Acronis Cyber Protect

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I recover a backup of a physical machine as a virtual one?

  Yes, physical-to-virtual migration is available in Acronis Cyber Protect. This operation can be performed if at least one Agent for VMware or Agent for Hyper-V is installed and registered.

• How do I configure backup to the cloud?

  For a backup to Cloud, an active Acronis Cloud Storage subscription is required.

  Create a new backup plan and choose "Cloud Storage" as a destination in the field "Where to back up".

• Why is data backup important for businesses?

  Sophisticated ransomware attacks and high-profile data breaches have become a constant part of the cybersecurity landscape, reinforcing the importance of sensible data backup.

  Although large enterprises are an ever-tempting target, hackers often target small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). As businesses become more data-dependent each year, they must implement robust, reliable methodologies to keep data secure to ensure unhindered business processes and a steady revenue stream.

  Even if cyberattacks are a primary threat to company data, data protection isn't just about safeguarding data from malicious third parties. Sometimes, even the most comprehensive data protection strategy can be breached. As you can't predict when data loss will occur, it's imperative to ensure your business has adequate solutions to restore critical data as quickly as possible. This is why data backup and disaster recovery are as essential as data protection.

  Below are the primary reasons businesses of all sizes need a reliable data backup and recovery strategy.

  • Constantly evolving cyberattacks

  Cyberattacks disrupt business operations and can damage critical IT assets and infrastructure. While large enterprises may have the resources and budget to recover from a severe data breach, SMBs often struggle in such scenarios. According to the Ponemon Institute's State of Cybersecurity Report, SMBs globally have reported alarming statistics in recent years.

  – 45% of SMBs say that they lack sufficient security measures to mitigate incoming attacks.

  – 66% of SMBs have experienced at least a single cyberattack in the past 12 months.

  – 69% of SMBs state that cyberattacks are becoming more targeted.

  The most common attack types targeting SMBs are phishing/Social Engineering (57%), compromised or stolen devices (33%), and credential theft (30%).

  • Threat prevention doesn't always work

  Proactive threat prevention requires network security solutions, automated patch management tools, and specific firewall configurations. Additionally, businesses must also employ robust data loss mitigation tools. As no organization is immune to data theft or ransomware encryption, companies must go the extra mile to fortify their data centers and keep attackers at bay.

  However, a Nationwide Insurance report shows that 68% of SMBs don't rely on a disaster recovery plan. Without a DR strategy, businesses are liable to natural disasters, hindered business processes, server downtime, and other data-loss scenarios.

  • Data loss can hurt your brand's reputation

  In addition to data loss and halted business processes, data breaches can lead to customer distrust. If your customers are aware that your company has lost data, especially their data, your reputation will likely take a severe hit. A poor reputation can lead customers away from your services and impact productivity since new employees may hesitate (or refuse) to join your ranks.

  • You can't control natural disasters

  Data loss comes in many forms. While you can implement proactive threat prevention, ransomware protection, and stellar cybersecurity hygiene amongst employees, natural disasters can decimate your on-premises data center. SMBs and enterprises must prepare for fires, floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters that could shut down business processes and data centers.

• What are the three most common methods for business data backup?

  There are three primary data backup methods – full, incremental, and differential backup. Before you choose the most optimal data backup strategy for your company's needs and preferences, it's important to know the advantages and disadvantages of every backup approach.

  • Full data backup

  A full data backup creates a complete copy of all the data on a device or system, including files, documents, folders, operating system configurations, applications, calendars, and more, regardless of any previously created backups or circumstances.

  The entire data copy is backed up and transferred to secure storage – on-site (local storage), off-site (remote storage), or the cloud. Full backups take longer to complete but are most convenient for disaster recovery as they contain the entire data set of the target environment.

  Full backups usually provide the most comprehensive critical data loss protection but must be conducted regularly on a carefully defined schedule to optimize time and resource expenditure. Nonetheless, every backup strategy relies on at least one initially created full backup. Afterward, you can combine weekly or monthly full backups with incremental or differential backups.

