Field note / backup and recovery

Ask what is actually backed up before anyone promises recovery.

Backup and disaster recovery is one of the most common questions a partner's client asks - and one of the easiest to answer with a hope instead of a fact. It sits outside the two published CAD reference bands and is qualified on its own.

Why it sits outside the bands

Essential and Plus do not include a backup promise.

Essential and Plus price recurring administration and, in Plus, baseline routines - neither publishes a recovery-point, recovery-time, or retention commitment, because those numbers depend entirely on what is actually being protected, how it is protected today, and what the client would accept losing. Treating backup as an assumed feature of a monthly band is exactly the kind of unqualified promise this site avoids elsewhere.

Where it comes up

Microsoft 365 mailbox, OneDrive, and SharePoint

Native retention and recycle-bin behavior already cover some scenarios; a real gap usually sits against deletion, corruption, or a compromised account.

Included pattern: Confirming what native retention already covers and where a gap exists.
Required inputs: Tenant retention settings, licensing tier, and which workloads matter most.
Explicit exclusions: A specific third-party product or price before the gap is qualified.

Where it comes up

Endpoint and local data

Data that does not already live in a synced or cloud location needs its own conversation, separate from device management itself.

Included pattern: Identifying which devices hold data outside a synced or cloud location.
Required inputs: The existing endpoint inventory and a plain description of local storage habits.
Explicit exclusions: Assuming endpoint management already implies backup coverage.

Where it comes up

A server or line-of-business system

An unfamiliar system with an unclear backup history needs verification before it enters any recurring promise.

Included pattern: Naming the system, its owner, and whether a backup already exists in some form.
Required inputs: Vendor or platform detail, current backup method if any, and who last opened a restored copy.
Explicit exclusions: Taking over an unknown legacy backup job without confirming what it protects.

Where it comes up

"Someone already has this covered"

The single most common gap is not a missing backup - it is an unverified one nobody has actually restored.

Included pattern: A short verification: what runs, how often, and when it was last tested.
Required inputs: Whatever documentation already exists, even if informal.
Explicit exclusions: Accepting "it's backed up" as a complete answer without a named test date.

Boundary table

Four questions that belong to qualification, not the public offer.

Question	Why the public bands cannot answer it	Where it gets answered
How much data loss is acceptable?	Recovery-point tolerance depends entirely on the system and the client's own risk appetite.	Written into the service boundary record.
How long can the client be without it?	Recovery-time expectations depend on what is being restored and to where.	Confirmed during environment qualification.
How long is a backup kept?	Retention needs vary by data type and any applicable record-keeping obligation.	Named in the written agreement.
Has a restore ever actually been tested?	A running job is not evidence of a working restore.	Verified as part of the review, not assumed.

What not to promise yet

Keep the offer honest until the environment is qualified.

A specific recovery-point or recovery-time commitment before the environment is reviewed
Coverage for a system nobody has named
A guarantee against ransomware or malicious deletion
Any claim about a specific record-retention law being satisfied
A price before the data footprint is understood

A qualified backup lane is a genuine value a partner can sell with confidence. An unqualified one is a liability with someone else's name on it.

Related decision

Baseline hygiene and backup are often asked about together.

Security-baseline routines reduce exposure. They do not replace a tested recovery path - the two are qualified separately, in the same conversation.

Review the security baseline

Bring the systems, not a recovery promise.

Name what exists today and what has never been tested. That is enough for an initial fit review.

Discuss a backup and recovery scope