Backup & Recovery

Having backups is not the same as knowing the business can recover.

Backups are common. Tested recovery is not. We manage backup the way it actually has to work on the worst day, monitored, restore-tested, ransomware-aware, and tied to a written plan.

3rd Element Consulting provides backup, business continuity, and disaster recovery services, with backups monitored, restore-tested, and tied to a written recovery plan that states your RTO and RPO.

Schedule an IT Environment Review

The pattern

When backup is a product, not a plan.

Most environments have backups of something. Far fewer have an honest answer to the question that actually matters: if a critical system went down tonight, how long would it take to be back in business, and what would be lost?

That question is where business continuity and disaster recovery actually start. Recovery is a planning discipline, not a product. We treat it that way.

What we own

What we put in place and keep current.

8 areas, swipe or use arrows

Backup coverage

What is actually backed up, what is not, and whether that matches what the business depends on.

Alerts and follow-up

Backup failures and warnings reviewed by people, not allowed to pile up in a folder.

Restore testing

Real restores on a schedule, because a backup that has never been tested is a hope, not a control.

Microsoft 365 backup

Independent backup of mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams, separate from the platform itself.

Ransomware-aware recovery

Backups that survive the same attack that hit the systems they back up, including offline and immutable copies.

Critical system priority

A written order of operations for what gets restored first, second, third, agreed with leadership in advance.

Vendor coordination

Coordinating with line-of-business app vendors so their part of recovery is not a surprise.

Documentation

What is protected, how recovery would actually work, and what leadership should expect, written down.

How we work

We start with the recovery the business needs, then build backward.

The first conversation is not about software. It is about what the business can tolerate, how long it could run without a given system, and how much data loss would actually be acceptable.

From there, we look at what is in place, where it falls short, and what needs to change. Backups get monitored, restores get tested, and recovery moves from hope to a defendable plan. Held to the same written baseline as the rest of the environment.

Two 3rd Element technicians reviewing backup and recovery status together.

What changes

The worst day stops being theoretical.

Leadership can describe, without flinching, how the business would come back from a ransomware event, a failed server, a wiped mailbox, or a vendor outage. Insurers and customers asking about recovery get real answers.

Where to read further

This service is the operating side of our disaster recovery guidance.

If you are still working out what you need, start with the pillar guide: what an IT disaster recovery plan is and how to build one. It covers the full structure, and the rest of the cluster sits underneath it.

From there, backup is not recovery explains why having copies is not the same as being able to come back. RTO vs. RPO covers the two numbers the plan is built around. A business continuity plan that actually works covers how the business keeps running while the technology comes back.

This page is what it looks like when someone owns all of that day to day, rather than leaving it as a document nobody has tested.

Who we work best with

Built for companies that want IT held to a standard.

Something brought you here. If you're with an organization of about 10 to 250 employees, headquartered in or operating across Central PA, that depends on its technology to operate and is ready to hold its IT to a written standard, you've probably outgrown whoever was managing IT before or something specific made the gap visible.

A strong fit

Leadership is ready to treat IT as part of how the business runs.
Teams tired of explaining the same problems to the same provider.
Operations where downtime, lost data, or a security event would put the business at risk.
An internal IT person who can't be a specialist in every area and doesn't have visibility into how other organizations solve the same problems.

How we work

We price for the outcome, not the lowest monthly rate. If price is the only deciding factor, we're probably not the best match.
We'll tell you when something needs attention, even if you didn't ask.
Every client runs to a security baseline: MFA, patching, and tested backups. We don't make exceptions, because we're accountable for the result.

Common questions

Questions leadership usually asks first.

We already have backup software. Do we need this?

Maybe. The question isn't whether backup software is running - it's whether anyone is monitoring, testing, and checking if the recovery plan matches what the business needs. Backup software that hasn't been tested or tied to a recovery plan is equivalent of thoughts and prayers.

Are Microsoft 365 backups really necessary?

Yes. Microsoft keeps the platform running but does not protect your data the way most people assume. Emails deleted by a departing employee, files lost to ransomware, or mailboxes wiped by mistake are not recovered by Microsoft. An independent backup covers mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams - separate from the platform itself, and tested so recovery is actually possible when it's needed.

How often should restores be tested?

At minimum quarterly, and more frequently for critical systems. Testing means actually restoring data and confirming it's usable, not just checking that the backup job completed. A backup job that reports success and a restore that actually works are two different things.

What's the difference between backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity?

Backup is the copy of your data. Disaster recovery is the plan for restoring systems and getting back online. Business continuity is the broader plan for how the business keeps operating while that happens. We build all three together instead of treating backup as the whole answer.

Can you help with cyber insurance questions?

Yes. Most insurance applications ask about controls leadership has never had to think about before. We translate the questions, review the environment against them, and help you answer with evidence instead of guesswork. If there are gaps, we'll tell you what they are and what it takes to close them. We also work with an insurance partner who specializes in cyber coverage - if you want additional options or a second set of eyes on the technical requirements, we can bring them in without replacing your existing broker relationship.

What is an IT Environment Review?

The IT Environment Review is free and takes about 30 minutes by video or phone. We ask a set list of questions about your environment, answer yours, and send you a written summary afterward.

Get a clearer view of your IT environment.

Find out what is working, where the risks are, and what needs attention next.