Soft ComputersData backup and recovery for GTA businesses
A backup is not the file copy job that runs at night. It is the answer to one question: if this server, laptop, or cloud account were gone tomorrow morning, how quickly is the business working again?
We design backup and recovery around that question for businesses across Toronto and the GTA, then prove the answer by actually testing restores on a schedule.
Managed serviceMonitoring runs 24/7
Problems this solves.
These are the situations that bring businesses to this service. If more than a couple sound familiar, this service is for you.
- The nightly job reports success, but no one has ever opened a file it restored.
- Backups were configured by someone who left, and nobody knows where they go or what the password is.
- A folder deleted months ago turned out to be gone for good, because nobody noticed until the retention window had closed.
- Every copy of your data, including the backup drive, lives in the same building.
- If the main server died today, nobody could say whether recovery takes an afternoon or a week.
- The cyber-insurance renewal asks about immutable copies and tested restores, and you are guessing at the answers.
What the service covers.
Every plan follows the 3-2-1 principle: multiple copies, on different storage, with at least one copy off-site and out of reach of ransomware. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace data is included, because the platforms do not back your data up the way most owners assume.
Automated backups
Servers, workstations, and cloud accounts backed up on schedule, encrypted in transit and at rest.
Microsoft 365 and Workspace backup
Mail, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams data protected beyond the platform retention defaults.
Ransomware-resistant copies
Immutable or offline copies that an attacker with your credentials still cannot encrypt or delete.
Scheduled restore testing
Restores are performed and timed on a schedule, with results reported, so recovery time is a measured fact.
Disaster recovery planning
A written, prioritized plan for full-site failure: what comes back first, where, and who does what.
How it runs.
Recovery objectives are agreed in writing: how much data you can afford to lose and how long systems can be down. Then restores are tested against those numbers on a schedule, because an untested backup is a hope, not a plan.
Backups run automatically on the schedule agreed for each system: servers, workstations, and cloud accounts, encrypted in transit and at rest. Every job is monitored, and a failed or skipped backup becomes a ticket the same day, not a surprise months later when a restore is actually needed.
Restore testing runs on a calendar, not on good intentions. File-level restores are performed routinely, full recovery drills are timed against the objectives agreed in writing, and you receive the results in plain language: what was tested, how long it took, and whether it met the number we promised. When your systems change, coverage is reviewed so new data never sits unprotected.
The sequence is the same every engagement:
Assess
Inventory of systems and data with recovery objectives agreed for each.
Implement
Backup coverage brought up to the 3-2-1 standard, including cloud data.
Test
Restore tests performed and timed against the agreed objectives.
Maintain
Coverage reviewed as systems change, with test results reported on a schedule.
The first months, stop by stop.
Onboarding runs on a written timeline, so you always know which stop the work is at and what arrives at each one.
- Days 1-30
Inventory and cover the gaps
Every system holding business data is inventoried and recovery objectives are agreed for each one. Unprotected systems, including Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace data, come under encrypted backup, and the first off-site copies are established.
- Days 31-60
Harden and verify
Immutable or offline copies come online, so an attacker holding administrator credentials still cannot reach them. Job monitoring and alerting are wired in, backup credentials are vaulted, and the first restore tests are run and timed.
- Days 61-90
Prove the plan
A full recovery drill is performed and measured against the agreed objectives. The written disaster recovery plan is walked through with your team, and scheduled reporting begins, so test results arrive on a rhythm rather than on request.
The practical details.
What we run it on
- Servers and workstations
- Image-level, encrypted backup with versioned retention
- Cloud data
- Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup beyond platform retention defaults
- Off-site and immutable copies
- Encrypted object storage on Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud, with immutability enforced
- Monitoring
- RMM and backup-job alerting, so failures surface the day they happen
Right for you if
- Businesses where a day of lost data means missed jobs, unpaid invoices, or legal exposure
- Teams whose backup was set up once, years ago, and has not been verified since
- Owners facing insurance renewals that ask hard questions about restores and immutability
Comfortable alongside
Questions owners ask.
We use OneDrive and SharePoint. Is that not already a backup?
No. Sync is not backup: a deleted or ransomware-encrypted file syncs everywhere, and platform retention windows are shorter than most owners expect. Separate, versioned backup of Microsoft 365 data is what protects you.
How often should backups be tested?
File-level restores monthly and a full system recovery at least twice a year is a sound baseline for small businesses. What matters is that testing is scheduled and reported, not performed once at setup and assumed thereafter.
Can ransomware destroy our backups too?
It tries to. Modern ransomware looks for backup systems and deletes or encrypts them first. That is why our plans include immutable or offline copies that cannot be altered even with administrator credentials.
How fast can we be running again after a failure?
That is the recovery time objective, and it is agreed per system in writing. A single file takes minutes; a full server rebuild is measured in hours. The honest answer comes from the timed tests, which is why we run them.
Start with a free assessment.
The first step is a conversation and a written assessment: what you have, what is at risk, and what we would do about it. The report is yours to keep, whether or not you hire us.
Prefer email? Write to support@softcomputers.ca