Many MSPs missing opportunity for backup and recovery in SMB market

A Canadian company is offering managed service providers a program for cloud data protection strategies and business models for servicing the often untapped small and medium-sized business (SMB) market.

In an informal survey among Intel AppUp Small Business Service resellers, Modular Data Protection Services Inc., a cloud services aggregator based in Mississauga, Ont., found that while 50 per cent of the managed service providers (MSPs) offer disaster recovery and business continuity services, only about 26 per cent of them also offer off-site backup and disaster recovery (BDR).

Of those surveyed, 30 per cent do not currently have a regular performance and planning review process for their customers.

Many managed service providers may be missing revenue-generating opportunities for offsite data backup and recovery services in the SMB market, the company says.

“Data protection is an easy one to have a conversation (about) because it’s the lifeblood of any small business,” said Eric Strong, the company’s president and CEO. “We believe that the IT service providers’ clients — the SMB client base — represents a huge pent-up demand for cloud services of some kind.”

Modular DPS was founded in the summer of 2011 and has employees in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. It targets small organizations of about five to 40 employees.

The company, which has a 100 per cent channel focus, recently launched a partner program for MSPs to take on the BDR opportunity within the SMB market.

Its Modular 360° Partner Program is an alliance among Modular DPS and its partners 6Fusion Inc., Intel Corp.’s Hybrid Cloud group and MSPexcellence, a business consulting firm for MSPs.

The program is built around cloud data protection software from Asigra Inc. and brings together hardware, software and business consulting expertise to help channel partners deliver cloud backup and recovery services. MSPs can choose a fully hosted option, where everything is managed by Modular DPS or a data vault deployment solution for partners to manage themselves.

Partners can gain access to the Intel Hybrid Cloud AppUp Small Business  catalog and can create custom client solutions from the catalog including server, business software and data protection components, in a single client premise device. Modular has set a goal with Intel to sign on 100 partners into the program by the end of the year.

Partners also receive access to the MSPexcellence Playbook and Program for Cloud Solution Providers, a framework to help MSPs create a three-month delivery roadmap.

The company also offers pre-sales support and architecture discussions, along with technical training for how to manage the data vault.

Modular’s approach entails helping IT service providers understand their current business strengths and builds them a strategic roadmap for introducing cloud services. It focuses more on the “how” of cloud backup, not just the elements of what a partner can provide.

In other words, the company is focused on helping MSPs create a successful business model around cloud backup. “We’re very unique in that fashion,” Strong said. “It’s very much (about) helping them understand the recurring revenue model and the equity in their business.”

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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Harmeet Singh
Harmeet Singh
Harmeet reports on channel partner programs, new technologies and products and other issues relevant to Canada's channel community. She also contributes as a video journalist, providing content for the site's original streaming video. Harmeet is a graduate of the Carleton University School of Journalism.

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