Every day, IT teams take comfort in that green tick -“Backup Successful.” But the uncomfortable truth is that many of those backups will fail when it matters most. Studies show that around one in three data recoveries fail when tested, leaving organisations scrambling to restore corrupted files or discovering - too late - that the backup itself was compromised.

It’s a dangerous assumption to believe that a successful backup automatically means safety. True cyber resilience isn’t about having copies of your data. It’s about knowing those copies can be restored -cleanly, completely, and confidently.

The False Sense of Security

Backups can create a comforting illusion of protection. The process runs overnight, the reports look fine, and the job’s considered done. But “success” in a log file doesn’t always translate to successful recovery.

In reality, backups can fail for reasons that don’t show up until you try to restore them. Files may be corrupted. Malware could be lying dormant, ready to re-infect your systems the moment you recover. Or the environment you’re restoring to may have drifted from the one you backed up, rendering the image incompatible.

It’s a story many organisations know too well. An IT team per forms daily backups, confident in their process - until a ransomware attack forces a restore. Suddenly, none of the backups are clean. What was meant to be a recovery plan becomes a crisis.

The lesson? Untested backups are unverified protection. Unless you’ve proven that recovery works, you’re relying on hope - not assurance.

Why Backups Fail When You Need Them Most

So why do recoveries fail so often? The reasons are surprisingly simple, but their impact can be catastrophic:

• Corrupted files – A backup may complete successfully, but the data within could be unusable when restored.
• Latent malware – Ransomware or other malicious code often hides in backup files, waiting to be re-activated during recovery.
• Configuration drift – Systems evolve, but your restore points don’t. What worked six months ago might not be compatible with today’s environment.
• Human error – Manual recovery tests rarely happen, and assumptions take their place.

The fallout from failed recoveries is significant - extended downtime, data loss, and reputational damage that can cost far more than the original incident. It’s not enough to have backups; you need proof they’ll work.

So, how can you be sure your backups will actually recover when you need them most?

The Solution - Recovery Assurance for Veeam

That’s where OnGuard Recovery Assurance for Veeam comes in.

Developed by OneTeam IT, this solution adds a crucial layer of confidence to your existing Veeam environment. It automates the testing of backups, verifies recoverability, scans for malware, and delivers clear, actionable reporting - ensuring that your critical systems can be restored rapidly and safely when disaster strikes.

Here’s how it works:

• Automated recovery testing – Scheduled validation of your Veeam backups without manual effort. No more guesswork, no more neglected tests.
• Clean room validation – Backups are restored and tested in an isolated, secure environment where malware scanning ensures only clean data is     reintroduced to production.
• AI-informed prioritisation – Intelligent algorithms identify and test the most critical workloads first, helping you focus on what matters most.
• Comprehensive reporting – Gain full visibility into recovery readiness, including detailed audit and compliance documentation.
• Seamless integration – Built to work within your current Veeam infrastructure, avoiding disruption or the need for major changes.

Together, these capabilities transform backup from a checkbox exercise into a proven, measurable safeguard. You move from “we think we’re protected” to “we know we can recover.”

And it all sits under OneTeam IT’s OnGuard brand - a suite of cyber resilience solutions designed to ensure you’re protected from threats and prepared for recovery. With OnGuard, the promise is in the name.

Don’t Wait for Disaster to Find Out

Backups are essential - but they’re not enough. In a world of escalating cyber threats and complex IT environments, recovery assurance is now the real measure of resilience.

OnGuard Recovery Assurance for Veeam gives you continuous, automated proof that your backups are secure, malware-free, and fully recoverable. It turns uncertainty into confidence and transforms your disaster recovery plan from reactive to ready.

Don’t wait for a crisis to find out whether your backups will work.

Test them - automatically, safely, and continuously - with OnGuard Recovery Assurance for Veeam.

Contact the OneTeam IT team to learn more or book a Recovery Health Check today.

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