I’ll be the first to point out that there are numerous backup/disaster recovery/business continuity vendors in the channel right now, and choosing a solution that can satisfy all of your customers’ needs is a difficult task. When the abundance of choice is coupled with dissatisfaction from previous vendors, this can lead many MSPs into thinking it will be easier and more cost effective to build their own backup solution.
There are many things to consider if you are serious about putting together your own business continuity solution. Below is a graphic outlining the different building blocks that makeup a complete business continuity solution. Successful business continuity vendors are able to seamless integrate diverse technologies to create a single integrated solution. Failing to build a reliable solution can rapidly create a management and/or legal nightmare.
MSPs are certainly capable of building their own solutions, but do not always realize the cost of assembling, managing and maintaining these custom solutions. The total cost of ownership (TCO) argument is one you definitely need to pay attention to. Not only will building your own solution be a huge time investment, but will also require constant development to keep up with advances in technology. Don’t underestimate the amount of time you will spend creating and managing custom solutions.
You also need to consider that 3rd party vendors operate on a scale advantage when it comes to storing data. For example, adding the 6,000,001st GB of data to Datto’s cloud is far more cost effective than an MSP adding their 5th GB. At nine cents per gig, Datto has one of the lowest cost per gig off-site storage rates in the industry.
Liability is another concern to factor into the equation. When you build your own cloud, you assume 100% responsibility for the data. Building your own cloud is difficult and requires a lot of expertise. Also, many backup vendors are aware of HIPPA, SOX, PCI, etc., requirements, and tailor their solutions to ensure compliance. When you choose to build a solution on your own you run the risk of running into the vendor blame game, going it your own means that you are taking on 100% of the responsibility.
At the end of the day, building, managing and maintaining business continuity solutions are not what MSPs specialize in. A MSPs core business is to provide their clients with the best technology and the highest level of service, all for an affordable rate. Every hour that’s put into a project of this scale is an hour that is not being dedicated to servicing existing clients or searching for new ones.
Business continuity vendors, like Datto, have already done much of the work when it comes to designing a complete and robust solution. MSPs can leverage Datto’s advanced technology and industry expertise to provide their clients with the best solution possible at an affordable price point.
So before you make the leap into creating your own backup solution, assess each of the building blocks of business continuity and make sure you have a solid plan of action. If the endeavor becomes too costly or time consuming, have no fear, Datto is here.
Shannon Kohn is marketing and channel relations director at Datto Inc., a storage specialist that works closely with MSPs. Monthly guest blogs such as this one are part of MSPmentor’s annual platinum sponsorship. Read all of Datto’s guest blogs here.
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Take a look at our 
There is a false dichotomy presented in this blog post:
either “build your own” or “buy it from the vendor”
With eFolder, partners can do both. Read on.
Shannon is right in one regard: BDR vendors, like Datto and eFolder, are able to get much better scale economies than partners, especially in the wholesale cost of cloud storage. Scale leads to better pricing and lower TCOs for partners on a wholesale basis.
However, each BDR vendor is approaching the market differently. eFolder supplies partners with an open architecture and multiple deployment choices. For most partners, eFolder supplies the whole BDR bundle: software, hardware, and services. eFolder partners can also build their own BDR appliance – using name brand hardware from HP or Dell – while leveraging eFolder software and cloud services. Alternatively, partners can skip the on-site appliance all together for very small, single server clients. For eFolder partners, the choice is theirs.
Buy, build, or a little bit of both is the answer with eFolder.
Ted Hulsy
VP of Marketing, eFolder
@TedseFolder
We have used products from both efolder and Datto and both are good and certainly address a need in the market. Just to share my own experience – we decided to align ourselves with a single backup software vendor and use our own hardware and while it’s not easy – it is working well for us and lets us have the economies of scale in our favor. So as we add more clients the cost per client goes down.
Nice article, however when it comes to addressing the ease or possibility of getting a copy of data for recovery purposes then you had better be prepared to wait a few weeks when working with Datto.They are the classic story of a start up growing way too fast and not having the resources to deliver.
It isn’t sensible for an MSP to pay a vendor when the MSP ends up doing all the work and carrying the liability.
Just tried efolder and it sucks. Any other options?