This checklist assists UK SMEs in validating backup and disaster recovery setups to ensure effective data recovery. It outlines practical tests to confirm the restoration of critical data within acceptable timeframes. The guidance spans micro to medium-sized businesses, aligning with best practices for backups and ransomware resilience, emphasizing the importance of regular testing and proper separation from live systems.
A national boiler‑maintenance company in France had acquired 40+ independent firms. The country CEO (non‑technical) needed control over fast‑growing servers, networks, providers and services—serving ~300 concurrent users out of 1,200 employees, including field technicians. I was hired to take end‑to‑end responsibility for IT coordination and integration, excluding budget ownership and group reporting. I coordinated vendors, unified systems, migrated data, maintained operations, recruited a Level‑1 technician and supervised his monitoring project. Outcome: a unified, governable IT landscape, smooth migrations with operational continuity, and a platform ready for the parent group’s later datacentre move.
Many SMEs (solicitors, real‑estate, creative studios, factories) need ongoing IT oversight yet do not justify a full‑time internal role. A delegated IT cadence delivers quiet reliability: routine monitoring (backups, logs, core health), minor ticket handling, and pragmatic advisory for projects (office moves, upgrades, new software). The result: fewer disruptions, peace of mind for management, and access to senior competence without permanent staffing.
