Ongoing IT support · under subscription
Servers, virtualisation and data backup with the restore time measured during a test
We design and maintain servers, virtualisation and backups for businesses. Every restore test ends with a dated report and a measured time to get back to work.
When your backup and server need a review
If you recognise two or three of these signs, a free IT review will show you where to start.
- A backup exists, but nobody remembers when data was last restored from it.
- All the backups sit on one device, in the same room as the server.
- A key system runs on a single computer under someone's desk.
- The server is more than five years old and no longer supported by the vendor.
- Nobody can say how many hours the business can be down without serious consequences.
- Data sits in several places at once and nobody knows which version is current.
- Backups go "to an external drive", plugged in by whoever remembers.
Data backup, servers and virtualisation in one project.
- 1
Environment review and design
An inventory of servers, storage, virtualisation and backups. We establish how long the business can be down and how much data it can afford to lose, because everything else in the design depends on those two numbers.
- 2
Servers and virtualisation
Selection, installation and configuration of the server and the virtualisation layer: Proxmox VE, Hyper-V or VMware. Services are split across virtual machines, so updating one thing does not put the others at risk.
- 3
File server and permissions
A shared space for documents, with permissions that mirror your organisation and file version history that saves the day after an ordinary human mistake.
- 4
Three copies of every backup
Two copies on different media and one off site. The off-site copy is the only one that helps after a fire, flood or theft.
- 5
Cloud backup as an off-site copy
We usually send the off-site copy to storage with a cloud provider, encrypted and with completion checks. When data cannot leave the company, we use a device at a second location or media rotated on a schedule.
- 6
Full system backup including applications
Restoring the whole system with its applications and settings, including onto different hardware. A copy of documents alone doesn't shorten downtime, because the system still has to be rebuilt from scratch.
- 7
Restore test
Regularly restoring a chosen system in a test environment, timed and documented in a report. Quarterly in the PROFESSIONAL IT package.
- 8
Monitoring and alerts
Disk health, free space, temperature and backup job status. An alert reaches us when a disk starts reporting errors, usually before it stops working.
- 9
Disaster recovery plan
A document setting out the order in which systems are restored, who is responsible and where credentials are kept securely. Without it, recovery starts with hunting for passwords.
A backup nobody has restored is just a hope.
This is how we test a backup: we take a random file from a month ago, restore it to a clean workstation and time it with a stopwatch. The result goes into the documentation with a date.
What you get in writing.
Server environment documentation
A diagram, addressing, a list of virtual machines and their roles, dependencies between services and the backup schedule.
Backup policy
What is backed up, how often, where it's stored, how long it's kept and who has access. On one page, in language the board understands.
Restore test report
The date, scope, measured restore time and result. A document you can show an insurer or a business partner.
Disaster recovery plan
The restore order, decision points, contacts and where credentials are stored. Updated with every significant change to the environment.
Who is responsible for what.
Acceptable downtime is a business decision, not a technical one. We can show you what it costs to cut it from eight hours to two, but the choice is yours.
On the NexaIT side
- designing the server environment and the backup layer
- installing, configuring and maintaining the servers and virtualisation in scope
- configuring backup jobs and monitoring that they run
- regular backup verification and restore tests in line with your package
- updating the virtualisation layer and supported systems
- keeping the environment documentation and recovery plan up to date
- leading data recovery after a failure
On your side
- deciding acceptable downtime and acceptable data loss, because these are business decisions
- a budget for hardware, licences and off-site backup storage
- suitable conditions in the server room: power, cooling and access control
- an internet connection fast enough to send backups off site
- identifying critical data and systems, because not everything needs backing up equally often
- agreeing the maintenance windows needed for updates and tests
- the decision to invoke the recovery plan when something fails
What this service doesn't include.
Clear scope boundaries are part of a good contract. We talk about them before the contract is signed.
We choose hardware and licences with you and can order them on your behalf if you prefer. We don't hide these costs in our service price, because then offers couldn't be compared.
Show the list of exclusions
- server hardware, storage arrays and disks, which we invoice separately at cost
- licences for virtualisation, operating systems and backup software
- off-site backup storage, a recurring cost with a third-party provider
- recovering data from physically damaged media, which is a laboratory service
- a guarantee to restore data that was never backed up
- rebuilding the electrical or cooling installation in the server room
- support for industry software whose vendor provides no recovery documentation
Who backup and server services are for
It makes sense if
- You have a system whose downtime stops sales, production or dispatch.
- Data must stay on your own infrastructure for contractual or regulatory reasons.
- You want to know the measured restore time for each key system.
- Your environment is growing and running more desktop PCs as servers no longer makes sense.
We don't recommend it if
- All your data is already in the cloud and there's nothing local to protect. Then the conversation is about backing up your cloud data.
- You are looking for the cheapest server without a maintenance service. Hardware with nobody looking after it quickly becomes another risk.
- There's no suitable space for a server room and no budget to create one.
- The business can't accept maintenance windows. Without them, the environment can't be updated safely.
How much do backup and server deployment cost
We bill server, virtualisation and backup deployments by the hour, at PLN 280 net per hour, because every environment is different. We estimate the number of hours after the review and give it to you before we start. Ongoing server and backup maintenance is included in IT support packages from BUSINESS IT, from PLN 2,490 net per month, and quarterly restore tests from PROFESSIONAL IT, from PLN 5,490 net per month. Hardware and licences are separate items. The number of hours depends on:
- acceptable downtime and acceptable data loss, because they dictate the architecture
- the number of servers and virtual machines, and the volume of data to back up
- whether you need high availability, meaning service continues when one node fails
- the number of sites and how backups are sent off site
- the required retention period, which translates directly into storage
- the number of industry systems with non-standard recovery procedures
- the starting point: migrating from a live environment costs more than building from scratch
Questions before you decide.
How often do you test restores?
In the START IT package we check every month that backups ran, but without a full restore. In BUSINESS IT the checks are automatic. In PROFESSIONAL IT and ENTERPRISE IT we run a restore test every quarter, ending with a dated report and the measured time. Outside a package, you can order a test as a separate service.
Does our data have to leave the building?
One copy should be kept off site, because it's the only layer that protects against fire, flood and theft. There are several ways to do it: storage with a provider, a device at another of your sites, or media rotated on a schedule. If data can't leave your infrastructure, we use the second or third option.
Is cloud backup enough for a business?
The cloud works well as an off-site copy. On its own it is usually not enough when you need to restore a whole server quickly, because downloading a large backup over an internet connection takes time. That is why we combine a local copy, which you can restore from quickly, with a cloud copy in case of fire or theft. We back up Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace data separately if your business works there.
On-premises server or the cloud?
It depends on what the system does and who uses it. An application used on the production floor should usually run locally, because it can't depend on the internet connection. Email and files usually work better in the cloud. The most common sensible answer is a hybrid, and we don't sell one answer for every question.
What about a server that's eight years old and still running?
It runs until it stops, and then the question is how quickly it can be replaced. We don't push replacement on principle. We check whether there's a way to restore onto other hardware and how long it takes. If a restore is feasible in an acceptable time, older hardware can keep working.
From our projects, without client names.
All case studiesRelated
Free · 60 minutes online · no obligation
An IT review, an hour with an engineer instead of a sales presentation.
- You talk to an engineerOnline, by video call. Not with a salesperson. We don't install or change anything.
- We check 8 areasBackups, access, network, email, server, licences, protection and KSeF readiness.
- You get a scorecardThree priorities on one page, emailed after the meeting. Yours to use however you like.
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