Most companies know they should back up their data; however most are not experts in backup testing and validation. Even fewer ask the next question: will those backups actually work when needed? A backup strategy without regular testing is an unproven assumption. In the event of data loss, corruption, or cyberattack, it’s not the existence of a backup that matters—it’s the ability to restore clean, usable data under pressure.
Backup testing and validation is the process of routinely verifying that backup files are complete, intact, and recoverable. This isn’t just a technical best practice—it’s an operational requirement. Businesses that skip this step often don’t discover the failure until it’s too late.
Why Backups Fail More Often Than Expected
Backups can silently fail for a variety of reasons. A misconfigured setting might exclude key directories. A backup job may have been interrupted by a network issue or disk error. In cloud-based systems, retention policies or storage limits may cause old backups to be overwritten or lost. Without testing, these failures remain hidden.
What Testing Actually Confirms
Regular testing isn’t about spot checks or file listings. It involves restoring data to a controlled environment and verifying its completeness, usability, and integrity. Key questions include:
- Can critical systems be restored to a specific point in time?
- Are application settings, permissions, and dependencies preserved?
- Does the recovery process meet the business’s recovery time objective (RTO)?
- How long does a full restore actually take in real-world conditions?
These answers define whether a backup is merely present—or operationally effective.
The Link to Business Continuity
From a leadership perspective, untested backups represent a blind spot in risk management. Ransomware attacks, hardware failures, accidental deletions—each of these scenarios requires not just data recovery, but confidence in the process. A tested backup strategy reduces uncertainty and allows decision-makers to act decisively in a crisis.
It also supports compliance and audit requirements. In regulated industries, proving that data can be restored is just as important as proving it was backed up in the first place.
Conclusion
Backups are only as valuable as your ability to restore them. Testing and validation turn a passive safety net into a proven resilience strategy. For businesses that rely on uninterrupted access to systems and information, this is not a technical detail. It’s a core component of operational continuity.
By Thomas McDonald
Vice President