How is business continuity planning different from just having good backups?

Backups protect your data. Business continuity protects your operations. Even with perfect backups, a business can be down for days if employees do not know how to work remotely, if phones are not rerouted, if vendors are not notified, or if nobody knows who is in charge. A BCP addresses the human and process side of recovery, not just the IT side.

Backup, Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

Backup, DR & Business Continuity

When Disaster Strikes, You Need to Keep Operating — Not Just Recover Eventually

An untested backup is not a backup — it's a promise. And a backup alone won't keep your team working while a crisis unfolds. HoBITS Technologies designs, implements, and continuously tests backup, disaster recovery, and full business continuity for Florida businesses — so when the worst happens, your data is safe, your recovery is fast, and your people keep serving your clients.

Whether it's ransomware, a server failure, a fire, a hurricane, or accidental deletion, we make sure your business can keep running with minimal data loss and minimal disruption to operations.

The Nightmare Scenario

Ransomware locks your critical files at 7 a.m. Your team can't access emails, databases, or shared folders. You call IT — only to discover backups failed weeks ago, nobody knows how to work remotely, and the phones are still ringing to a dark office. Days later, your business is stalled and your reputation is damaged. 60% of small businesses that suffer major data loss close within six months. Don't be that statistic.

Get a Free BDR & Continuity Assessment → (863) 535-6370

Backup, disaster recovery and business continuity by HoBITS Technologies

60%

SMBs Close Within 6 Months of Major Data Loss

<15min

Target Recovery Time

3-2-1

Backup Rule We Follow

Monthly

Backup Tests + Reports

Common Misconception

Microsoft 365 Does NOT Back Up Your Data

This is one of the most dangerous assumptions we encounter. Microsoft protects their infrastructure — not your content. Here's what that actually means for your business.

✕ The Myth

"We use Microsoft 365, so our email and files are backed up."

Microsoft's built-in retention is limited to 30–93 days and designed for accidental deletion — not ransomware, mass deletion, or recovery from a specific point in time. If your data is gone, Microsoft's options are extremely limited.

✓ The Reality

You need a separate backup layer for Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive & Teams.

HoBITS adds a true third-party backup layer for all Microsoft 365 data — daily backups with point-in-time restore, granular file and email recovery, and long-term retention up to 3 years. Your Microsoft 365 data is protected the way it should be.

✕ The Myth

"We have a backup drive in the office, so we're covered."

Local-only backups fail in the most common disaster scenarios: ransomware encrypts attached drives, fires destroy on-site equipment, floods damage hardware. If your only copy is on-site, it's not a real disaster recovery plan.

✓ The Reality

The 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, 2 different media, 1 off-site (cloud).

We implement the industry-standard 3-2-1 backup strategy with immutable cloud storage that ransomware cannot reach, on-site backups for fast local restores, and geographically redundant cloud copies for true disaster scenarios.

Our BDR Services

Complete Backup & Disaster Recovery Coverage

We protect every layer of your business — from workstations and servers to cloud data and Microsoft 365.

Cloud Backup

Automated daily backups of your workstations, servers, and files to geographically redundant cloud data centers — encrypted, verified, and always off-site.

Disaster Recovery Planning

A written, tested DR plan defining exactly who does what after a major incident — with defined RTO/RPO targets, recovery runbooks, and annual tabletop drills.

Server Image Backup

Full server image backups — OS, applications, configs, and data — so you can restore to the same or different hardware in hours, not days. RTO of 4 hours or less.

Microsoft 365 Backup

True third-party backup for Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams — with point-in-time restore and granular recovery Microsoft's own tools can't provide.

Ransomware Recovery

Immutable, air-gapped backup copies that ransomware cannot reach or encrypt — with clean restore point identification and cyber insurance documentation support.

Backup Testing & Reporting

Monthly restore tests to verify your data is actually recoverable — not just "backed up." You receive a written compliance report every month confirming your protection status.

Beyond Recovery

Business Continuity — Keep Operating, Not Just Recover

Backup and disaster recovery get your data and systems back. A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) keeps your whole business running — people, communications, processes, and technology — while a crisis is still unfolding. HoBITS builds both, designed together.

Recovery Time Objectives (RTO)

Define how long your business can afford to be down — then build systems that meet that target.

Recovery Point Objectives (RPO)

Establish how much data your business can afford to lose — and protect against exceeding it.

Workforce Continuity

Your team can work securely from any location — office, home, or alternate site — during a crisis.

Compliance Alignment

Meet HIPAA, PCI-DSS, CMMC and other requirements for continuity documentation and testing.

"Integrate Business Continuity Management across the entire organization to ensure that business-led recovery expectations are aligned with IT disaster recovery resources." — Gartner

Business Continuity Planning

A custom, actionable BCP aligned to your RTO/RPO targets — covering every critical business function, with documented activation procedures, escalation paths, and alternate-site planning. Reviewed and updated as your business evolves.

