A managed backup service should be evaluated on the business's ability to restore the required information, not only on successful backup-job reports. The provider needs to understand the systems, recovery priorities and authority to act. This guide offers selection criteria rather than a ranking of named companies or a guarantee of recovery outcomes.
A managed backup service should be evaluated on the business's ability to restore the required information, not only on successful backup-job reports. The provider needs to understand the systems, recovery priorities and authority to act. This guide offers selection criteria rather than a ranking of named companies or a guarantee of recovery outcomes.
Have the business and technical owners identify critical data, applications and dependencies. Agree the recovery objectives appropriate to each service and ask suppliers to explain whether the proposed design can meet them. Do not choose targets arbitrarily in a purchasing spreadsheet without the operational assessment.
Separate a file recovery from restoration of a working application or environment. They require different evidence and may involve credentials, configuration and services outside the backup product itself.
Ask where backups are held, who can administer or delete them and how access is controlled. Review the arrangement with security, privacy and legal owners as appropriate. Confirm the buyer's ability to obtain its data and required records when the supplier relationship ends.
The supplier should explain dependencies on its own tools, accounts or another provider. A recovery plan is weaker if the business cannot identify who has authority to use the backup when the usual contact is unavailable.
Ask for a test plan approved by the technical owner that verifies the relevant recovery workflow without unnecessarily risking live systems. Record the data selected, environment used, outcome and unresolved issues. A successful upload or backup status does not by itself establish that the business can restore what it needs.
For example, restored files may be present while the application still lacks configuration or a required dependency. The test should reveal that gap and assign responsibility rather than declare success from the file count alone.
Review monitoring, failure escalation, test frequency and the process for changes to protected systems. Ask references about actual recovery exercises and communication, while recognising that their environment may differ from yours.
NCSC guidance emphasises knowing how to access and restore critical backups. Use that operational principle alongside the organisation's own requirements. Select a provider that can demonstrate the agreed recovery process and explain its limits, not one that treats a green dashboard as proof that every future incident will be resolved.
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These references provide background and further reading. Verify current requirements with the relevant authority.