What is the difference between a backup and disaster recovery?

A backup is a second copy of your data sitting somewhere safe. Disaster recovery is the process that turns that copy into a working business again: how quickly you can be operational, on what hardware, and who does what while the clock is ticking. You need both.

RPO (Recovery Point Objective) is how much data you can afford to lose. If your backup runs nightly, your RPO is up to 24 hours. RTO (Recovery Time Objective) is how long you can afford to be down. Deciding these numbers before you buy any backup solution tells you what setup actually makes sense for your business.

Does Microsoft 365 back up your data automatically?

No. Microsoft 365 includes retention and recycle bin features, but these are not a backup. A proper third-party backup solution for Microsoft 365 is needed to protect your email and files against accidental deletion, ransomware, and admin errors. Many small businesses assume Microsoft handles this and are wrong.

How often should a small business test its backups?

At minimum, once a year. A backup you have never successfully restored from is not a backup; it is an assumption. A good IT support provider will test a restore annually and confirm the results. Monthly monitoring of backup job success is also recommended so you know the backup is actually running.

How much does IT downtime cost a small business?

For a 10-person business on average UK salaries, one hour of total downtime costs at least £170 in wages alone. Add lost billable time, cleanup and recovery work, and potential client trust damage, and the real cost is often two to three times higher. A half-day outage for a team of ten could easily cost £1,500 to £3,000.

What causes the most downtime for small businesses?

The most common causes of small business IT downtime are: broadband failure, an ageing server or NAS device, ransomware incidents, failed Windows updates, and human error. Four of the five are preventable with good IT planning.

How can a small business reduce the risk of IT downtime?

Key steps include: having a 4G/5G broadband failover so an internet outage does not stop work, moving email and files to Microsoft 365 so they do not depend on your office, maintaining tested backups, keeping a written recovery plan, and using a managed IT support provider with a clear response-time commitment.

When should a small business outsource IT support?

You should consider outsourcing IT support when IT problems are eating into your working day, you have had a security scare, onboarding new staff takes more than a day, you are unsure what you are paying for software, or you are putting off IT projects because nobody has time to handle them.

Is outsourcing IT support cost-effective for a small business?

Yes. A good IT support provider should cost less in fixed monthly fees than you currently lose in time spent on DIY IT, plus the hidden costs of security incidents, slow onboarding, and deferred projects. Most small businesses find it saves money within the first year.

What are the risks of DIY IT for a small business?

The main risks are security gaps (no professional managing patches, MFA, or endpoint protection), slow recovery from incidents, inefficient software spending, and slow new-starter onboarding. As a business grows, these risks compound.

How much does IT support cost for a small business?

For most small businesses in Kent and the South East, managed IT support costs between £40 and £70 per user per month, depending on the level of service. For a 10-person team, that is roughly £500 to £850 per month all-in.

How do you spot a phishing email?

Check six things: (1) the actual sender email address, not just the display name; (2) whether the email addresses you generically rather than by name; (3) whether there is artificial urgency or a threat; (4) where links actually go when you hover over them; (5) whether any attachment was expected; and (6) whether the email asks for a password or payment details.

What should you do if you clicked a phishing link?

Act quickly: disconnect the device from the network immediately, change any password you may have entered, enable multi-factor authentication if it is not already on, and contact your IT support provider straight away. The faster the response, the less damage is done.

Are phishing emails always obvious?

No. Modern phishing emails use correct branding, real-looking sender addresses, and contextually appropriate content. They may even come from a genuine contact whose email account has been compromised. Checking the actual sender domain and hovering over links are the most reliable defences.

Can a phishing email compromise your business without you clicking anything?

In most cases, the attack requires some interaction: clicking a link, opening an attachment, or entering credentials. However, some advanced attacks can exploit vulnerabilities in email preview. Keeping email software patched and using business-grade email filtering (such as Microsoft Defender for Office 365) reduces this risk.

What does moving a small business to the cloud actually mean?

For most small businesses, moving to the cloud means switching from an on-premise server to Microsoft 365. Email moves to Exchange Online, files move to OneDrive and SharePoint, and meetings move to Teams. The server in the back room is retired, and everything is hosted in Microsoft data centres instead.

How long does a small business cloud migration take?

A straightforward migration for a 10-person business typically takes two to four weeks from planning to completion, including email cutover, file migration, and staff training. More complex setups with legacy line-of-business software can take longer.

What are the benefits of moving a small business to the cloud?

The main benefits are: no more ageing server hardware to maintain, remote working that just works without a VPN, better security through MFA and conditional access, automatic infrastructure patching, and faster new-starter setup. Most businesses see improvements within the first few weeks.

Do files need to be reorganised before a cloud migration?

Often yes. A Windows shared drive with years of accumulated folders and permissions needs cleaning up before it moves to SharePoint. The migration is a good opportunity to tidy file structures and set proper permissions. This is usually the most time-consuming part of the project.

Blog

News, advice and guides for small business IT in Kent and the South East.

A small office server cabinet with a warning LED and a portable external backup drive on a tidy desk

Written by Phil on 30 January 2026.

Backups vs Disaster Recovery: Why Small Businesses Need Both

The phrase I dread hearing most on a Monday morning is: "Don't worry, we've got backups." Not because backups are bad, but because the person saying it has usually confused having backups with being able to recover. They are not the same thing.

Most of the small businesses I take over from have some kind of backup running. Very few have a real disaster recovery plan. Here is the difference, why it matters, and how to tell which one you actually have.

A frustrated small business owner at a desk staring at a laptop showing a system error

Written by Phil on 16 January 2026.

The Real Cost of Downtime for a Small Business

"How much does downtime actually cost us?" is a question I hear almost every week, usually after a business has just lost half a morning to a dead internet connection or a frozen server. The honest answer: far more than the hourly salary cost most owners assume.

Downtime is quiet until it isn't. Then it swallows a whole day. Here is how I walk clients through the real numbers, and what to do so you stop paying them.

Cluttered small business desk with multiple laptops, cables, and sticky notes

Written by Trevor Whittle on 26 December 2025.

5 Signs Your Small Business Has Outgrown DIY IT

Most small business owners manage their own IT for a while. It makes sense at the start. You're a small team, the systems are simple, and calling in an IT company every time something breaks feels like overkill.

But there comes a point where DIY IT starts costing you more than it saves. Here are the five signs that your business has reached that point.

Laptop screen showing an email inbox with one suspicious message highlighted in red, illustrating phishing email awareness for small businesses

Written by Trevor Whittle on 05 December 2025.

How to Spot a Phishing Email Before It Costs You

Almost every security incident I've cleaned up for a small business started with a single email. Not a clever zero-day exploit, not a targeted attack; just an email that looked plausible enough for someone to click.

Phishing is still the number one way small businesses get hacked. The good news is that nearly all phishing emails give themselves away if you know where to look. Here's what I teach every client to check before clicking, replying, or entering a password.

Split composition showing an ageing on-premise server rack on the left and a modern laptop with a cloud icon on the right, representing small business cloud migration

Written by Trevor Whittle on 21 November 2025.

Moving Your Small Business to the Cloud: What Actually Changes

"Move to the cloud" is one of those phrases that gets thrown around without anyone really explaining what it means in practice. For most small businesses, it comes down to retiring the ageing server in the back room and using Microsoft 365 instead. It's a good change, but it's not free and it's not instant. Here's what actually happens.