The Mindtime blog
Backup, recovery and NIS2, explained
Practical, sourced guides for EU businesses and the MSPs who look after them. No fear-mongering, just what works and how to check it.
Featured
Featured · BackupDoes Microsoft 365 back up my data?No, not as an independent backup. Microsoft keeps the Microsoft 365 service available and replicates your data, but its own documentation says your data stays your responsibility. Recycle bins and version history hold deleted items for 14 to 93 days. To recover from ransomware, mistakes or deleted accounts, you need a separate backup outside your tenant.8 min read
BackupCloud storage vs cloud backup: what's the difference?OneDrive, Google Drive and Azure Blob storage keep your files available. A cloud backup keeps them recoverable. You need to know which one you're relying on.7 min read
Disaster recoveryShould you pay the ransom after a ransomware attack?Official guidance, survey data and EU reporting duties, so you can make the decision calmly, or better, never have to make it.8 min read
NIS2How do you meet the NIS2 supply chain security requirements?What Article 21(2)(d) and 21(3) ask of you, how to assess suppliers in practice, and a runbook for the day a trusted vendor becomes the way in.8 min read
SecurityWhat is an MSP platform, and when do you need one?Every MSP runs a platform, planned or not. The question is whether your tools share one view of each client without sharing one point of failure.8 min read
BackupWhat does a Microsoft 365 backup service in Europe give you?Eight practical reasons European organisations keep an independent copy of Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams, and what to check before you choose a provider.7 min read
BackupHow do you recover Microsoft 365 after a ransomware attack?Microsoft keeps your tenant available. Getting your mailboxes, files and Teams back to the moment before the attack is a different job, and it needs preparing in advance.8 min read
BackupWhat is Proxmox Backup Server, and is it enough on its own?PBS is a capable, free backup server for Proxmox VE. Here's what it protects, what it leaves to you, and how to add the copy that survives a bad day.8 min read
BackupHow do you know if your backup actually works?The only proof is a restore. Here's how to test at three levels, which numbers to track, and what evidence auditors expect.9 min read
BackupIs multicloud a backup strategy?Spreading workloads across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud helps keep services running. It doesn't give you a clean copy to go back to.7 min read
BackupWhat happens when your SaaS provider goes down?You can't fix someone else's platform. You can decide in advance how your business keeps working, and make sure your data doesn't depend on one vendor.8 min read
BackupWhen MFA is bypassed, why is backup your last line of defence?MFA stops most account attacks. When it doesn't, an attacker works as a trusted user, and your backup decides whether the damage is permanent.8 min read
BackupDoes AWS back up your data? The shared responsibility model explainedAWS keeps the platform running. Whether your S3 buckets, EC2 volumes and databases survive a bad admin day is up to you.8 min read
BackupDoes Google Cloud back up your data? Shared responsibility explainedGoogle keeps the platform running. Whether your data survives a deleted project, a compromised account or a provider error is a question you have to answer yourself.8 min read
BackupDoes Microsoft back up Power BI? How to protect reports and modelsYour data warehouse is probably backed up. The semantic models, reports and gateway settings built on top of it often aren't.7 min read
BackupDoes Google back up Google Workspace? The gaps in native recoveryGmail and Drive rarely go down. Getting back a file someone deleted two months ago is a different question.7 min read
BackupWhat happened when Google Cloud deleted UniSuper's private cloud?An Australian pension fund lost its entire Google Cloud VMware Engine environment to a provider error. Backups held outside it made the difference.8 min read
BackupWhat is endpoint backup, and why does hybrid work need it?Your servers and Microsoft 365 tenant are covered. The laptop on a train with this week's unsynced work usually isn't.7 min read
BackupHow should schools and non-profits back up their data?Pupil records, safeguarding files and donor data deserve the same protection as any bank's. Here's how to get there with one part-time administrator.7 min read
BackupDoes continuous backup protect you against ransomware?Backing up more often shrinks the gap between your last copy and the attack. It doesn't help if the copies themselves can be encrypted or deleted.8 min read
BackupHow can AI help your backup?AI is turning up in backup products as anomaly detection and smarter alerts. It's useful, but only on top of backups that are complete, immutable and tested.8 min read
BackupHow do you choose the right backup plan for your business?There's no single right backup product. There is a right set of answers about your data, and once you have them the choice gets much easier.8 min read
BackupHow should MSPs offer immutable backup to their clients?Your clients don't buy storage. They buy the certainty that a restore will work after an attack, including an attack that starts in your own tools.8 min read
Disaster recoveryWhat does downtime really cost your business, and how do you calculate it?A reusable three-layer model, a worked example and sourced benchmarks, so you can turn RTO and RPO into a number the board will act on.9 min read
Disaster recoveryHow long does it take to recover from a ransomware attack?A phase-by-phase timeline from the ransom note to normal operations, including Microsoft 365 and the NIS2 reporting deadlines that run alongside.8 min read
NIS2What is data sovereignty, and why does it matter for your data?Storing data in an EU region is a start. Sovereignty is about which laws reach it, who controls access and whether you can recover without depending on one foreign supplier.7 min read
NIS2What is the Microsoft 365 shared responsibility model?Microsoft runs the platform; you own the data, the accounts and the proof that you can recover. Here is where the line sits, and what NIS2 and the GDPR expect on your side of it.7 min read
NIS2How do you govern AI under NIS2, the AI Act and the GDPR?NIS2 doesn't mention AI by name, but your AI systems are part of the network and information systems it protects. Here's how the three laws fit together.8 min read
SecurityWhich IT risks do most organisations overlook?The risk that stops recovery is often not in your own systems but in the suppliers, SaaS platforms and integrations between them.9 min read
SecurityHow does threat hunting protect healthcare backups from ransomware?In a hospital, a backup only counts if it's clean, current and restorable under pressure. Threat hunting is how you find out before you need it.8 min read
SecurityWhat are the security risks of AI browsers for your business?An AI browser is an agent with your sessions and permissions, and any page it reads can try to give it orders.8 min read
SecurityHow does anomaly detection in backups help MSPs catch ransomware?A successful backup job proves data was copied, not that it's worth restoring. Anomaly detection looks at the data itself.8 min read
SecurityHow should public sector IT teams monitor for uptime?Monitoring shows you trouble coming; tested backup and recovery is how citizen services survive when it arrives anyway.8 min read
No articles match that search.
By topic
Start with the guide for your question
- 01Backup as a ServiceMicrosoft 365, Google Workspace, servers, cloud and endpoints, immutable and in NL and DE.
- 02Disaster RecoveryStandby infrastructure, RTO and RPO, and a plan tested every quarter.
- 03NIS2 ComplianceScope, Article 21, reporting deadlines and the Dutch and German laws.
- 04EDR Platform for MSPsThe multi-tenant platform MSPs use to detect and respond across every client.