When a Dallas SMB suffers a major IT outage, 93% don’t have a tested recovery plan — and 60% that lose their data close within six months. Texas weather alone — from ice storms to hurricane remnants — causes millions in downtime annually. Add ransomware (up 150% year-over-year targeting SMBs), hardware failures, and human error, and the question isn’t if you’ll face a disaster — it’s when. Bonelli Systems builds and manages complete business continuity and disaster recovery solutions that keep Dallas businesses running no matter what happens.
Why Dallas Businesses Need a DR Plan Now
The threat landscape for Dallas SMBs has fundamentally changed:
- Ransomware: Average ransom demand for SMBs hit $1.5M in 2025 — but downtime costs 5–10x more than the ransom itself
- Texas weather: The 2021 winter storm caused $130B+ in damage. The 2023 ice storm left thousands of businesses offline for days
- Cloud doesn’t mean safe: SaaS data (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace) has limited retention — deletion, corruption, and ransomware can destroy cloud data too
- Compliance requirements: HIPAA, CMMC, and financial regulations mandate documented disaster recovery procedures with tested RTOs and RPOs
- Supply chain risk: A single vendor outage (ISP, SaaS provider, hosting) can cascade across your entire operation
Our Business Continuity and DR Services
Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
Before building a plan, we identify what matters most. Our BIA maps every critical system and process, determines maximum tolerable downtime (RTO) and acceptable data loss (RPO) for each, and calculates the financial impact of outages — giving you clear priorities for investment.
Backup Architecture Design
We implement the 3-2-1-1-0 backup strategy — three copies of your data, on two different media types, with one offsite, one immutable (ransomware-proof), and zero errors verified by automated recovery testing. This covers:
- On-premises servers and workstations: Image-level and file-level backup with instant virtualization capability
- Microsoft 365 data: Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams backup with point-in-time recovery
- Azure and cloud workloads: Azure Backup, cross-region replication, and infrastructure-as-code recovery
- Databases and line-of-business apps: Application-aware backups with transaction log protection
Disaster Recovery Planning
A backup without a recovery plan is just a storage bill. Our DR plans include:
- Step-by-step recovery procedures for every critical system
- Communication trees and escalation paths
- Alternate site operations (cloud failover, hot/warm/cold site options)
- Vendor and ISP contingency procedures
- Employee work-from-home activation procedures
- Compliance notification requirements (HIPAA breach rules, contractual obligations)
Ransomware-Specific Recovery
Traditional backup alone doesn’t stop ransomware — attackers specifically target backup systems. Our ransomware recovery approach includes:
- Immutable backups: Write-once storage that ransomware cannot encrypt or delete
- Air-gapped copies: Physically isolated backup copies updated on schedule
- Backup integrity monitoring: Automated checks that detect encryption or corruption before it spreads
- Rapid isolation playbooks: Pre-built procedures to contain active ransomware within minutes
- EDR integration: Endpoint detection that triggers backup verification when threats are detected
Regular DR Testing
A plan that hasn’t been tested is a plan that won’t work. We conduct quarterly DR tests — tabletop exercises, partial failovers, and full recovery simulations — and document results for compliance auditors. Every test includes lessons learned and plan updates.
RTO and RPO: Setting the Right Targets
Your recovery targets determine your investment level. Here’s what we typically recommend for Dallas SMBs:
Critical systems (email, EHR, financial apps): RTO 1–4 hours, RPO 15 minutes
Important systems (file shares, project management): RTO 4–12 hours, RPO 1 hour
Standard systems (development, archival): RTO 24–48 hours, RPO 24 hours
We match recovery solutions to these tiers — instant virtualization for critical systems, cloud failover for important systems, and standard restore for everything else — optimizing cost without sacrificing protection where it matters.
Integration with Your IT Environment
Our BCDR solutions integrate seamlessly with your existing infrastructure:
- Managed IT services — backup monitoring as part of daily operations
- Microsoft 365 — dedicated M365 backup with granular recovery
- Compliance management — DR documentation mapped to HIPAA, CMMC, PCI-DSS requirements
- OT/SCADA environments — specialized backup procedures for industrial control systems
Frequently Asked Questions
Isn’t Microsoft 365 backup unnecessary since Microsoft keeps our data?
No — Microsoft’s shared responsibility model explicitly states that your data is your responsibility. Microsoft protects against infrastructure failures, but not against accidental deletion, malicious insiders, ransomware, or retention policy gaps. Third-party backup is essential.
How much does a BCDR solution cost?
BCDR costs depend on data volume, RTO/RPO requirements, and infrastructure complexity. Most Dallas SMBs invest $500–$3,000/month for comprehensive protection — a fraction of what a single day of downtime costs. We provide a free assessment with transparent pricing.
Can you recover from a ransomware attack that encrypted our backups?
If your backups include immutable copies — yes. This is exactly why we implement immutable and air-gapped backups. If you’re currently using standard backups without immutability, contact us immediately — you’re one attack away from total data loss.
Do you provide emergency DR support if we’re not a current client?
Yes — we offer emergency incident response and disaster recovery services for Dallas businesses in crisis. Response times and outcomes are significantly better for managed clients with existing DR plans, but we won’t turn away a business in need.
