Seagate subsidiary i365 has launched the EVault Cloud-Connected Service Provider Program (CCSP), designed to add theIT65channel back into the cloud storage equation for partners. Here’s a recap of what we know — and what to expect from the EVault CCSP going forward.

MSPmentor first heard i365’s plans in mid-2010. At the time the so-called “Project Cloudburst” was an ambitious initiative to help service providers store customer data in their own local data center as well as in the cloud, using the EVault product.

Now that theory has met reality in the form of the new EVault CCSP. i365 says pilot partners in North America and Europe were able to get up and running with cloud storage and generating revenue within two to four weeks. It uses a “pay-as-you-grow” billing model that scales as the provider’s customer base does, and training and enablement to teach best practices for deploying the multi-tenanted EVault appliance.

The overall goal, says i365, is to help give MSPs, value-added resellers, and other channel pros the i365-backed tools, training, and certifications to leverage existing customer relationships and get into cloud services – a needed move, lest their businesses suffer.

Sign up for MSPmentor’s Weekly Enewsletter, Webcasts and Resource Center. Follow us via RSS, Facebook, Identi.ca and Twitter. Check out more MSP voices at www.MSPtweet.com. Read our editorial disclosure here.