An IT backup plan is much more than a simple copy of files: it is your company’s life insurance. With the surge in ransomware and the risk of disasters, a documented and tested backup strategy is a prerequisite for your business continuity (BCP).

Here is the methodological guide to building a robust and resilient backup plan.

1. Data inventory and classification (audit)

Before choosing a technology, you need to know what you are protecting.

  • Critical data: Customer files, accounting, ERP, health data (HDS). Losing them would immediately paralyze the business.

  • Operational data: Working documents, emails, ongoing projects.

  • Archive data: Older files to be kept for legal or historical reasons.

2. Define your recovery objectives (RTO and RPO)

The backup plan must meet two major technical indicators:

  • RPO (Recovery Point Objective): How much data can you afford to lose? (e.g., hourly backups vs. once a day).

  • RTO (Recovery Time Objective): How long can the business remain at a standstill before restoring operations?

3. Apply the golden 3-2-1 rule

For maximum security, your backup plan must follow the 3-2-1 rule:

  • 3 copies of your data (the original + two backups).

  • 2 different media (e.g., local server and cloud).

  • 1 offsite copy, outside your premises (essential against theft, fire or cyberattacks).

4. Automation and offsite storage: the winning combination

Manual backup is the enemy of security. Human error or forgetfulness can happen all too easily.

  • Automation: Ensures that backups are performed every day, without intervention.

  • Encryption: Your data must be encrypted before it leaves the company to guarantee its confidentiality.

  • Sovereign cloud: For full GDPR compliance, choose hosting in France, out of reach of the Cloud Act.

5. The restore test: the often-forgotten step

A backup that has never been restored does not exist. A complete backup plan includes periodic restore tests. These make sure that files are usable and that the restore time (RTO) meets your business needs.

Why choose Kiwi Backup for your backup plan?

For more than 20 years, Kiwi Backup has been helping businesses implement their backup plans with automatic, offsite and certified (ISO 27001, HDS) solutions.

By centralizing the management of your servers, workstations and SaaS environments (M365, Google Workspace) in a single interface, you simplify your IT governance and maximize your resilience.