Included in ProITWatch plans

Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

We quantify what downtime actually costs you — per hour and per day — identify critical vs. non-critical functions, map internal and external dependencies (vendors, cloud, utilities), and set a prioritized recovery sequence.

Sets your RTO / RPO targets

Remote Workforce Continuity

If your office becomes inaccessible, your team keeps working. Secure VPN / zero-trust access, cloud desktops, MFA, endpoint security, and pre-tested remote-access playbooks for rapid activation.

Office, home or alternate site

Communications Failover

Your clients still need to reach you when the office goes dark. VoIP with automatic failover routing, call forwarding to mobile or alternate sites, redundant internet, and a documented communication chain in your BCP.

Stay reachable through any outage

Testing, Training & Exercises

A plan you've never tested is a guess. Tabletop exercises for ransomware, weather events and outages; technical failover testing with documented results; staff training on roles and procedures; and an annual review cycle.

Annual review + quarterly failover tests

Compliance-Aligned Continuity

For regulated industries, business continuity is mandated. Documented BCP procedures and audit trails aligned to HIPAA, PCI-DSS, CMMC, NIST and ISO 22301 — built to withstand an audit.

HIPAA · PCI-DSS · CMMC · ISO 22301

Serving businesses across Tampa Bay and Central Florida — Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Riverview, Plant City, Lakeland, Winter Haven and the wider Polk County and Orlando corridor — with backup, disaster recovery and business continuity built for Florida's hurricane season, infrastructure realities and compliance landscape. We are based in Lakeland, FL.

Our Process

How We Build Your Backup, Recovery & Continuity Plan

We don't just sell you backup software — we design a complete data-protection and continuity strategy around your business.

Discovery & Business Impact Analysis

We map your critical systems and functions, identify failure points and dependencies, and define what an hour of downtime actually costs your business.

Custom Strategy & BCP Design

We set your RTO and RPO targets, design backup schedules and retention policies, and document the disaster recovery and business continuity procedures for every scenario.

Implementation & Testing

We deploy all backup, failover and communications systems, run simulated recovery drills and tabletop exercises, and validate the plan works before you ever need it.

24/7 Monitoring & Maintenance

We monitor backup jobs, investigate failures immediately, run scheduled tests, and review and update your plan as your data and business grow.

Why HoBITS for Backup, DR & Continuity

Protection You Can Actually Rely On

Immutable Storage

Backup copies that cannot be modified, deleted, or encrypted — even by ransomware with admin credentials.

<15 Min Recovery

Target RTO of under 15 minutes for critical systems using virtual machine spin-up from backup images.

AES-256 Encryption

All backup data encrypted in transit and at rest. Your data is never accessible to anyone without your authorization.

Monthly Tested Backups

We don't assume backups work — we prove it with monthly restore tests and written compliance reports.

Geo-Redundant Cloud

Data stored across multiple geographic locations. No single point of failure — even a regional disaster won't wipe your backups.

One Team, End to End

One team owns your backup, DR, business continuity plan and 24/7 support — bundled into a predictable monthly fee. No surprise bills after a recovery event.

Schedule Your Free Assessment →

No commitment. We'll map your risk exposure and show you exactly where you're vulnerable.

Common Questions

Backup, Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity FAQ

Disaster recovery focuses on restoring IT systems and data after an incident — it's primarily a technical function. Business continuity is broader: it ensures your entire organization (people, processes, communications, and technology) can keep operating during and after a crisis, not just after the fact. You need both, and they should be designed together.

A thorough BCP typically takes 4–8 weeks to develop, depending on the size and complexity of your organization. This includes the Business Impact Analysis, plan documentation, technology configuration, and an initial tabletop exercise. We can prioritize critical elements faster if you need immediate coverage.

Backups protect your data. Business continuity protects your operations. Even with perfect backups, a business can be down for days if employees don't know how to work remotely, if phones aren't rerouted, if vendors aren't notified, or if nobody knows who's in charge. A BCP addresses all of those gaps — including the human and process side of recovery, not just the IT side.

If your business would suffer significant financial, reputational, or regulatory harm from extended downtime, then yes. Businesses without documented continuity plans consistently take far longer to recover from major incidents, and many never fully recover. For regulated industries like healthcare and finance, a documented BCP is a compliance requirement.

At minimum, once per year — and after any major change to your business (new offices, key personnel changes, new systems, acquisitions). Most compliance frameworks require annual testing documentation. We recommend at least one tabletop exercise per year plus technical failover testing for your most critical systems each quarter.

Yes. Both HIPAA and PCI-DSS require documented business continuity and disaster recovery plans. HoBITS builds BCP documentation, implements the required technical controls, and maintains the audit trail you need to demonstrate compliance — including periodic review and testing cycles that meet your specific regulatory framework.

Costs vary depending on the size of your organization, the complexity of your environment, and the technologies required. For most small to mid-sized businesses, BCP services are included within a ProITWatch managed services plan. We also offer standalone BCP engagements. Contact us for a no-obligation assessment and quote.