a separate safe location and check that it opens and contains the expected information. Do not overwrite working files as an experiment. Let a responsible colleague follow the instructions so that gaps in the handover become visible.

Write down the outcome and the next review point. A useful backup plan is a maintained route back to working information, with known limits. It should leave fewer assumptions for the day when your normal device is no longer available.

Sources: National Cyber Security Centre: Backing up your data.