The Backups You Have Not Tested

Most businesses have something they call a backup. Fewer can say when it was last restored successfully. ## Coverage gaps Common gaps include cloud data such as Microsoft 365, laptops that never connect to the office, and systems added after the backup was originally configured. ## Verification Backups should be monitored for failures and periodically restored to confirm the data is usable. ## Recovery expectations It is worth writing down how long recovery would realistically take, and how much recent work could be lost. Those two numbers drive most backup decisions.