3 Questions to Ask Your Cloud Data Protection Vendor

For managed service providers (MSPs) looking to take advantage of new cloud revenue streams, there may be no bigger opportunity than mission-critical data protection services for the SMB market. The time is now!

According to the SMB Group, the SMB market consisted of nearly 68 million firms worldwide in 2014 with almost 1 billion employees, representing over 50 percent of IT spending of all global businesses. A recent SpiceWorks survey found that cloud backup is the top cloud service IT pros plan to start using, with 49 percent planning to use Managed Cloud Backup.

There is no doubt that cloud data protection services present a huge business opportunity for MSPs. But, what’s the right strategy?

When it comes to data protection, the biggest value an MSP can provide to its customers is ensuring their mission-critical data and systems are backed up and secure–combined with the ability to get the business back up and running as quickly as needed in the event of a disaster. Simply offering cloud storage is not enough. MSPs need scalable managed cloud solutions that span all of the critical data areas of data protection, including backup, disaster recovery, file sync and share.

As you set out to grow your cloud business with data protection solutions, choosing the right vendor partner can be the difference between success and failure. So, what should MSPs look for when in a partner?

Below are three questions every MSP should ask:

1. Is it easy? For both service providers and end user customers, cloud solutions for data protection need to be easy–both easy to provision and manage for MSPs to maximize their margins, and easy to use for end customers. Features like multitenancy and integrated remote monitoring and management are requirements for MSPs to drive adoption and grow the business at scale. Features like role-based dashboards also make it easy for end customers to use.

2. Is it a complete solution? Effective data protection is all about a company’s ability to quickly recover by getting the business back up and running across systems, servers, PCs, Macs and virtual machines, as well as applications. Full image to file level recovery is possible today, but not all data protection solution providers can make this claim. Additionally, complete coverage requires keeping multiple copies of customer data in separate locations with the ability to restore data to different locations and even devices. End users can even have the option to leverage storage in the service provider’s data center. In short, the cloud has made access to best-in-class, complete data protection more accessible than ever–for both service provider and end customers.

3. Is the vendor a trusted and proven partner? The solution provider you choose for data protection services should have proven technologies and experience. When it comes to data protection, MSPs and end customers have too much to risk with untested solutions or insufficient coverage. At the same time, many companies today, including SMBs, do not have the in-house IT expertise to effectively manage areas like backup and disaster recovery. Make sure your vendor knows the data protection space and how to stay ahead in this dynamic market with constantly evolving customer needs.