Why Every Business Needs a Real Backup Strategy | Missan Podcast with Kashif & Lokesh
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Disaster recovery, Dubai and the UAE
Disaster recovery solutions for Dubai businesses, tested before you need them.
We agree with you how long each system can be down, set up a standby in the UAE, write the runbook and run a recovery test you can watch. For Dicetek, with its head office in Dubai, we rebuilt the ERP, domain and Tally backups and ran an offline backup and restore cycle across every server.
Talk to our team today. Mon–Sat, Dubai time.
What DR has to survive
Four ways a Dubai office loses its systems.
- Ransomware
- Servers and file shares encrypted overnight. Recovery means clean copies the attacker could not reach, restored in a set order, with the infection removed first.
- Building or power loss
- An office tower without power or access for days. When the April 2024 rains closed roads across Dubai, the businesses that kept working were the ones whose systems did not depend on getting into the office.
- Hardware failure
- A storage array or the one server running the ERP fails. Recovery is either a restore to new hardware or a start-up of the replica.
- Human error
- A folder deleted, a database overwritten, a mailbox purged. Usually a single restore, if retention was set long enough.
Dicetek · Dubai and India
Backup jobs rebuilt for the ERP, domain and Tally servers, replication backup for the virtual servers, and an offline backup and restore cycle across all servers.
ILLUMIN8 FZE · SAIF Zone
Cloud backups across the sites, including the India office, with daily backup and health checks.
Indemnity Insurance Brokers
New HPE server and SAN storage on Windows Server 2025, with the virtual servers, Active Directory and file server migrated across.
22+ years · 5,000+ clients served since 2004 · 10,000+ projects delivered since 2004
Where you recover to
Five options, usually combined.
The right mix depends on your recovery targets, your budget and whether data must stay in the UAE.
- UAE private cloud
- Your servers replicated to a Sangfor private cloud hosted in the UAE, ready to start there if your own room is lost. Data stays in the country.
- Microsoft Azure UAE regions
- Recovery to Azure UAE North (Dubai) or UAE Central (Abu Dhabi), for organisations already using Azure or wanting pay-as-you-use standby.
- A second site of your own
- A branch, warehouse or second office in another emirate holding a replica, when you already have the space and power.
- FortGrid cloud backup and DR
- Our own platform for offsite backup, disaster recovery and secure remote access, with tiers from backup only to full continuity.
- Microsoft 365
- A separate backup of Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams, because deleted or encrypted items are only kept by Microsoft for a limited time.
Learn
Backup, disaster recovery and continuity, explained
Our team on backup versus disaster recovery and the 3-2-1 rule, then five basics to keep working when the office can't.
Business Continuity: 5 Basics to Keep Working When the Office Can't
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How a DR project runs
Five steps, ending in a test you can watch.
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Step 1
Rank the systems
With management we list every system and agree how long each can be down (RTO) and how much data it can lose (RPO).
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Step 2
Choose where to recover
Private cloud, Azure, a second site or a mix, priced against those targets. Projects get fixed quotes after a site survey.
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Step 3
Build and replicate
Replication and offsite copies set up, with credentials separated so one stolen admin password cannot reach both sides.
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Step 4
Write the runbook
Who declares a disaster, who we call, the order systems come back in and how staff work in the meantime, on paper and offline.
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Step 5
Test it with you watching
A recovery test you can attend, timed against the agreed targets. Tests then run on a schedule and appear in the monthly report.
Moving servers as part of it? We run staged migrations with a way back. Want to start with a template? Use our disaster recovery plan for UAE businesses.
Disaster recovery, questions
What Dubai IT and finance heads ask about DR.
Do you provide disaster recovery solutions in Dubai?
Yes. We cover Dubai and every other emirate from our Sharjah head office. Disaster recovery can run to a Sangfor private cloud hosted in the UAE, to Microsoft Azure’s UAE regions, to a second site of your own or to FortGrid, with targets agreed per system and a recovery test you can watch.
What is the difference between backup and disaster recovery?
Backup is a copy of your data. Disaster recovery is the tested plan for getting systems running again within an agreed time (RTO) and with an agreed amount of data loss (RPO). Many companies have the first and not the second.
What do RTO and RPO mean for us?
RTO is how long a system can be down before it hurts the business. RPO is how much recent data you can afford to re-enter. Your ERP might need both to be short, while an archive file share can wait a day. We agree them system by system with management, then design and price to meet them.
Can our disaster recovery data stay in the UAE?
Yes. Sangfor private cloud and Azure’s UAE regions both keep data in the country. We tell you where every copy lives, in writing.
How often is disaster recovery tested?
On a schedule written into the contract, with at least one full test you can attend. Every result goes into the monthly report, including any test that missed its target and what we changed.
What does disaster recovery cost?
It depends on how many servers and how much data, how short the targets are and where you recover to. Shorter targets cost more because the standby has to be ready sooner. We give a fixed quote for the setup after a site survey, then a monthly fee for the standby and testing.
We already have backups. Do we need disaster recovery as well?
If the business can wait several days for servers to be rebuilt and restored, backups may be enough. If it cannot, you need a standby, a runbook and a test. The free IT health check tells you which side of that line you are on.
What happens to the DR setup if we leave Missan?
The replicas, licences and runbook are yours. If you leave, your Microsoft tenant and accounts stay in your name, and we hand over the configuration in writing.
Tell us what has to keep running
Your main systems and how long they can be down. A short note is enough, and we reply within one business day.
4.6★ from 200+ Google reviews We reply within one business day
Find out where your IT stands.
The free IT health check (AED 1,800 value) is a one-session review of your support, security, Microsoft 365 and backups. You get a written list of what to fix first.