These three terms get used interchangeably in IT vendor pitches and in compliance frameworks. They’re not the same thing. Knowing the difference is the difference between thinking you’re protected and actually being protected.
This guide explains what each one is, what each costs, what each protects you from, and what your practice or business actually needs in 2026.
The three concepts in one sentence each
Backup — Copies of your data stored separately so you can recover it after data loss.
Disaster Recovery (DR) — A plan and the technology to get your IT systems running again after they go down.
Business Continuity Planning (BCP) — A plan to keep the business running (with or without IT) during a disruption.
The relationship: Backup is a capability. DR is a plan + capability that depends on backup. BCP is a broader plan that depends on DR.
If you only have backups, you can recover data but you might be down for two weeks. If you have DR, you can be running in hours. If you have BCP, you can keep serving customers even while DR is in progress.
What backup actually is
Backup means: a separate copy of your data, stored somewhere your primary system can’t accidentally destroy, that you can restore from.
A modern backup system has three properties: Multiple copies in multiple locations (the 3-2-1 rule); versioning / history (restore from yesterday or last month); tested restores (somebody actually verifies they work).
What backup doesn’t give you: speed of recovery, application functionality, continuity of operations during the recovery, coordination across multiple dependent systems.
What backup costs: $4–$15 per user/month for cloud-based backup of M365, Google Workspace, file servers, and endpoints for a typical SMB.
What disaster recovery actually is
DR is what happens when your data is gone or your systems are down and you need them back, fast.
A DR plan answers questions like: If our primary office burns down, where does our IT come back online? If ransomware encrypts our servers tonight, what’s the sequence to bring them back, and how long does it take? Who calls who? Who has authority to spend money on emergency response?
DR has two key metrics:
Recovery Time Objective (RTO) — How long before systems are running again. 4 hours, 24 hours, 3 days?
Recovery Point Objective (RPO) — How much data can you afford to lose. Up to the moment? Up to the last hour? Last day?
Different RTOs and RPOs cost dramatically different money. RTO of 4 hours with RPO of 1 hour costs maybe 5× what RTO of 72 hours with RPO of 24 hours does.
What DR costs: For a typical 50-person business in 2026, real DR runs $1,500–$8,000 per month depending on RTO/RPO targets.
What business continuity actually is
BCP is the broader plan: how does the business keep operating during a disruption?
BCP covers things DR doesn’t: where staff work if the office is unavailable; how we communicate with customers; which functions can pause vs absolutely cannot; cash position if we can’t bill for a week; who has authority to make decisions; how we coordinate with insurance, legal, regulators, vendors during the event.
A BCP includes: communication trees, alternate work arrangements, vendor and supply chain contingencies, customer/patient communication templates, financial reserves and credit access, regulatory and legal obligations.
What BCP costs: Mostly internal time. A consulting engagement to build a real BCP for a 50-person business runs $15K–$50K one-time, plus annual maintenance.
What your business actually needs
Tier 1 — Solo / very small (under 10 staff)
- ✅ Daily backup of M365 / Google Workspace
- ✅ Backup of any local file server / endpoints
- ✅ Documented who-calls-who if something goes wrong
- ✅ Tested restore once a year
Skip formal DR and BCP unless you have a regulatory obligation.
Tier 2 — SMB (10–100 staff, no major regulatory exposure)
- ✅ Backup as above
- ✅ DR plan with documented RTO/RPO targets
- ✅ Annual DR test (simulate a recovery)
- ✅ Lightweight BCP — communication tree, alternate work site, vendor contacts
- ✅ Cyber insurance with business interruption coverage
Tier 3 — Regulated industry (healthcare, finance, government)
- ✅ Everything in Tier 2
- ✅ Documented BCP that meets regulatory requirements (HIPAA Contingency Plan, NIST CSF Recover, SOC 2 CC9.1, FINRA 4370)
- ✅ Annual tabletop exercise with leadership
- ✅ Warm-standby DR site for critical systems
- ✅ Defined RTO/RPO per system, with sign-off from compliance
Common mistakes
“Our cloud provider handles backup”
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace explicitly say in their service agreements that customers are responsible for backup. Native retention policies are not backup.
“We have backup so we’re covered”
You have backup. You don’t have DR. The first ransomware event will surprise you.
“Our DR plan is in someone’s head”
A DR plan in someone’s head is not a DR plan. It’s a story.
“We tested backup three years ago”
Untested backups have a 30%+ failure rate. Quarterly restore tests are the standard.
What ACS does
ACS handles backup, DR, and BCP for clients across healthcare, legal, financial, and government contracting:
- Backup design and implementation (M365, Google Workspace, endpoints, servers)
- DR plan documentation with RTO/RPO targets per system
- Annual DR test with documented results
- BCP development aligned to your regulatory framework
- Tabletop exercise facilitation
Schedule a free DR/BCP readiness review →
Or call 1-650-300-7557.
FAQ
Can I skip the DR test? Until you have an actual incident. Then you find out everything you missed at the worst possible time.
Cheapest acceptable DR for a small practice? Daily encrypted backups + retention 30+ days + documented restore procedure + annual test. ~$200–$400/month for a 10-person practice.
Does cyber insurance cover BCP? Some policies have business interruption coverage that helps. Read your policy.
What about ransomware? Combo that beats it: immutable / offline backup + EDR + MDR + tested restore + cyber insurance.
