By Zetta.net Guest Blog 2

In the old days, MSPs could get away with specialization. They could deliver one service well–such as storage, security, help desk or email. Provided the quality of service was high and their pricing competitive, they could thrive. These days, that may not be enough. Many MSPs have realized that the more width they can bring to their portfolio, the more attractive their offerings become.

One valuable service that is relatively easy to add to an existing suite of offerings is cloud backup. Many businesses are bogged down in backup complexity. Their internal IT resources are tied up in manual processes concerning backup scheduling, media failures, backup errors, extended backup windows and myriad troubleshooting actions. Despite their best efforts, they typically complain about poor backup performance or backups taking so long that they extend into the production day. If that happens, people can come to work and find their systems sluggish. IT may even have to pull the plug on that day’s backup before it completes.

Cloud backup, therefore, is not a difficult sell. It provides a level of simplicity, performance, architectural scalability and security that most enterprises can’t match. In the face of severe budget restrictions, these organizations are challenged with exploding storage demands while having to back up multiple locations, OSes and applications. They need help urgently. And MSPs can provide it.

Ask the Hard Questions

Selling the service isn’t that difficult, either. A few simple questions about the existing backup set up will often reveal situations similar to those outlined above. Walk potential clients through their current backup workflow, personnel demands and performance bottlenecks, and they will soon be demanding cloud backup.

But if that isn’t enough, start talking about costs. You may find some that do not have any issue with buying more storage arrays, backup software licenses and bandwidth. But most of those you deal with will be at their financial breaking point. They can’t afford to add more hardware, software or networking infrastructure solely for backup. They idea of a low monthly fee, therefore, is very appealing. 

If they still aren’t convinced, the way to clinch it is to ask about restores. If the head of marketing calls up in a blind panic as she has lost a key document for a new campaign, how long does it take IT to find the file, and get it back into her files? For some, it can be days–and those will be long, uncomfortable days. Even if it is only a couple of hours, that’s still too long. Ask any IT manager whether he or she would like to give employees rights to restore their own files, and they will all say yes.

For the MSP, then, cloud backup provides an easy add-on that is very much in demand among new and existing customers. It takes no time at all to set up, provides good margins and, if the right partner is chosen, takes up very little in terms of internal time and resources.

Stay tuned for next month’s blog, which provides pointers on what MSPs should look for in a cloud backup partner.

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.