  While full backups are typically easiest to perform, there are several disadvantages to them to keep in mind.

  First, full backups use the most storage space compared to the other two methods; if you rely on physical storage, you may need additional hardware to store entire data sets in secure backup. Secondly, full backups require significant network bandwidth and considerable implementation time, depending on the scale and preferences of your business.

  The other two approaches – incremental and differential backups – are partial data backups reliant on at least one full backup in storage. They are similar but have one considerable difference.

  • Incremental data backup

  Incremental backups require users to create at least one full backup beforehand. Then, subsequent incremental backups will store only changed data since the last full or incremental backup.

  Since incremental backups only store alterations (changes) to already backed-up data, they require the least storage space. This enables increased backup speeds and requires fewer resources to complete the backup. Nonetheless, incremental backups take the longest to restore. If an organization needs to restore its entire system backup, responsible teams must first recover the target full backup, followed by all incremental backups in order.

  If one or more incremental backups are damaged, corrupted, or lost, the disaster recovery process becomes significantly more complicated (or even impossible).

  • Differential data backup

  Similar to incremental, differential backup also requires at least one full backup created beforehand. Then, a company can initiate differential backups to include all changed data (files, folders, apps) since the last full backup. As differential backups are cumulative, a combination of full and differential backups includes all files in the company data set (both changed and unchanged data).

  Differential backups require more network bandwidth and storage space than incremental backups as they comprise more significant data volumes. However, they enable faster restoration times. A company would only need the initial full backup and the last differential backup to recover its entire system.

• What are some critical types of data that every business should back up?

  Companies handle different types of critical data. Said data must be kept confidential and readily available for access and recovery. To protect the integrity of business data, companies must consider backing up all of the data types below.

  • Patents and intellectual property (IP)

  Companies must keep multiple copies of all intellectual property they own to access during or following a security breach, computer compromise, human error, or natural disaster. You can rely on IP documents to demonstrate the rights to various designs, creative works, or products. Having all of them in secure backup ensures you can access IP data whenever needed.

  • Company personal records

  Personal records are a critical data type for all companies. Confidential employee data – full names, birth dates, social security numbers, addresses, etc. – are liable to cyberattacks and human error, so companies must ensure they are always securely backed up. It's best to store the backups in multiple locations, following the 3-2-1 Rule of Backup, to protect all sensitive data and access in a data-loss scenario.

  • Administration data

  A wide range of administration files requires sensible data management and security. Such documents may include business plans, contracts, employment agreements, bylaws, and other confidential information.

  Every company, regardless of its size, needs administration documents to meet regulatory compliance effectively, so you must ensure all administration data is copied regularly and stored in secure backup. Moreover, you must ensure that sensitive data is private, can't be shared, corrupted, or exploited online, and can be accessed even if you encounter a data breach or another data loss event.

  • Financial data (including payment and transaction information)

  Financial data can include banking accounts, sensitive business transaction information, customer payment methods, etc. You must safeguard financial data to prevent malicious actors from stealing it, which can lead to increased costs, halted business processes, and customer distrust.

  Transaction information regarding sales, equipment or infrastructure purchases, money exchanges, and more must always be secured and readily available for access or recovery. Keeping a record of all previous purchases, business activities, and client transactions is critical to supporting your business project's success, addressing any disputes, and mitigating potential production issues. Using a sensible backup solution to keep transaction data in secure storage is essential to ensure its integrity and availability.

  Payment data may include sensitive client financial information, so you must protect it accordingly. As you may need to access that data in the future, it's essential to keep it confidential, protected, and accessible in secure storage.

  Every company must design and implement a unique data backup and protection strategy to keep financial information away from prying eyes and pesky malware. If your on-premises hard drives are somehow compromised, you need to be able to quickly restore and access sensitive data via a secure backup solution.

