How quickly you need to be back.
THE TWO QUESTIONS
How long can you afford to be down? How much data can you afford to lose?
WHY BOTH
They are different, and they drive different decisions.
THE DOWNTIME QUESTION
Determines how quickly you need to restore.
THE DATA LOSS QUESTION
Determines how often you back up.
A daily backup means up to a day of data lost.
FOR A SHOP
Data loss matters more. Every order since the backup is gone.
Frequent backups.
FOR A BROCHURE SITE
Downtime matters more than data loss.
Content rarely changes.
WHAT TO DECIDE
For each system, an acceptable answer to both questions.
WHAT THAT DRIVES
Backup frequency Whether you need a standby arrangement What you prepare in advance
WHAT TO BE REALISTIC ABOUT
Perfect continuity is expensive.
Most small businesses need good preparation, not perfect resilience.
