Backup and disaster recovery checklist

Start with a business scenario

Pick a realistic interruption: a deleted customer folder, an unavailable server or a lost office. Ask which activities stop, who makes the recovery decision and what staff can do while systems return. Different scenarios may need different recovery plans.

Separate recovering data from restoring a usable service. Files may be only one dependency; people may also need an application, a working device and access to another supplier. Ask your provider to explain the whole sequence and identify responsibilities outside their contract.

Look beyond a successful backup job

The NCSC recommends knowing how to restore a backup and checking that it includes important data. Its backup guidance for small organisations is a useful starting point. Ask for evidence from an agreed restore test, alongside the reports showing that backup jobs have run.

Plan the test with the system owner and provider so it does not disrupt normal work. Agree the destination, access and disposal of any test copies. A test result applies to the scenario tested; record remaining gaps rather than assuming every system would recover in the same way.

Bring this to your next conversation

Your practical checklist

Tick a row when you have recorded an answer and any follow-up. These ticks are planning notes, not a pass mark. They stay on this page and are not saved or sent.

Review owner: ____________________

Review date: ____________________

List the work you need to recoverStart with business activities: taking orders, paying staff, serving customers. Identify the files, applications, accounts and equipment each activity depends on.
Owner / evidence / next action:
Agree recovery prioritiesHow much recent work could you recreate, and how long could each activity stop? Record these business targets before asking a provider which technical approach can meet them.
Owner / evidence / next action:
Map actual backup coverageAsk for a system-by-system list of what is backed up, how often, how long copies are retained and what is excluded. Include cloud services and data held outside shared drives.
Owner / evidence / next action:
Check who can reach the copiesWho can restore, alter or delete backups? Ask how recovery access works if your normal accounts, office or provider are unavailable, and who maintains those arrangements.
Owner / evidence / next action:
Plan a safe restore testAgree a representative file, mailbox or application to recover, a safe destination and a named tester. Avoid overwriting working data. Define what a successful result means before starting.
Owner / evidence / next action:
Record results and dependenciesDid the recovered data open and support the business task? Record time taken, missing items and dependencies such as internet access, licences, specialist software or replacement equipment.
Owner / evidence / next action:
Assign the next actionsGive gaps an owner and due date. Agree who monitors failed backups, who approves recovery during an incident, and when the next restore test and contact-list review will happen.
Owner / evidence / next action:

Agree the review before the work

Use the checklist to request a written scope covering the systems, test scenario, deliverable and follow-up. A backup and disaster recovery enquiry goes directly to Dead Simple Computing. Enquiring is free; reviews, backup services and remediation are quoted separately. You can also explore other backup providers.

Backup and disaster recovery checklist

Start with a business scenario

Look beyond a successful backup job

Your practical checklist

Agree the review before the work

Useful for your team or customers?