Backup and data recovery
Copies kept apart, and restores that are tried
Backup for Cornwall organisations is a named set of data, stored apart from the live systems, with a restore test you can read. Recovery is described as what the last good copy contains, not as a promise that everything returns.
What is copied
We start from the question of what you could not reconstruct. That may be a file server, mail and files in Microsoft 365, an export from a line-of-business system, or a single machine that holds the only copy of something. Items that are already disposable are left off the list on purpose.
Microsoft 365 is not treated as the backup of itself. A separate copy is what a restore comes from. Administration of the live tenant is a different service, and the two are specified separately so a mailbox policy is not mistaken for a copy.
Where copies sit
The location is agreed before the first copy runs and is named in the writing: a service under controls you hold, or another location the agreement identifies. You are told which systems hold the data.
Copies are not left on unnamed personal devices, and they are not taken off site on a drive that has no record. If a copy has to be moved to complete a restore test, the note says where it went and when it was removed.
Restore tests
A tick inside backup software is not a test. A test is a real retrieval of a sample you choose: a folder, a mailbox, or a file from a date you name. The result is written down, including how long it took and whether the file opened as expected.
The schedule of tests is part of the agreement. If a test fails, you are told what that means for the copies taken since the last success, and what will be changed before the next run.
When something has already gone wrong
If files have been deleted, overwritten or encrypted, the first step in scope is to stop further damage: disconnecting the affected system if that is agreed, and preserving the last copy rather than writing over it. We then tell you the time of the latest usable copy before a restore replaces what is there now.
Only what was included can come back, and only as it stood at that copy. We will say if the copy is too old to be useful. A complete recovery of every file is not promised, and no time for full restoration is published as a standard.
Questions
Is Microsoft 365 a backup?
No. Mail and files in Microsoft 365 can be deleted, overwritten or encrypted. A backup is a separate copy, kept apart from the live tenant, which can be restored. Administration of Microsoft 365 is described on its own page.
Can everything be recovered?
Only what was included in the backup, and only as it stood at the last successful copy. Restores are tested on a sample agreed with you. A full return of every file is not promised.
Where are the copies kept?
The location is agreed before the first copy runs, and it is named in the agreement. Copies are not left on unnamed personal devices. You are told which systems hold the data.
How is a restore requested?
The named contact asks for the files, mailbox or machine to be restored and the point in time required. You are told what the latest usable copy is before a restore overwrites anything.