• What are the four types of business data recovery?

  There are numerous ways you can lose sensitive data. Instead of stressing over a data loss event, you can be proactive and implement proper disaster recovery policies before a data breach occurs. This way, you can restore critical information in every scenario.

  There are four primary data recovery process types to restore data following a cyberattack, accidental deletion, or natural disaster. Let's explore them below.

  • Physical

  Sometimes, you can lose data due to physical damage to your hard drive (HDD). Restoring data from a physically faulty hard drive is called "physical data recovery". When your HDD is corrupted, damaged, or dead, you will often hear a constant clicking noise from the hard drive.

  Physical hard drive damage can result from overheating, moisture penetration, humidity, physical hits, or high-temperature exposure. In case of a compromised hard drive, it's best to seek professional help to aid in the physical data recovery.

  • Logical

  If there's nothing physically wrong with your hard drive, but you still can't access particular files or folders, your HDD is likely affected by software issues. In such cases, you can turn to logical data recovery.

  Logical errors affecting the HDD are often due to a damaged file system. If that's the case, you can recover a portion (or all) of the lost data by repairing the file system or a corrupted partition via native Windows commands or specialized data recovery software. Most often, you can retrieve the lost data on your own. However, it's best first to back up all accessible data to avoid compromising it if the recovery process goes wrong. If the logical errors persist after you've tried all reliable fixes, it's best to seek expert help.

  • Instant

  Instant data recovery can restore essential data via direct backups. If your hard drive is not physically damaged and operates correctly, you can recover secure backups and proceed with your day-to-day tasks.

  Either manually or with the help of a professional, it's best to back up the entire data set on your HDD to secure storage. Then, you can troubleshoot your device (computer, laptop, tablet) until it functions as intended. Once that's done, you can transfer all backup data to your device.

  • Continuous data protection

  It's better to prevent data loss than to recover your data after a breach.

  Data protection and recovery solutions focus on threat prevention features to detect lurking threats on your network and block them before they can infiltrate your computer. Be it malware, ransomware, or nasty viruses, a robust cybersecurity solution can safeguard your data against ill-intended third parties.

  However, even the most thorough cybersecurity measures can fall victim to a sophisticated cyberattack. In such cases, having a reliable data backup is crucial to ensure quick recovery and zero data loss. The good thing about modern cybersecurity tools is that they offer automated backup features. Even a non-tech-savvy user can pilot and manage data protection, backup, and recovery options from a centralized agent powered by a user-friendly interface.

• What is Disaster Recovery (DR) in Acronis Cyber Protect?

  Disaster Recovery in Acronis Cyber Protect is an integrated solution that empowers businesses to quickly resume operations in the event of a major IT disruption. This could include events like ransomware attacks, hardware failures, accidental deletions or natural disasters. Acronis DR enables you to replicate your critical systems and applications in real time or on a scheduled basis and fail over those systems to the Acronis Cloud if an outage occurs. The failover systems can be activated within minutes, enabling employees to continue working from the cloud-hosted environment while on-premises systems are restored in the background. Because DR is embedded within the Acronis Cyber Protect platform, you benefit from seamless integration with backup, cybersecurity, patch management and monitoring tools, all from a single management console.

• How is Acronis Disaster Recovery different from traditional backup?

  While traditional backup is essential for recovering data after it's lost or corrupted, it doesn’t guarantee that your business services will continue running while that recovery takes place. Traditional backup usually involves restoring files or systems back onto existing infrastructure, which can take hours or even days, especially if replacement hardware is needed or if large volumes of data must be redownloaded. Acronis Disaster Recovery goes beyond this by enabling you to create and maintain ready-to-launch replicas of your critical systems in the cloud. In the event of a disruption, those replicas can be spun up immediately, allowing operations to resume almost instantly. This is especially important for businesses that can’t afford prolonged downtime, such as those in health care, finance or e-commerce. By combining backup and DR into one solution, Acronis offers a streamlined and efficient approach to resilience.

