By Steve Snook, Head of Cloud at Securecom
Background
I’ve led and supported countless data protection rollouts, and one truth remains consistent—the first 90 days make or break your return on investment. It’s in this critical window that momentum is either built or lost, and where the gap between expectation and execution starts to show.
With two decades behind me across cloud, infrastructure, and cybersecurity, I’ve seen the difference it makes when organisations hit the ground running—aligning people, processes, and platforms from day one.
In this final part of my 5 part series, I’ll walk through the best practices that help New Zealand enterprises realise the full value of their data protection investment, fast. Because protecting data isn’t just about tools—it’s about turning that protection into business advantage.
Introduction: The Critical First 90 Days
Implementing a comprehensive Data Backup and Recovery Solution marks the beginning of a transformation in how your organisation safeguards its most critical asset.
The first 90 days after implementation are crucial for validating your investment and establishing the foundation for long-term value realisation. To truly make an impact with your new data protection solution, your implementation must be laser-focused on your specific business needs and expected outcomes.
During this onboarding phase, structured implementation planning ensures seamless service activation, while setting initial KPIs and tracking early wins reinforces decision confidence.
This article provides New Zealand IT leaders with a framework for successful onboarding, early value demonstration, and strategic expansion of their data protection capabilities.
Setting up for Success: Key Milestones in the First 90 Days
1. Initial Setup and Configuration: Ensure that Data Backup and Recovery Solution is correctly configured to meet your organisation’s specific requirements. This includes setting up backup policies, defining recovery time objectives (RTOs), and recovery point objectives (RPOs) that align with your business continuity plans.
2. Integration with Existing Systems: Ensure you integrate your Data Backup and Recovery Solution with your current IT infrastructure, including on-premises, public cloud, and SaaS platforms. This step is crucial for ensuring a unified backup environment.
3. User Training: Conduct comprehensive training sessions for your IT team to familiarise them with the new system, its features, and how to leverage them for maximum benefit.
4. BCDR Playbook: Have a documented and tested plan that all stakeholders are across so everyone knows what to do when disaster strikes and how to recover quickly and efficiently.
Measuring and Demonstrating Early Wins to Stakeholders
1. Quick Wins: Identify and showcase quick wins that demonstrate the value of Data your Backup and Recovery Solution. This could include faster recovery times, improved compliance visibility, or reduced costs due to consolidation.
2. Reporting and Metrics: Use the Data Backup and Recovery Solution portal to provide real-time visibility into backup status and compliance metrics. This transparency helps in demonstrating the system’s effectiveness to stakeholders.
3. Cost Savings: Highlight any immediate cost savings achieved through the consolidation of backup tools and the reduction in recovery time, which directly impacts operational efficiency.
Comprehensive Testing Strategies to Validate Recovery Capabilities
1. Recovery Testing: Schedule your first recovery testing exercise within 30 days of implementation to validate capabilities and identify any optimisation opportunities. Use the results to refine your backup policies and recovery procedures.
2. Regular Testing: Establish a routine for regular testing to ensure that recovery processes are always up to date and effective. This includes both scheduled and unscheduled tests to simulate real-world scenarios.
3. Documentation: Document all testing procedures, results, and any issues encountered. This documentation is invaluable for future reference and compliance audits.
Leveraging Unified Visibility for Compliance and Governance Improvements
1. Compliance Reporting: Utilise your Data Backup and Recovery Solutions compliance visibility features to generate reports that demonstrate adherence to regulatory requirements, reducing the risk of non-compliance penalties.
2. Governance Framework: Implement a governance framework that leverages the unified visibility provided by your Data Backup and Recovery Solution to ensure data protection policies are consistently applied across all environments.
3. Audit Readiness: Prepare for audits by having all necessary documentation and metrics readily available, showcasing your organisation’s commitment to data protection and compliance.
Training and Skill Development for Internal Teams
1. Ongoing Training: Beyond initial setup, provide ongoing training to keep your team updated on new features, best practices, and any changes in compliance requirements.
2. Skill Enhancement: Encourage skill development in areas like cybersecurity, data recovery, and compliance, which are integral to maximising the benefits of your Data Backup and Recovery Solution.
3. Knowledge Sharing: Foster a culture of knowledge sharing within your IT team to ensure that expertise is spread across the organisation, reducing dependency on key individuals.
Strategic Roadmap for Expanding Protection and Optimisation
1. Expansion Planning: Develop a strategic roadmap for expanding your Data Backup and Recovery Solutions coverage to include additional data sources, applications, or environments as your organisation grows.
2. Optimisation: Continuously optimise your backup and recovery processes based on performance metrics, user feedback, and evolving business needs.
3. Futureproofing: Consider future technologies and trends in data protection to ensure your solution remains relevant and effective over time.
Next Steps:
- Schedule your first recovery testing exercise within 30 days of implementation to validate capabilities and identify any optimisation opportunities. Use the results to refine your backup policies and recovery procedures.
- For ongoing support and optimisation of your Data Backup and Recovery Solution environment, our 24/7 New Zealand-based service desk and specialist backup and recovery experts are available to ensure you continue realising maximum value from your investment.
Contact Us for more information on how DataDISCOVER, BackupASSURE, and DataPROTECT can help you through your data protection journey. Book a session immediately to demonstrate BackupASSURE and see how it can transform your data protection strategy.
Further reading on the Journey to Resilient Data Protection
Read the full blog series designed to guide IT leaders from risk awareness to ROI.
- The Hidden Costs of Fragmented Data Recovery in Multi-Cloud Environments
- Building a Business Case for Unified Data Recovery: Metrics That Matter to the C-Suite
- Evaluating Modern Data Protection Solutions: A Framework for New Zealand Enterprises
- From Selection to Implementation: Ensuring a Smooth Transition to Your New Data Recovery Solution
- Maximising ROI from Your Data Protection Investment: Best Practices for the First 90 Days
About the Author:
Steve is an accomplished IT leader with two decades of experience across New Zealand and Australia, specialising in cloud infrastructure, virtualisation, and cybersecurity.
In his current role as Head of Cloud, Steve applies his blend of technical expertise and commercial acumen to help enterprises unify and protect their data. With a proven track record in managing complex networks, redesigning managed services, and leading solutions architecture, he brings unique insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by CIOs, CTOs, and CFOs tackling fragmented backup systems.
Steve can be contacted:
Email: steve.snook@securecom.co.nz
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/steve-snook-1501b646