Backup Strategy & Recommended Frequency¶

Database Backups¶

Type: Full database backups at least daily.
Retention: Align with business and compliance requirements (e.g. 30–90 days).
Validation: Periodically restore backups to a test environment to confirm they are valid.

Recommended schedule:

Daily full backup during off-peak hours.
More frequent backups (e.g. twice daily) are recommended during periods of high transaction volume or when minimising potential data loss is a business priority.
Optional log backups if recovery model is Full and point-in-time recovery is required.

Application Files¶

Backup the application folder (/app) and any externalised BLOB storage folders.
Backups should capture:
web.config
touch-settings.json
App_Code, controllers, and reports
App_Code containing BLOB storage (attachments, images, documents)

Frequency:

Daily backup is recommended where application files change infrequently.
Additional backups prior to any deployment or configuration change.

Responsibility¶

Activity	Responsible Party
Confirm backup service is included in the hosting plan	Client (before go-live)
Schedule and run automated backups	Hosting Provider
Verify backups completed successfully (weekly)	Client IT
Store backups in a secondary/off-server location	Hosting Provider (or Client IT if self-managed)
Initiate a restore request with the hosting provider	Client IT or Database Administrator
Perform the restore operation	Hosting Provider
Verify the restored database is accessible and data is correct	Client IT
Confirm application connectivity post-restore	Developer (if required)

If the hosting plan does not include automated backups, the Client must purchase and configure a backup add-on or arrange an alternative solution before going live.

The developer can be contacted to obtain scripts that can be automated for these backups.