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Assessment: How Does Your Arkansas Business Stack Up on Data Backup?

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In an age when data is your business, data backup and recovery can literally be the difference between your organization keeping its doors open — or shuttering them. And because data loss takes multiple forms, from cyberattacks to natural disasters to human error, it's never been more important to know where you and your business stand vis-a-vis data backup and recovery.

Which brings us...here. To this quick interactive assessment, designed to give you an indication of your organization's data recovery preparedness.

So, how does your business stack up on data backup? Let's find out. Take the quick 13-question quiz below. 

And scroll farther down for additional guidance on the 3-2-1-1-0 rule mentioned in the quiz. 

After all, data backup and recovery is nothing less than a make-or-break issue for many modern organizations. 

1 / 13

Do you have at least three copies of your critical data — the original plus two backups?

The original, live copy counts as one. A second copy sitting on the same drive as the original doesn't count as a separate copy.

Yes
No
2 / 13

Are those backups stored on at least two different types of media?

"Media type" means the kind of storage technology — an external hard drive, a NAS device, cloud storage, and tape are all different types. Two backups saved as two folders on the same device are the same media type, not two.

Yes
No
3 / 13

Is at least one copy stored offsite, separate from your primary systems?

A different building, a different cloud account/region, or a different provider entirely — not just a different folder on the same network.

Yes
No
4 / 13

Is at least one copy immutable or air-gapped?

"Immutable" means the backup can't be altered or deleted for a set period, even by someone with admin credentials (sometimes called "object lock"). "Air-gapped" means it's physically or network-disconnected from your main systems. Either one protects the backup if your main systems are compromised.

Yes
No
5 / 13

Was your most recent full restore test completed with zero errors?

A restore test means actually recovering the data — not just confirming a backup job finished — and verifying it opens or functions correctly.

Yes
No
6 / 13

Do you spot-check individual file, folder, or mailbox restores at least monthly?

A quick, low-effort check that backups are working day-to-day — not a full system recovery.

Yes
No
7 / 13

Do you test a full system or environment restore at least once a year?

A larger-scale test simulating your main systems being unavailable, confirming you can rebuild from offsite/cloud backups alone.

Yes
No
8 / 13

Is deleting or modifying backups restricted to separate credentials from everyday admin access?

Day-to-day IT admin accounts shouldn't be the same accounts that can delete or alter backups — this stops one compromised login from wiping backups too.

Yes
No
9 / 13

Are your Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace mailboxes and files backed up independently, rather than relying only on the vendor's built-in retention?

A vendor's recycle bin or retention policy isn't an independent backup — it's still controlled by the vendor, time-limited, and can be lost if an account or subscription is deleted.

Yes
No
10 / 13

Is it documented in writing who owns your data if your backup or cloud vendor goes out of business or is acquired?

A contract clause spelling out data ownership and what happens to your access if the vendor is sold, acquired, or shuts down.

Yes
No
11 / 13

Is there a written recovery plan documenting who does what during a restore?

Named people and responsibilities for a data-loss event — not something that depends on one person's memory.

Yes
No
12 / 13

Do you get notified automatically when a backup job fails?

Automatic alerting, rather than only finding out when someone manually checks the logs.

Yes
No
13 / 13

Are employee laptops and devices included in your backup scope, not just servers?

Covers endpoints — laptops, desktops — not just centralized servers and cloud apps.

Yes
No
0 of 13 answered
0/13
 

 

 

About the 3-2-1-1-0 Backup Rule

3-2-1-1-0 is a framework for ensuring your mission-critical data can survive a potential data-loss incident — whether cyberattack, vendor disruption, technology failure, natural disaster, or — most commonly — human error (e.g., accidental deletion).

It goes like this... 

  • 3: Keep 3 copies of your data. One will be your live, primary data, while the other two copies will be your backups. So, 1 live copy + 2 backups = 3 copies total.  

  • 2: Store the two backups across 2 different types of media, so the failure of a single storage type doesn't take out everything. For many organizations, this will take the form of one backup on a physical device (e.g., internal drive, external drive, local appliance) and one backup in the cloud. 

  • 1: Keep 1 backup off-site, that is, physically separate from your main systems, or with a separate cloud provider entirely. This ensures a local disaster that knocks out your entire office (or a single cloud provider) cannot destroy all your data. 

  • 1: Make 1 backup immutable. This is a fancy way of saying: make sure one copy cannot be changed or altered, even by an administrator. In the ransomware age, this is particularly important. Such attacks often work by holding your data hostage. But, if you retain an immutable copy, there's only so much damage bad actors can do. Many businesses rely on their cloud storage providers to create an immutable copy.  

  • 0: With 0 errors confirmed via testing. That is, the backup has actually been restored and verified to work (see below).

About Testing Your Backups

A backup you've never restored is a guess, not a plan. "We think our data is backed up properly."

Two kinds of testing matter, and they serve different purposes.

Spot-checks

Recovering a single file, folder, or mailbox. Spot-checks should happen at least monthly; they catch small, everyday failures before they become a problem.

Full restore tests

Rebuilding an entire system or environment from your off-site backups. Unlike spot-checks, a full restore should happen at least once a year. They're crucial for confirming you could actually recover if your main systems went down. And, they allow you to test the final element of the 3-2-1-1-0 rule above – that your data backup and recovery system works with zero errors. 

Skipping either one means you won't discover your backup didn't work — until it's possibly too late.

You've Got Backup on Data Backup

Whether you have questions about data backup and recovery, or you want someone to handle all the planning, backing up, and testing for you (I know it can feel like a lot), you've got a partner in TekTrendz.

We specialize in business continuity and data recovery — so you can rest easy knowing your data (and business) is safe. 

You've got backup with TekTrendz