“Don’t worry, we’ve got backups.” (But do you?)

Backups used to be the cure-all for all your IT problems. Blue screen of death? A nasty virus that’s turned your data to mush? Server room flooded, or laptop misplaced…along with all the Excel files on it?

No problem, your IT guy would say, a touch nervously, we’ve got backups for that.

But how did that work out for you? How long ago was the backup made, and was it ever tested?

Fast forward to today, and while backups have been streamlined, automated, and even moved to the cloud, many of the same problems remain. Sure, the tech is better, but the discipline behind adopting, using, and testing it may not be.

So why should you be worried, and what can you do about it?

Yeah, but nah.

Backups are essential for recovering from a cyberattack. As of 2024, 43% of all cyberattacks in Australia targeted small- and medium-sized businesses – and that stat is rising. If you’re one of the 48% of our SMBs spending less than $500 annually on cybersecurity, you are, in effect, the low-hanging (and highly desirable) fruit of the cybercrime world.

But why?

Well, most people think cybercriminals are out to get the big guys – like the banks, airlines, government departments, and healthcare providers. They offer rich pickings for a successful criminal. The only problem is that they are better equipped to defend themselves – more budget, more staff, more protection.

But the facts tell a different story. In 2025, ransomware was involved in 88% of small business breaches – compared with 39% of large enterprises. Yes, cybercriminals prefer easy money and less effort.

So, knowing you’re a potential target, what is one of your must-have defences? You got it: Managed backup services. All the security of knowing you have a copy of your data that’s current and safe, without the stress of DIY.

The only problem is…given where we live, it might.

Apart from the devastation of a full-on cyberattack, there are plenty of other disasters (natural and otherwise) that can impact your business. Australia is a remarkable country, but we’re vulnerable to everything from floods to fires, blackouts to brownouts, COVID to plagues of cicadas.

When you have to evacuate or suddenly close your offices or operations, you need the security of a full-on (and well-rehearsed) disaster recovery plan.

And we can tell you it will pay off.

Here’s a real-life example: A while back, one of our clients (a local plumbing wholesaler) came to us with their Monday morning surprise: Their Exchange server had failed – completely. With no warning. As you can imagine, for a business that runs on orders, invoices and supplier communications, this was more than an inconvenience. It’s the sort of event that gives most business owners nightmares. Most businesses would have been brought to their knees – unable to operate. But because they had a robust backup plan in place, our team could get straight to work. Two hours later, we had recovered all of their data, and they were back in business.

Yup – two hours. Not two days. Not two weeks. That’s the difference a good backup and a great disaster recovery plan makes.

These days, playing safe isn’t just about backing up your data and systems, but how you do it.

Why does it matter? A backup is a backup, right?

Nope, not at all. That’s because ransomware attackers are specifically targeting backup repositories – so when you go to recover your data, you can’t. And it’s not just the odd ransomware attack that’s using that strategy. According to Arcserve; it’s 90% of them.

This is where immutable storage solutions shine. Once immutable backups are made, they can’t be deleted or altered (and internal access is permission-only). There’s no way to compromise, scramble, or wipe them – no matter how sophisticated the attack is. Your data can be restored quickly. So, it’s a smart option to protect your business (and yes, it’s what we offer our customers).

Not quite. We come across this misconception frequently – but the reality is that being in the cloud doesn’t mean your data is backed up as securely as you’d think.

Whether you’re 100% cloud or a combo of cloud and on-site (aka hybrid), you’ve still got some issues. The problem is that Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and other cloud tools and platforms you might use may have their own retention policies – but they’re designed to protect themselves, not necessarily you.

What do we mean by that? Well, if a file gets deleted, corrupted, or encrypted by a ransomware attack, your cloud provider isn’t always going to be the one that rescues it for you.

That’s why we use Arcserve UDP (Unified Data Protection) to provide you with backup and protection for your cloud data. We don’t put all your eggs in one backup basket.

The short version? Cloud storage and cloud backup are two different things. If you’re not sure which one you have, ask us to have a look for you.

Once upon a long time ago, maybe. In a world where we have more cybercrime and more natural disasters than seems fair, here’s what good looks like now:

As Arcserve’s white paper on cyber-resilient storage puts it: “Immutable backup is the most important tool against ransomware, according to most managed service providers that deliver IT and data protection services to small and medium enterprises.”

And we agree.

Is it time for a fresh look at your backup strategy and solution? Give us a call or email us to find out more about backing up your business. Nothing beats a person-to-person, non-jargony chat!