A medical practice in Concord lost three days of patient records when their server failed during an ice storm. They had backups but never tested restoration. By the time they recovered, they had missed appointments and frustrated patients.
This is the difference between having a backup and having a disaster recovery plan. One is a technical task. The other is business continuity.
New Hampshire businesses face specific risks: ice storms knock out power in rural areas, spring flooding threatens basement server rooms, summer thunderstorms bring lightning strikes. A Manchester warehouse needs a different plan than a Portsmouth law firm, but both need more than a USB drive plugged into a server.
What happens when things go wrong
The real cost of an IT disaster is not hardware replacement. It is the time your business stops functioning.
A Nashua accounting firm called us after ransomware encrypted their file server. They had daily backups but no tested procedure for isolating infected machines or restoring operations. The attack happened Thursday afternoon. They were back online Tuesday.
Four days of downtime during tax season cost over $9,000 in direct expenses. A managed disaster recovery plan would have been $200–$600 per month.
The pattern repeats across New Hampshire:
- Keene retail shops with no offline backups after ransomware encrypts everything
- Portsmouth restaurants that cannot process credit cards when POS systems fail
- Concord offices that lose files because cloud sync was mistaken for backup
- Rural facilities where power outages corrupt databases and nobody knows how to rebuild
Time is the multiplier. The longer systems are down, the more each hour costs.
Backup versus recovery: why the distinction matters
Backup is copying data. Recovery is restoring operations.
You can have perfect backups and still fail a disaster recovery test:
Backups can be corrupted. If backup software fails silently for weeks, you will not know until you need to restore. Datto backup appliances include automated verification that tests integrity daily.
Backups can be encrypted too. Ransomware targets backup files accessible from the infected network. A proper recovery plan includes offline or air-gapped backups.
Restoring data is not restoring function. Your file server might come back online, but what about your phone system or security cameras? A recovery plan maps dependencies and sequences restoration.
You need recovery time objectives. How long can you operate without email or customer records? If you need to be back online in four hours, daily backups with manual restore will not work.
What a real disaster recovery plan includes
A working disaster recovery plan for a New Hampshire small business covers:
Documented recovery procedures
Step-by-step instructions for server crash, ransomware, power outage, internet disruption. Your staff should be able to follow these under stress.
Verified backup systems
Datto backup appliances ($1,500–$4,000 hardware plus $100–$300/month cloud storage) provide local and offsite replication with automated testing.
Microsoft 365 backup
Microsoft 365 data is not automatically backed up. Microsoft protects against platform failures, not user errors or ransomware. Third-party backup for Exchange, SharePoint, and OneDrive is essential.
Endpoint protection
SentinelOne antivirus with Huntress threat hunting catches ransomware before it encrypts files. Early detection means isolating machines and restoring from clean backups.
Network infrastructure redundancy
Ubiquiti network equipment with proper configuration can isolate failures. VLANs separate critical systems from guest traffic. Redundant internet connections keep you online if one provider fails.
Tested restore procedures
Quarterly testing verifies backups can be restored within your target timeframe. We document actual restore times and fix problems before they become crises.
Building a disaster recovery plan for your NH business
Start with a risk assessment specific to your location and industry:
Identify critical systems. What must be working for your business to function? For a law firm, it is email and document management. For a medical practice, it is the EHR system and phone. For a warehouse, it is inventory management.
Map dependencies. Your file server depends on network switches. Your phones depend on internet service. Understanding these chains tells you what to protect first.
Define recovery time objectives. How long can each system be down before it causes serious harm? Match your investment to actual business needs.
Document everything. Passwords, vendor contacts, software licenses. Store this offsite where it can be accessed during an incident.
Assign responsibilities. Who calls the internet provider? Who contacts clients? These decisions should not happen for the first time during a crisis.
Testing your recovery plan
A plan that has not been tested is a hypothesis, not a procedure.
We recommend quarterly testing:
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Tabletop exercise. Walk through a scenario with your team. Talk through who does what and where the gaps are.
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Partial restore test. Restore a non-critical system from backup and verify it works. Time the process.
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Full failover test (annual). For businesses with high availability requirements, test switching to backup systems.
The goal is finding problems when they are cheap to fix.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between backup and disaster recovery?
Backup is copying data. Disaster recovery is the complete plan for restoring operations, including backup restoration, system reconfiguration, and communication procedures.
How often should backups be tested?
Quarterly for small businesses. Monthly for high availability requirements. Document actual restore times and any issues.
Does a small business need a formal disaster recovery plan?
Yes. Small businesses have less cash reserve to weather downtime. A single day of lost operations can be devastating.
What causes most IT disasters for NH businesses?
Ransomware attacks, power outages during ice storms, hardware failures, flooding in basement server rooms, and accidental deletion without verified backups.
How long does recovery take?
With a tested plan: 2–8 hours. Without a plan: days to weeks.
Why local support matters for disaster recovery
National cloud providers can store your backups. They cannot send a technician to your Nashua office when you need hands-on help. They cannot meet with your team to walk through recovery procedures.
Arcomm has been a New Hampshire low-voltage contractor since 1985. We have installed infrastructure across the state. We know which areas lose power first during ice storms. We understand flooding risks for businesses near New Hampshire rivers.
When you work with us on disaster recovery, you get documented procedures, tested backups, and a local team that can respond. Not a ticket system. Not an outsourced call center. A 603 number that connects to technicians who can drive to your location.
Getting started
Disaster recovery planning is an ongoing process of testing, updating, and improving. The best time to start is before you need it.
Contact Arcomm at (603) 464-4600 or request a consultation to discuss disaster recovery planning for your New Hampshire business.
See our full managed IT services for New Hampshire businesses for detailed service tiers including backup and recovery options.
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