How to Back Up Your Business Data

Losing business data is one of the most disruptive things that can happen to a small business — and it happens more often than most people expect. Ransomware, hardware failure, accidental deletion, and software corruption are all real risks. Good backup practice is one of the few things that makes recovery straightforward rather than catastrophic.

What backup actually means

A backup is a copy of your data stored separately from the original. If your primary storage is lost, corrupted, or encrypted by ransomware, you restore from the backup. The key word is "separately" — a copy of a file on the same drive, or in the same cloud account, is not a backup. It's just a second copy that can disappear at the same time as the first.

The 3-2-1 rule

The 3-2-1 rule is the standard guideline for backup resilience:

• 3 copies of your data (the original plus two backups)
• 2 different storage types (e.g. internal drive and cloud)
• 1 copy stored off-site or in a separate cloud location

For most small businesses, this means keeping local backups on an external drive or NAS device, plus cloud backups through a dedicated service. The off-site component is important — a fire, flood, or theft can wipe out everything in one location.

Microsoft 365 is not a backup

This is the most common misconception we encounter. Microsoft 365 includes some version history and a recycle bin, but it is not a backup product. Deleted files are only retained for a limited period. If an account is compromised, or files are deleted and the window passes, that data is gone. A proper Microsoft 365 backup copies your email, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams data to a separate location with longer retention and point-in-time recovery.

Cloud backup vs local backup

Cloud backup stores data remotely — it's off-site by definition, accessible from anywhere, and usually runs automatically. Local backup stores data on a physical device in your office — it's faster to restore from, but vulnerable to anything that happens on-site.

Neither is sufficient on its own. Local backup is fast but vulnerable. Cloud backup is resilient but slow to restore large volumes. Using both gives you speed when you need it and resilience when it matters most.

Backup isn't enough on its own — you need oversight

A backup that isn't monitored is a backup that may not work when you need it. Backup jobs fail silently. Storage fills up and new backups stop running. Backup software updates change settings. Files get excluded by mistake. Without regular checks, businesses discover backup problems at the worst possible time.

Backup oversight means actively checking that backups are completing, verifying that files can be restored, and being alerted when something goes wrong. This is included in London PC Fix managed IT support plans.

What to check if you're not sure your backup is working

• Log into your backup software and check the last successful backup date.
• Try restoring a small test file to confirm recovery actually works.
• Check storage usage — if your backup drive is full, new backups will fail.
• Review what is being backed up — check that your most critical folders and data are included.
• Check whether Microsoft 365 data is covered separately if you use it.