• How quickly can I recover my systems with Acronis Disaster Recovery?

  Acronis DR is built for speed and automation, enabling organizations to recover their systems in a matter of minutes, depending on the configuration. With predefined disaster recovery runbooks — automated workflows that outline the order and steps for recovery — Acronis can orchestrate the failover of multiple systems at once, reducing manual effort and human error. Critical business services can be restored quickly in the Acronis Cloud, ensuring that your users experience minimal disruption. While recovery time objectives (RTOs) will vary based on your environment, many SMBs and mid-sized businesses can expect to achieve RTOs under one hour. This fast recovery is made possible by continuous or scheduled replication, cloud infrastructure that supports high availability, and the ability to test and optimize your DR plan in advance.

• Can Acronis DR protect both physical and virtual systems?

  Yes, Acronis supports a wide range of environments, making it possible to protect both physical and virtual systems. Whether your business runs on Windows or Linux physical servers, VMware or Hyper-V virtual machines, or has a combination of on-premises and cloud-based infrastructure, Acronis provides a unified solution. This flexibility is crucial in modern IT environments where businesses often rely on a mix of legacy systems and newer cloud workloads. You don’t need separate tools or vendors to cover different parts of your IT estate — Acronis can replicate and recover all of it through a consistent interface. This means you can build a comprehensive and cohesive disaster recovery strategy that evolves as your infrastructure changes.

• What is automated failover, and how does Acronis handle it?

  Automated failover refers to the process by which your systems and workloads are automatically transferred to a secondary environment — typically cloud-based — in the event of a failure. Acronis simplifies and streamlines this process through the use of disaster recovery runbooks. These are predefined plans that dictate exactly which systems to fail over, in what order and with what dependencies or configurations. Once a disruption is detected or declared, the system executes the runbook automatically, bringing critical services back online in the Acronis Cloud. This reduces the need for manual intervention and ensures that recovery happens quickly and consistently. In contrast to traditional disaster recovery approaches that rely heavily on IT staff following a checklist during high-stress moments, Acronis’ automated system enhances reliability, reduces recovery time and gives you greater confidence that your business can withstand an outage.

• How secure is the Acronis Cloud used for disaster recovery?

  Security is fundamental to Acronis’ cloud infrastructure. Data is encrypted using AES-256 both in transit and at rest, ensuring that your backups and failover environments are protected against unauthorized access. The Acronis Cloud is hosted in data centers with strict physical security controls, including biometric access, surveillance and 24/7 monitoring. In addition to data center compliance with standards such as ISO 27001, HIPAA and GDPR, Acronis also layers on cyber protection technologies — including anti-ransomware and vulnerability assessments — that safeguard your DR processes as well. This is critical, as recovery points and cloud replicas can themselves be targeted during sophisticated attacks. With Acronis, you can be confident that your DR plan is not only available and fast but also protected against emerging cyberthreats.

• How does Acronis Disaster Recovery integrate with the rest of Acronis Cyber Protect?

  Disaster recovery is a core component of the Acronis Cyber Protect platform, which brings together backup, cybersecurity, patch management and remote monitoring into a single, unified solution. This integration means you don’t have to manage multiple products or switch between interfaces to keep your systems protected. Everything is centrally managed through one console, with a single agent and a single license model. This reduces operational complexity, minimizes training needs and improves overall system performance. It also means that your DR strategy is aligned with your backup and cybersecurity strategies — so there are no blind spots or overlaps. With Acronis, you get complete cyber resilience from one vendor, optimized to work together for maximum efficiency and peace of mind.

• What is Microsoft 365 email archiving?

  Microsoft 365 email archiving is a specialized service designed to store, preserve, and manage emails that are no longer actively used but need to be retained for regulatory compliance, legal discovery, and operational continuity.

  The primary goal of email archiving is to secure emails in a way that they are easily accessible and retrievable over time, regardless of the original status or location of the data.

