Is Offering Cloud Backup All About the Lowest Price? Think Again.

At some point in the evolution of IT managed services, backup became synonymous with storage in many people’s minds—just a place to stash away a digital copy of data should something go wrong. Backup was regarded as little more than a virtual storage locker where companies could unload files.

Of course, if that's all you’re doing with backup data, then it doesn’t really matter what kind of virtual storage locker you use. All that matters is that data is backed up somewhere, and it should be done as inexpensively and efficiently as possible.

Finding value in backup

But if you’re an MSP that’s offering cloud backup, this commoditized approach is short sighted. Most significantly, you’re pricing all customer data as having equally low value, when from the customer’s perspective, that’s clearly not the case.

In fact, the data you help manage for companies has probably more value to them than ever before. Modern organizations simply cannot function without their IT systems and business data. Backup isn’t just storage; it’s an essential insurance policy.

Unlocking opportunity

Cloud backup has evolved, and for managed service providers, there is more opportunity than ever to offer cloud backup as a value-add Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) to clients.

Instead of treating cloud backup as an afterthought in your portfolio, DRaaS can:

  • Drive monthly recurring revenue
  • Expand your total addressable market
  • Grow wallet share with existing customers
  • Increase market share

Planning for Success

But delivering a value-add service to clients requires MSPs to think in a different way than traditional licensing of hardware or software. There’s more to it than just selecting the right technology platform.

To succeed in their business objectives, Service Providers need to carefully consider their business model for cloud backup (e.g. leading complementary, trailing complementary or backup/storage centric), as well as the Service Level Agreement they put in place and the Service Description itself. And of course, pricing and margins also play an important role in building a successful, thriving DRaaS offering.

With the right planning in place, you can take cloud backup services beyond glorified storage.

In a new short guide, we reveal some of the best practices that successful partners have used to build up their business. This guide discusses crucial aspects of planning a successful DRaaS offering and will help you identify gaps in your offering.

Download “Ready for Takeoff: How to Design a Cloud Backup Service that Soars.”