Our administrators wish to back up the SharePoint content database. Is there anything critical that needs to be backed up as well?
I am thinking to back up the SharePoint web application, and the 14 folder perhaps, but I do not know if for example Microsoft has recommendations for which specific configuration files should be backed up. Or if you should perhaps backup the SharePoint farm as a whole.
You would only need to backup your 14 folder if you made added files or changed files in the 14 folder manually (meaning not through a deployed package).
I would, however, make a backup of your web.config files if you have any custom connection strings, app settings, or service bindings.
The most important thing to back up are your databases. this is where everything of worth is stored.
Features, themes/skins, solutions, etc. are stored in the 14 folder, and should be available elsewhere. For example, if you have a custom solution from a 3rd party provider or a custom theme, these files should be backed up elsewhere, chances are on a development machine or install directory. It's not critical to backup these folders.
With that said, if it's possible, backup the entire Windows server. This will make restoring in the event of a catastrophe much easier. Worst case, as long as you have your databases, you can reinstall SharePoint and restore your databases.
HTH
