Despite a growing number of businesses taking advantage of cloud backup solutions, many service providers are asking themselves if it’s worth it to sell cloud backup. To answer this question, it’s important to understand the value of backup solutions to today’s cloud-driven businesses, why these businesses back up their data, and how service providers can exploit this opportunity by offering their own cloud backup service packages.

Cost Challenges

When it comes to data protection, there are a number of challenges that drive customers to seek cloud backup and recovery solutions from managed service providers (MSPs). One of these challenges involves cost. These days, businesses are finding it easier to sign off on cloud backup as an operating expense versus a capital expense such as in-house data protection, largely due to its lower cost and greater flexibility.

Infrastructure Challenges

Many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have found themselves unable to depend on in-house expertise due to mounting cost and complexity concerns. As a result, SMBs are relying increasingly on service providers to fulfill many IT responsibilities. This problem has its origins in a number of salient pain points:

• As businesses rely more on digital processes, the volume of data processed and stored also grows.
• This data is also being stored in a variety of locations and the number of those locations increases daily.
• More and more employees are relying on devices, creating mounting concerns about the data left on said devices.
• The issue of user access rights to backup data becomes more pressing as data volumes continue to grow.

These pain points can prove especially damaging if data is ever lost or stolen. The time, labor, and cost of retrieving that data along with rebuilding lost or damaged IT infrastructure could prove disastrous for any business.

Identifying the Trends

Recent improvements in cloud technology and connectivity have made cloud-based data management a better route for many SMBs. These improvements have helped businesses reduce expenses, conserve resources, and alleviate concerns about data speeds and data loss during critical backups.

The growing popularity of the cloud backup solution is confirmed by a recent Spiceworks survey. According to their 2016 State of IT Report, 41% of IT professionals surveyed reported they were using cloud services for backup and recovery. For businesses with fewer than 19 employees, that figure rose to 60%.

Embracing the Opportunities

More and more businesses are coming to terms with the need for cloud-based backup and recovery. In addition to significant cost savings, reliability is an incentive for companies embracing cloud backup. According to a recent Acronis survey conducted by Redmond Magazine, 75% of businesses experienced tape failure during the previous year.

There’s a golden opportunity for MSPs to tap into the market for cloud backup services. By exploiting the growing demand for cloud-based backup and data protection, service providers can build new revenue streams and position themselves as purveyors of complete cloud data solutions. Contact eXemplify today to learn how you can easily add cloud-based backup services to your MSP portfolio of offerings to your clients.