BACKUP AND RECOVERY STRATEGIES IN MODERN ENTERPRISE IT SYSTEMS
ZGUREANU AURELIU
PhD, Associate Professor , Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
ORCID: 0000-0003-3301-2457
Email: zgureanu.aureliu@ase.md
(corresponding author)
ANDRONATIEV VICTOR
PhD, Associate Professor , Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
ORCID: 0000-0002-0294-457X
Email: andronatiev@ase.md
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24818/cike2025.62
Pages: 502–514
Abstract
Assessing the current state of enterprise backup and recovery strategies is critical to ensuring that an organization’s digital assets are safeguarded against a variety of internal and external threats: hardware and system failures, human errors, malicious cyberattacks such as ransomware, etc. This paper examines the evolution of data protection from traditional, reactive approaches to comprehensive, proactive resilience frameworks. The paper provides a breakdown between the foundational data protection strategies of on-premise, cloud and hybrid methods of data protection and restoration with explanations of the pros and cons of each method from the perspectives of control, scalability and disaster recovery. The analysis extends to advanced methodologies such as Disaster Recovery as a Service, Continuous Data Protection for recovery at the most granular level, and to the importance of immutable storage to avoid data alteration. Paper analyses today’s challenges of voracious data growth, new types of data residing in increasingly fragmented environments, and the ever-evolving sophistication of malicious actors especially as it relates to ransomware targeting backup infrastructure. It also explores the use of emerging technologies, especially Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to conduct predictive analytics, detection of anomalies, and the automation of recovery with architectures such as air-gapped and chain-free backups to provide greater levels of isolation. Finally, the impact of global regulatory compliance standards (GDPR, HIPAA) on modern-day data protection is discussed and relevant industry standards (NIST, ISO 27001) that have become best practices are reviewed.
Keywords: Data protection strategy, DRP, DRaaS, CDP, RTO, RPO
JEL Classification: L86, M15
References
- Abnormal AI., 2024. Top ways AI enhances data backup security and recovery, [online] Available at: <https://abnormal.ai/blog/data-backup> [Accessed 7 Aug. 2025].
- Acronis, 2022. GDPR compliance considerations for backup and storage infrastructure, [online] Available at: <https://www.acronis.com/en-sg/blog/posts/gdpr/> [Accessed 4 Jul. 2025].
- Algomox, 2024. AI Automating Backup & Disaster Recovery in the Cloud, [online] Available at: <https://www.algomox.com/resources/blog/ai_automating_backup_disaster_recovery_cloud.html> [Accessed 12 Jul. 2025].
- Andrews, M., 2025. Data protection trends in 2025 for MSPs and SMBs, [online] Available at: <https://www.novabackup.com/blog/data-protection-trends-in-2025> [Accessed 22 Aug. 2025].
- Arcserve, 2025. Key components and best practices for an immutable backup framework, [online] Available at: <https://www.arcserve.com/blog/key-components-and-best-practices-immutable-backup-framework> [Accessed 14 Jul. 2025].
- Cloudian, 2025. Ransomware backup, [online] Available at: <https://cloudian.com/guides/ransomware-backup/ransomware-backup/> [Accessed 22 May 2021].
- ConnectWise, 2025. Immutable backup. The guide to ransomware-proof data protection in 2025, [online] Available at: <https://www.connectwise.com/blog/what-is-immutable-backup> [Accessed 4 May 2025].
- Datto, 2025. Key takeaways from the unified backup trends 2025 report, [online] Available at: <https://www.datto.com/resources/unified-backup-trends-2025-must-know-insights/> [Accessed 14 Aug. 2025].
- com, 2025. The advantages of using cloud backup, [online] Available at: <https://www.dropbox.com/resources/cloud-backup-advantages> [Accessed 16 May 2021].
- Google Cloud, 2024. Backup and DR Service, [online] Available at: <https://cloud.google.com/backup-disaster-recovery> [Accessed 15 Mat 2021].
- IBM, 2023a. Data Compliance, [online] Available at: <https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/data-compliance> [Accessed 22 June 2025].
- IBM, 2023b. Disaster recovery, [online] Available at: <https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/disaster-recovery> [Accessed 22 June 2025].
- IBM, 2025. Storage data backup and recovery solutions, [online] Available at: <https://www.ibm.com/solutions/backup-recovery> [Accessed 1 Aug. 2025].
- Morrison, R. (2024). NIST Requirements for Backup and Recovery, [online] Available at: <https://www.baculasystems.com/blog/nist-requirements-backup-recovery/> [Accessed 30 June 2025].
- Morrison, R. (2025). Implementing ISO 27001 Data Backup and Recovery Requirements. [online] Available at: <https://www.baculasystems.com/blog/iso-27001-backup-recovery/> [Accessed 30 June 2025].
- NIST, 2024. The NIST cybersecurity framework 2.0, [online] Available at: <https://csrc.nist.gov/news/2024/the-nist-csf-20-is-here> [Accessed 22 June 2025].
- Zgureanu, A., 2021. Backup and recovery strategies and their role in business continuity, [online] Available at: <https://ibn.idsi.md/ro/vizualizare_articol/145534> [Accessed 30 Jun. 2025].
- Zgureanu, A., 2022. Rolul RTO și RPO în planificarea recuperării în caz de dezastru, [online] Available at: <https://ibn.idsi.md/ro/vizualizare_articol/156521> [Accessed 29 June 2025].
