MSPmentor

Welcome to Part III of the series, The ABC’s of Managed Services, focused on B for Backup, including cloud backup and online backup services. As some of you undoubtedly know, I work for Intronis.  This blog, however, is more about building a backup and disaster recovery practice, and less about the specific tools you use to get there.

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VaultLogix, the  online backup and recovery specialist, has updated the VaultLogix Information Portal (VIP) to help MSPs and VARs more easily manage client accounts. The VIP portal lets partners manage their online backup businesses while automating many tasks.

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Loss of data ranks as a “worst nightmare” for businesses of any size, but for players in the SMB space data loss can be especially catastrophic. SMBs often operate on the narrowest of margins and with the tightest of deadlines, meaning that even as little as a few hours spent without access to critical data, or trying to retrieve it, can have a serious negative impact on the bottom line.

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A new study from AMI Partners suggests U.S. small and midsize businesses will increase their spending on backup and storage in the cloud by 11 percent yearly through 2015, reaching $270 million. Based purely on some educated guesses, MSPmentor thinks the forecast is a bit too conservative.

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Backupify, a cloud data backup company, is launching a reseller program that includes managed services providers. The Cambridge, Mass.-based firm offers an archiving, search and restore service for Google Apps and social media accounts. Backupify targets both consumers and businesses and will enlist service providers to help with the latter market. MSPs already represent a Google Apps channel into small businesses. Backupify wants to equip MSPs with another service they can offer those customers.

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Last month we talked about what I consider the three foundational elements of a successful MSP business. A is for Availability, and last month I composed a list of questions that MSPs and aspiring MSPs might want to consider as they build and grow their MSP practice. So this month, let’s dig deeper into the tactics associated with trying to achieve 100% uptime at your customer’s site with my special guest, MJ Shoer, founder and President of Jenaly Technology Group.

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Novosoft LLC has launched a new partner program for resellers of Handy Backup, an automated backup application for restoring critical data. The program comes less than a month after Novosoft released the newest version of Handy Backup, featuring a smart interface, cloud storage options and new plug-ins.

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Every successful MSP business should offer three critical deliverables that apply to almost any IT VAR / Reseller business, but each can be crafted and honed to perfection as part of a managed services practice. Over the next several months I plan to leverage my ongoing guest blog to explore each of those items in more depth and discuss ways to create opportunities from each deliverable. In this post, I’d like to introduce these concepts and get the discussion started. What are the ABCs of MSP success? They are…

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There is some good news for any MSPs out there wondering if the SMB market offers growth opportunity. According to a recent survey of more than 250 international small business and IT executives from data storage technology provider Drobo, the answer is a resounding yes, especially where on-premises storage is concerned.

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As some MSPmentor readers know, my hard drive failed on May 3. A few readers have asked me for an update. Specifically, was my cloud-based backup service able to restore my files? Unfortunately, it’s not a simple Yes or No answer. Here’s why… plus an important cloud sales lesson for managed services providers. In short, there’s a simple way to sell SMB online backup and disaster recovery (BDR) services vs. consumer cloud backup services.

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As an Intronis employee, I interact with plenty of managed service providers who evaluate and offer numerous technology solutions to their clients. During our discussions, I’ll usually let the business owner know that Intronis only partners with managed service providers, IT resellers, and other companies that provide IT solutions to SMB’s. While some non-channel focused solutions may be just as efficient, it seems to me that the channel-focused solutions are more beneficial.

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New, confirmed details about the Synnex managed services channel strategy have finally emerged. The distributor is working closely with MSPs and VARs to pursue one million freemium managed nodes and a mid-market opportunity of at least $100 million. The catch: MSPs need to leverage the freemium software nodes by end of 2011. Confirmed partners in the Synnex managed services effort include Axcient, Intronis, Level Platforms, Symantec and Reflexion. Here’s the scoop.

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No matter how good your intentions for preparing for a crisis, no one is really ever quite prepared for the worst. This probably has something to do with human nature and an innate inability to contemplate a truly worst-case scenario. Yet, prepare we must because the consequences can be dire. I’m sure most, if not all, of you are familiar with the statistics on companies that suffer major data losses: Most of them go out of business. I bet many of you have used such statistics to make a case for business continuity strategies.

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As a member of the Intronis technical support team, I have the opportunity on a daily basis to work with MSPs and help them build successful BDR (backup and disaster recovery) solutions for their customers.  Regardless of your level of experience selling and marketing BDR solutions, it is extremely important to do your research ahead of time, compare providers, and make a decision based on how well their product is going to help you deliver value to your customer.

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Two recent surveys on data backup depict businesses as questioning the complexity, price, and effectiveness of solutions. The results suggest plenty of  room for improvement in this market segment and an opportunity for MSPs who can provide a confidence-building service that doesn’t break the bank.

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In early October of 2010, Storage Guardian — an online data backup service provider — was selling its on-site data backup service for 25 cents. Maybe the price sounded a little crazy at the time, but offering to store a portion of a company’s backup files on-site made serious sense. And sure enough. over the last four months, Storage Guardian has sold over one million gigabytes of local backup storage to its roughly 1,800 enterprise customers, the company says.

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One of the biggest news stories in 2010 provides a perfect example of how we can learn from past indiscretions (even if they weren’t ours); the posting of classified government documents and other stolen information on the WikiLeaks website. While this incident may not appear to have a direct impact on the IT channel, misinformation around the story creates a concern for the cloud—particularly around its security and the Federal government’s adoption of the technology.

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Axcient, which specializes in data backup and business continuity solutions for MSPs, saw its recurring revenues grow about 800 percent in December 2010 vs. 2009, according to CEO Justin Moore (pictured). So where is Axcient heading next with its managed services partner base? Here are a few perspectives.

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No doubt, the disaster recovery market is filled with vendors trying to engage VARs and managed services providers. So how does a company like StorageCraft Technology Corp. hope to stand out from the crowd? We went searching for answers and here’s what we learned.

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VeePee, an MSP in Paris, is taking an alternative route into the managed storage market. Indeed, the managed services provider has embraced Zmanda, the open source backup and restore platform. Not by coincidence, Zmanda is working to further expand its partner channel, which includes VARs and MSPs. Here’s the update.

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Most businesses don’t specifically seek out an online backup solution. I’m sure you’re wondering why I would state that outright as an employee of a company that partners with MSPs to offer this type of solution to their clients. The truth is that the solution providers that are most successful at selling online backup services do so with a great emphasis on their client needs, starting with the challenges they face related to their industry and markets. Federal, state and local regulations continue to be a concern for businesses of all size, but it affects the SMB segment hardest since they have fewer resources available to monitor and manage them. That’s an area where MSPs can flourish with the right knowledge and approach.

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New Intronis CEO Kent Plunkett (pictured) says the online backup company grew about 50 percent over the past year, thanks to deep channel relationships with managed services providers (MSPs). Plunkett’s background includes building and growing Salary.com, which he eventually took public. So is Plunkett planning an IPO at Intronis? Not so fast. In this MSPmentor FastChat video, Plunkett describes a long-term view for Intronis and its managed services partners. Take a look.

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A few hundred managed services providers (MSPs) are set to attend the N-able Partner Summit later this week (Oct. 20-22, Scottsdale, Ariz.). So, what managed services trends can we expect at the conference, and what messages will N-able CEO Gavin Garbutt deliver to the crowd? Here are five clues and predictions from MSPmentor.

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