By Zetta Guest Blog

California is by far the most populous state in the United States, but it wasn’t always that way. Prior to the Gold Rush of 1849, it was estimated that less than 1,000 U.S. citizens inhabited the state (in addition to Native Americans and Spanish settlers). That figure jumped to 100,000 by the end of 1849 once word got out about the presence of gold in the Sacramento Valley.

A Rush to the Cloud

A similar thing might well be happening with managed service providers (MSPs) and cloud-based backup. Not so long ago, relatively few MSPs considered adding cloud backup to their service portfolio. But it looks like a cloud “gold rush” could be happening at any moment. If MSPs needed any convincing that cloud-based backup is the way of the future, they need look no further than the brand-new State of Backup survey. Zetta.net collected data from 425 IT professionals in organizations of all sizes.

While almost all respondents are currently performing some form of backup as part of a disaster recovery (DR) strategy, one-third of them are actively planning to add another form of backup to supplement their existing approach. And which kind of DR do they plan to add? Fifty-two percent said they intend to add cloud-based backup in the near future. This represents a major opportunity for MSPs to add backup to their service offerings.

Of course, many MSPs may not have assembled the platform required to offer enterprise-class cloud-based backup to customers. Yes, you could invest months in erecting your own infrastructure, then another month or two testing it and ironing out the kinks. But the market opportunity is there right now with Zetta.net’s white-label cloud backup and DR solution. Wait too long to seize the opportunity and others may well gobble up all the business.

Assured Demand at Your Fingertips 

Back in the early days of the Gold Rush, all you needed were a few supplies from the local store and you were in business. But to succeed in the mountains of California, you needed a good dose of luck to dig or pan for gold in the right spot. MSPs have it much easier. All it takes is teaming up with a reputable cloud backup provider, and you can immediately begin marketing this service as your own. Instead of guessing where the gold may lie, you have assured demand at your fingertips. According to the Zetta.net survey, about one-third of your existing customers are ready to buy. So start digging. And prepare to strike gold.

Art Ledbetter is director of channels at Zetta. Guest blogs such as this one are published monthly, and are part of MSPmentor’s annual platinum sponsorship.