Free - Business Continuity Survey

At Stedman Solutions, we believe that preparation is the key to avoiding downtime and ensuring your SQL Server environment remains reliable in the face of unexpected challenges. That’s why we’ve created our Business Continuity Survey, a quick and easy tool to assess the readiness of your database systems. By filling out the survey, you’ll receive a detailed emailed report highlighting potential vulnerabilities, areas for improvement, and recommendations to strengthen your business continuity plan. Whether you’re evaluating disaster recovery, backup strategies, or high-availability solutions, our survey provides valuable insights to help you safeguard your operations. Take the survey today and take the first step toward a more resilient SQL Server environment.

SQL Server Backup, Restore and Business Continuity Self Assessment

SQL Server Environment and Backup Practices:
Welcome to this self-assessment survey. Fill out all of the questions to the best of your ability and a self-assessment survey report card will be mailed to you with your results. Use this to see how well you are doing with your backup, recovery and business continuity strategy. Find out your strenghts, weaknesses and areas needing the most improvement.
How many SQL Servers are you responsible for in your organization?
1
2 to 5
6 to 10
10 to 25
25 or more
unknown or other
When was the last time you or a team member practiced restoring a database from a backup?
In the last week
In the last month
In the last quarter
In the last year
Never
Unknown
What is the duration of your backup history retention? Please specify how long you keep your backup files.
Less than 24 hours
One to two days
A week
Two weeks
Three or 4 weeks
More than a month
Unknown
Are your backups stored on the same drive, server, or network location as your databases? Check all that apply
Backups are stored on the same physical storage as the databases.
Backups are stored on the same server but on different storage.
Backups are stored on the network off of the server.
Backups are moved somewhere offsite or to the cloud.
Backups are stored on immutable storage that can't be overwritten for a specific amount of time.
Other
Unknown
Backup Strategies and Recovery Preparedness:
How frequently do you perform off-site or cloud-based backups?
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Other
Unknown
Never
I need help with this
Have you tested your ability to restore from the off-site or cloud-based backups? If yes, how often?
Never
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly
Annual
Unknown
Do you utilize immutable backups (backups that cannot be overwritten for a specified duration)?
Yes
No
Unknown
In the event of a ransomware attack, do you have an alternative location where backups can be restored and utilized?
Yes
No
Unknown
Types of Backups and Recovery Objectives
Do your backups meet your recovery expectations.
Which types of backups are implemented for your SQL Servers?
Virtual Machine full backup or snapshot
Physical server full backup
File system backups
SQL Server Database Backups
Unknown
What types of SQL Server backups do you perform? (select all that apply)
Full
Differential
Log
Something Else
Unknown
Are you aware of your Recovery Time Objective (RTO)? This refers to the maximum acceptable downtime after a failure.
Yes
No
Not sure
Other
Are you familiar with your Recovery Point Objective (RPO)? This indicates the maximum acceptable amount of data loss after a failure.
Yes
No
Not sure
Other
Does your current backup and recovery or business continuity solution meet your RTO and RPO requirements?
Yes
No
Unknown
Restoration Process and Emergency Preparedness
Are you ready?
In the event of a restoration requirement, do you have predefined scripts ready for use, or would you consult external resources?
I am ready and have the restore process scripted
I am ready, and know how to restore
I am not ready and I would need outside help
Unknown
Other
Do you have established processes or procedures for regular training on emergency restoration practices?
Yes
No
Unknown
Other
How do you ensure the integrity of your SQL Server backups? (e.g., regular backup validation checks or restore tests)
Backup validation
Restoration tests
Unknown
We don't test backups
Do you have a documented disaster recovery plan that specifically covers SQL Server outages, including step-by-step recovery procedures?
Yes
No
Other
Unknown
In case of a major SQL Server failure, do you have a designated secondary site or cloud environment for quick resumption of operations?
Yes
No
Maybe
Unknown
Are your SQL Server backup and recovery processes audited, and how frequently?
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly
Other
Never
Unknown
Does your organization employ any form of monitoring or alerting system for SQL Server that can notify you of potential backup failures or performance issues?
Yes
No
Maybe
Unknown
Database Integrity
How often do you run DBCC CheckDB against all your database to ensure they are not corrupt in any way?
Daily
Every other Day
Weekly
Monthly
Occasionally
Never
Unknown
Do you have monitoring in place to notify you when a database check fails, or has not been run lately?
Yes
No
Not sure
Contact Information
This is the last page of the survey, just finish this page and your cusomized survey results will be on the way.
Your email address to receive the completed survey at:
Would you like to talk with one of the Stedman Solutions team about how we can help meet your backup, recovery and business continuity needs?
Yes - We need some help
No - Just send me the report
Your Company Name

After completing the Business Continuity Survey, you’ll receive a detailed report via email, outlining the strengths and vulnerabilities in your current SQL Server environment. This report is a valuable resource to understand your database’s readiness to handle unexpected disruptions, such as hardware failures, data corruption, or disasters. But identifying these risks is just the beginning—Stedman Solutions is here to help you take the next steps.

Our team of SQL Server experts can provide a personalized consultation to review your survey results and offer tailored recommendations. Whether it’s implementing a robust disaster recovery plan, improving your backup strategy, or optimizing your high-availability setup, we’ll work with you to address the areas of concern highlighted in your report. Together, we’ll develop a strategy to ensure your database systems are secure, resilient, and prepared for any challenge.

If your survey reveals urgent issues, such as a lack of reliable backups or a missing recovery plan, we can prioritize immediate actions to protect your critical data and minimize risk. Our services range from one-time projects to ongoing managed services, giving you the flexibility to choose the level of support that suits your needs.

Don’t let potential vulnerabilities go unaddressed. Once you’ve completed the survey, contact Stedman Solutions to schedule a follow-up discussion and start strengthening your SQL Server environment. We’re here to turn your survey insights into actionable results, giving you the peace of mind that your business continuity is in expert hands.