Why Backup Alone Is Not Enough and What True Recovery Looks Like
20 January 2026
Many organisations believe they are protected because they “have backups”. Unfortunately, when incidents occur, this assumption is often what causes the most damage.
True resilience is not about whether backups exist. It is about whether your business can restore the right systems, in the right order, within a timeframe the business can tolerate.
The Difference Between Backup and Recovery
Backup is a technical process. Recovery is a business outcome.
You can have multiple backup jobs running successfully and still be unable to recover when it matters. Common reasons include corrupted backup data, unclear restore procedures, missing credentials, or dependencies between systems that were never documented.
The National Cyber Security Centre highlights that many ransomware incidents escalate because organisations underestimate the complexity of restoring systems under pressure.
Recovery planning forces a more honest conversation. Which systems are critical? Which can wait? How long can the business realistically operate without access to email, finance systems, or customer data?
Why Restore Testing Is Critical
A backup that has never been restored is an assumption, not a safeguard.
Restore testing validates that data is usable, recovery times are realistic, and the process works even when normal access is unavailable. It also exposes gaps that documentation alone will not reveal.
Testing does not need to be disruptive. Partial restores, sandbox testing and scheduled drills allow organisations to build confidence without impacting live operations. What matters is that testing is regular, documented and reviewed.
Aligning Recovery With Business Impact
Not all systems are equal. A good recovery strategy prioritises services based on business impact rather than technical convenience.
For many organisations, restoring email or line-of-business applications quickly matters more than historic data. Recovery priorities should reflect how the business actually operates, not how systems are structured.
This alignment reduces downtime, improves decision-making during incidents, and ensures resources are focused where they matter most.
How Maple Helps
Maple works with clients to design recovery strategies that support real-world business needs.
We:
- Identify critical systems and realistic recovery objectives
- Design backup architectures that support those priorities
- Carry out scheduled restore testing and validation
- Maintain clear, accessible recovery documentation
- Review recovery plans as systems and business needs evolve
The result is confidence, not assumptions, when incidents occur. Get in touch with us.
