Data Backup Plan
Procedures, Teams, Policies, and Recovery Framework.
Purpose & Scope
The purpose of this Data Backup Plan is to ensure that Holistic Healthcare Management Services can securely and efficiently back up mission-critical data, systems, databases, and other essential technology to guarantee availability in the event of a disruption to business operations. This plan outlines the procedures and responsibilities necessary to minimise operational disruptions and ensure rapid recovery when an incident occurs. All Holistic Healthcare Management Services locations are required to implement and adhere to these backup measures.
This plan applies to all Holistic Healthcare Management Services locations and encompasses data backup operations across the organisation.
This plan is a living document and will be updated as needed to reflect changes in technology, business operations, and the regulatory environment.
Scope & Objectives
The scope of this plan is limited to data backup activities and does not serve as a daily problem resolution document.
Plan Objectives:
- Serves as a guide for Holistic Healthcare Management Services IT data backup teams
- References and points to the location(s) of backed-up data, systems, applications and other mission-critical data resources
- Provides procedures and resources needed to back up data, systems and other resources
- Identifies vendors and clients that must be notified in the event of a disruption that may necessitate recovering backed-up data and other resources
- Minimises operational disruptions by documenting, testing and reviewing data backup procedures
- Identifies alternate sources for data backup activities
- Documents data storage, backups and retrieval procedures for vital records and other relevant data.
Assumptions:
- Key IT data backup employees (e.g., lead data backup administrator, team leaders, technicians and alternates) will be available following a disaster.
- This plan and related documents are stored in a secure off-site location and not only survived the disaster but are accessible immediately following the disaster.
- The IT organisation will have technology disaster recovery (DR) plans that align with this data backup plan.
Disaster Definition:
A disaster is any disruptive or catastrophic event (e.g., power outage, weather, natural disaster, vandalism) that causes an interruption in technology relating to data, databases, systems, archived data and other resources provided by Holistic Healthcare Management Services IT operations.
Data Backup Teams and Responsibilities
Effective data backup and recovery require collaboration and clear delineation of responsibilities across different teams. Below is an overview of the key teams involved and their respective roles in ensuring that data is securely backed up and readily available in the event of a disruption.
Data Backup and Related Teams
- Data Backup Team
- IT Technical Support Team
Data Backup Team (DBT)
The Data Backup Team is charged with the comprehensive planning, management, and execution of all data backup activities. This team ensures that backups are conducted according to the established schedule and protocols. Additionally, the team is responsible for monitoring backup performance against specific metrics and providing regular reports to IT management. The Data Backup Team plays a critical role in ensuring data integrity and availability across the organisation.
IT Technical Support (ITS) Team
The IT Technical Support Team provides essential support to the Data Backup Team, assisting in the execution of backup activities and related data storage operations. The ITS team offers technical expertise and guidance on equipment and systems and ensures that backup technologies function optimally. Their role is crucial in maintaining the infrastructure that supports data backup and recovery processes.
See Appendix A for details on the roles and responsibilities of each team.
Team Member Responsibilities
To ensure the effectiveness of the data backup plan, all team members have specific responsibilities:
- Designation of Alternates/Backups: Each team member must designate an alternate or backup to ensure continuity in the event of their unavailability. This ensures that all critical tasks can be performed without delay, regardless of individual availability.
- Maintaining Updated Contact Information: Team members are required to keep an updated list of all team members’ work, home, and cell phone numbers. This list should be accessible both at work and at home to facilitate prompt communication during a disruption.
- Home Reference of the Plan: Team members should keep a copy of this Data Backup Plan at home. This ensures that they can reference the plan and take necessary actions even if a disruption occurs outside of normal working hours.
- Familiarisation with the Plan: All team members must familiarise themselves with the contents of this Data Backup Plan. Understanding the plan’s details is essential for ensuring that they can execute their roles effectively during a data backup or recovery situation.
Backup Policy
Full and incremental backups protect and preserve corporate network information and should be performed on a regular basis for system logs and customer documents that are not easily replaced, have a high replacement cost, or are considered critical. Backup media should be stored in a secure, geographically separate location from the original and isolated from environmental hazards.
Data and document retention policies are established to specify what records must be retained and for how long. All departments are responsible for specifying their data management, data retention, data destruction and overall records management requirements.