• Why is Microsoft 365 email archiving important?

  In the digital age, email communication is not only prevalent but also legally binding and critically informative. Businesses and organizations frequently face legal and regulatory requirements that necessitate the retention of emails for extended periods.

  These requirements can stem from various laws and regulations, including the GDPR in the EU, HIPAA in the U.S. for health care information, or industry-specific regulations like those in the finance and legal sectors. Microsoft 365 email archiving helps organizations adhere to these regulations by maintaining a secure and searchable archive of email communications.

• How does Microsoft 365 email archiving work?

  Microsoft 365 email archiving involves the automated transfer of email data from live servers to a dedicated archive environment. This process typically includes capturing every email sent and received across an organization, indexing the content for easy search and retrieval, and applying policies that govern the retention and deletion of emails based on legal and policy requirements.

  When emails are archived, they are often stored in an immutable format, meaning they cannot be altered once saved. This ensures the integrity of the data, which is crucial for legal and compliance reasons. The archive is designed to handle large volumes of data efficiently, making it easier for IT administrators to manage email storage without compromising server performance.

• Why should you choose Acronis Email Archiving for Microsoft 365?

  Choosing Acronis for your Microsoft 365 email archiving needs offers several compelling advantages, especially for managed service providers (MSPs) aiming to deliver comprehensive data protection solutions. Here's why Acronis is a standout choice:

  • Comprehensive integration: Acronis integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365, aligning perfectly with existing Microsoft infrastructure. This ease of integration is crucial for businesses already utilizing Microsoft services, ensuring a smooth adoption and operation process.
  • Enhanced security features: Acronis is renowned for robust security, incorporating advanced encryption for data at rest and in transit. This is vital for protecting sensitive archived data against unauthorized access and cyber threats.
  • Powerful e-discovery and compliance tools: Acronis offers sophisticated data search and retrieval capability, necessary for legal cases and audits. These capabilities are essential for compliance in regulated industries, supporting adherence to regulations like GDPR and HIPAA.
  • Scalability and flexibility: The solution scales with your business needs, whether you are a small firm or a large enterprise. Acronis allows you to adjust archiving practices as your business or regulations change, providing a flexible and scalable solution.
  • Unified management platform: Acronis enables management of 25+ other workloads, including infrastructure, cloud and SaaS environments like Microsoft 365, all from a single platform. This centralized approach simplifies data management across multiple environments, making it easier for IT teams to maintain oversight and control.
  • User-friendly management interface: Acronis features a centralized management console that simplifies configuring policies, monitoring system status and managing data access — all from one platform.
  • Reduced TCO: By consolidating backup, cybersecurity, management and archiving into one platform, Acronis significantly reduces service delivery costs for MSPs and TCO for their end users, without compromising on functionality or security.
  • Reliable support: Known for excellent support, Acronis ensures smooth operation of your service delivery platform, with assistance readily available from implementation through ongoing operations.
  • Complete data protection for MSPs: Acronis enables MSPs to deliver complete, natively integrated data protection for Microsoft 365. This includes not only email archiving but also backup and recovery, email security and Collaboration Security. This comprehensive approach allows MSPs to unlock new revenue streams while providing clients peace of mind that their critical Microsoft 365 data is protected.

  Incorporating these elements, Acronis not only meets a wide array of regulatory and legal requirements, but also enhances data management practices while ensuring data integrity and accessibility. This makes Acronis an ideal partner for organizations and MSPs looking to enhance their service offerings and ensure comprehensive protection for their clients' data.

• What is the difference between Microsoft 365 email archiving and email backup?

  In summary, while both email archiving and email backup are essential for comprehensive email data management, they serve distinct purposes. Email archiving is crucial for compliance and long-term data preservation, whereas email backup is vital for protecting against data loss and ensuring business continuity. Organizations often need both solutions to fully safeguard their email data and meet all operational and regulatory requirements.