Backup and disaster recovery (DR) are often confused, but clearly serve different purposes. Backup revolves around making regular copies of data to enable recovery from data loss. It is the foundation on which recovery relies, but by itself it does not provide the ability to quickly restart entire business operations. For example, restoring data after an accident can take days, depending on the size and location of the backups.

Disaster recovery, on the other hand, is a strategic plan that includes not only data recovery, but also restoring applications, infrastructure and networks to ensure business continuity as quickly as possible. This is made possible by predetermined Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) – how quickly systems should be available – and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) – how much data loss is acceptable.

A powerful illustration: downtime of just one hour can cost a small business an average of about $8,000, in medium-sized organizations this rises to $74,000 and in large ones to $700,000 or more. This pithily demonstrates: merely recovering data is often insufficient – rapid operational restart is crucial.

Why you need both: synergy in data resilience

Backup and disaster recovery complement each other as raw materials and blueprints. Backups provide the data; DR provides a proven scenario for converting that data to restart services. Without backup, you have nothing to recover; without a DR plan, you have no way to perform that recovery effectively and quickly.

Insufficient separation between backup and recovery environments is dangerous: if both are in the same physical location, for example, a fire, flood or other disaster could destroy everything at once. On the other hand: keeping only off-site backup lowers recovery speed significantly in small incidents when quick local access is needed. In other words: backups near, DR off-site … and both orchestrated.

Specifically: how Acronis and Microsoft are helping close this gap

Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud & Disaster Recovery

Acronis has been recognized as a TOP-5 provider of Microsoft 365 backup solutions in the latest DCIG reports, thanks to advanced backup, anti-ransomware protection and global availability through 50+ data centers. This means that even during regional outages, businesses can continue to access their data.

One user on PeerSpot reported, “In case our production environment collapses, we can start working from the data center in Acronis in less than one hour.” That shows rapid failover – essential for effective DR.

The combined Acronis solution includes backup and disaster recovery: with Acronis Cyber Protect Advanced Backup, you have high frequency backups (low RPO) as well as integration with cybersecurity and endpoint management for a comprehensive approach.

PeerSpot users also stress the patch management and integrated malware and ransomware scanning in Acronis Disaster Recovery. This gives your IT environment not only a restartable plan, but also protection against the most current threats.

Microsoft solutions and native options

Microsoft offers built-in backup functionality within Microsoft 365, for example – such as version control and retention policies – but cautions that this is only basic protection. Full data granularity, recovery and DR scenarios require specialized toolsAcronis.

If you only use Azure Site Recovery, you are limited to the Microsoft environment. Acronis Disaster Recovery, on the other hand, offers flexibility to other cloud or local environmentsAcronis.

Figures, cases and facts (no bullets, flowing text)

In 2025, DCIG again recognized Acronis as a TOP-5 provider for both MSPs and mid-market companies because of its integrated approach to backup, DR and cybersecurity. This proves that modern solutions not only copy data, but also protect it and keep it operational.

At the operational level, the PeerSpot user demonstrates that failover works within an hour – critical to avoiding downtime. The global presence of Acronis data centers supports that, even during regional outages, rapid recovery is possible.

Figures surrounding downtime indicate that every hour of downtime can cost substantially, especially in larger organizations. That makes a well-thought-out DR plan no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

Practical comparison: Acronis vs other solutions

According to a recent comparison between Acronis, Veeam and BEMO, Acronis scores strongly on security integration and backup capabilities, but requires more technical knowledge in management. Veeam is more powerful for highly virtualized environments, while BEMO is attractive to organizations looking to outsource compliance and management.

For SMBs and MSPs looking for complete solution without complexity, Acronis proves to be a solid choice thanks to its all-in-one nature and cybersecurity integration. Especially if IT teams have the technical capacity to manage it themselves.

Conclusion

In summary, backup is absolutely critical, but by itself provides only data recovery; disaster recovery adds much-needed speed and infrastructure to secure business operations-together they form an indispensable synergy for business-critical continuity.

Acronis Cyber Protect (Advanced Backup and Cyber Protect Cloud) offers such an integrated platform with backup, DR, anti-ransomware and global coverage. Microsoft-native methods are useful as a foundation, but should not be considered an end solution-certainly not for DR needs.

Next steps for your organization? Analyze your RTO and RPO: how fast do systems need to be up and running, and how much data loss can you tolerate? Verify that your backups are in trusted, separate locations (3-2-1 rule: three copies, on two media, one off-site. Invest in a DR plan that is regularly tested and can switch automatically.

Want to discover how Network IT uses Acronis solutions as well as Microsoft integrations to set up a robust backup and disaster recovery strategy for your SMB? Contact us for a free consultation-we’ll help you define the right RTO/RPO, select the appropriate solution, and implement it seamlessly.