IT Technical Support follows these standards for data backup and archiving:
| Data Category | Standards & Requirements | Responsible |
|---|---|---|
| System Databases | A copy of the most current mission-critical databases must be made at least twice per month or based on frequency of changes made. Backups must be stored off-site. |
Lead data administrator |
| Mission-Critical Data | Current mission-critical data and databases must be backed up according to the established recovery point objectives (RPOs), and must be mirrored or replicated to secure backup locations within the RPO time frames. Backups must be stored off-site at one or more secure cloud locations or at alternate business data centres or offices, or a combination of these. |
Lead data administrator |
| Non-Mission-Critical Data | Current non-mission-critical data and databases must be backed up according to the established RPOs and can be mirrored or replicated to secure backup locations within the RPO time frames. Alternatively, copies of current data and databases must be made at least twice per week or based on RPO metrics or the frequency of changes made. Backups may be stored on-site in secure storage facilities or stored off-site at one or more secure cloud locations or at alternate business data centres or offices, or a combination of these. |
Data administration team |
Backup media are stored at locations that are secure, isolated from environmental hazards, and geographically separate from the location housing network components.
Off-site Storage Procedures
- Disks and other suitable media are stored in environmentally secure facilities.
- Disk rotation occurs on a regular schedule coordinated with the storage vendor.
- Access to backup databases and other data is tested annually.
Performing Data Backups & Data Recovery
Data backups are to be scheduled daily, weekly and monthly, depending on the nature of the backup. Data administrators are to use the approved data backup technology to prepare for, schedule, execute and verify backups. Backups may be made to local storage resources (e.g., disk, tape, RAID) locally or to off-site secure locations (e.g., cloud data backup service providers, backup-as-a-service providers) approved by IT management.
Data Backup Activities
| # | Action | Who Performs | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Review program with IT management; secure approvals as needed | Backup admin; backup team | |
| 2 | Identify and categorize data to be backed up | Backup admin; backup team | |
| 3 | Identify and categorize systems to be backed up | Backup admin; backup team | |
| 4 | Identify and categorize other resources to back up | Backup admin; backup team | |
| 5 | Schedule backup activities, e.g., date, time, frequency, type of resource to back up, destination for backups | Backup admin; backup team | |
| 6 | Program backup systems and resources according to schedule and policy | Backup admin; backup team | |
| 7 | Schedule backup activities | Backup admin; backup team | |
| 8 | Execute backups of data, systems and other resources | Backup admin; backup team | |
| 9 | Verify that backups were completed and all backed-up resources are unchanged | Backup admin; backup team | |
| 10 | Prepare and distribute backup reports | Backup admin; backup team | |
| 11 | Schedule and conduct tests of data backups | Backup admin; backup team | |
| 12 | Schedule and perform patching of backup resources | Backup admin; backup team | |
| 13 | Update backup systems and technologies as needed | Backup admin; backup team |
Data Recovery
Procedures are to be established, documented and periodically tested to recover data, databases, systems, applications and other information assets if a disruptive event occurs that necessitates the recovery of those assets and resources.
Plan Review and Maintenance
This data backup plan must be reviewed periodically, and the procedures validated (and updated as needed) to ensure that backups will occur as needed and when needed. As part of this activity, it is advisable to review the listings of data backup team personnel, data backup service vendors, and cloud data backup vendors, as well as update contact details as needed.
Appendixes
Appendix A: Teams
Data Backup Team
Responsible for overall planning, management and execution of data backup activities and providing regular reports to IT management on backup performance according to specific data backup metrics.
Support Activities: Analyses backup performance against specific metrics; sets backup priorities based on collaboration with IT Technical Support and user departments; provides IT management with ongoing status and performance data; works with vendors and IT Technical Support to ensure continuous operation of backups.
IT Technical Support (ITS) Team
Supports the performance of data backup and related data storage activities.
Support Activities: Assist with data backup activities as needed; provide guidance on equipment, systems and other services, as required; coordinate testing of data backup operations to ensure they are functioning normally.
Appendix B: Data Backup Team Contact Lists
| Data Backup Team (DBT) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Contact Number | Email Address | Address |
| IT Technical Support (ITS) Team | |||
| Name | Contact Number | Email Address | Address |
Appendix C: Approved Vendor Contact List
| Name | Contact Number | Email Address | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backup vendor 1 | |||
| Backup vendor 2 | |||
| Backup vendor 3 |
Appendix D: Data Backup Locations
Backup Resource 1 – [ADD LOCATION NAME]
Primary / Alternate details (Address, Room/Office, State, Postcode, Contact): ________________________
Backup Resource 2 – [ADD LOCATION NAME]
Primary / Alternate details (Address, Room/Office, State, Postcode, Contact): ________________________
Data Storage Facilities (e.g., Tape, Disk, Clouds, NAS, SAN, RAID)
| Company Name | Contact Number | Email Address | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
Appendix E: Inventory of Data Resources, Databases to Back Up
[ Inventory details to be inserted here ]
Appendix F: Inventory of Hardware and Software to Back Up
[ Inventory details to be inserted here ]
Appendix G: Inventory of Network Services and Equipment to Back Up
[ Inventory details to be inserted here ]
