Best Practices for IT Technicians: Building a Strong Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan

Data security and privacy are essential. They’re how a business keeps track of customers, monitors supplies, pays, processes, and runs the day-to-day business. So when that data disappears through a cyberattack, hardware fault, or even a minor glitch, it can bring everything to a stop.

Nearly 68% of businesses experience severe data loss sooner or later, and the implications can be cataclysmic. This blog will walk you through the best practices every IT tech must know to build a reliable backup and disaster recovery plan.

What is Backup and Disaster Recovery

Backup and disaster recovery are often used together, but they’re not the same thing, and knowing the difference is essential if you work in IT.

Backup refers to copying your data. It’s like saving a second copy of a document just in case the first goes wrong. Backups can be kept on an external drive, online through the cloud, or on a secure server.

They can also ensure that if a document is erased or corrupted, you’ll still have a secure copy to restore it. But backup is just one part of the plan.

Disaster recovery is getting systems, data, and operations back up and running after something goes wrong, like a cyberattack, power outage, or server crash. A disaster recovery plan includes backups, but it also covers how quickly systems should be restored, who’s responsible for what, and how to keep the business moving while things are being fixed.

Identify What Needs to Be Protected

As an IT Technician in Nevada, one of your first and most important jobs when building a backup and disaster recovery plan is knowing exactly what needs to be protected. 

Start by thinking about the systems and data your organization uses every day. This could include customer records, financial data, email systems, work files, software applications, and employee schedules. It must be protected if losing access to it would stop work, delay service, or create a security risk.

So don’t wait until something breaks. Start by asking: How would it affect the team if this disappeared tomorrow? That simple question can guide you toward what truly needs to be protected—and help you build a plan that works when it matters most.

Choose the Right Backup Solutions

As an IT Technician, selecting a backup solution involves finding what best suits your team’s needs. Some companies may require cloud backup for work-from-home access, and some will use local storage.

The answer is having backups that are reliable, accessible, and protected from danger. A good solution saves your files and restores them quickly when trouble strikes.

Test and Update Your Disaster Recovery Plan

Having a plan is excellent, and as an IT Technician, you must test your disaster recovery plan regularly to ensure everything is good. Things change, systems get updated, new tools are added, and staff roles shift.

Testing helps you catch problems early, and updating keeps the plan ready for whatever comes next. Don’t wait for a real emergency to find out what’s missing.

Conclusion

Data can be lost in seconds, and damage can be challenging to reverse if appropriate systems aren’t implemented. As an IT Technician, you ensure the business runs smoothly even when unexpected things happen.

In the end, it’s not just about saving files. It’s about protecting people’s work, keeping operations running, and helping businesses stay strong.
If you’re ready to step into this critical role and build a real career in tech, Northwest Career College offers an IT Technician Program in Nevada.