Today, we explore how MSPs can sell a much needed service that customers typically overlook: Data backup for Microsoft 365.
Microsoft 365 offers pretty much everything businesses need to stay productive, regardless of which devices or locations employees work from. But there’s one major caveat: no data backup.
Sure, Microsoft 365 has built in redundancy and we all know that Microsoft will make sure that even if a server goes down, end-users won’t be impacted – at least 99.999% of the time. But what happens if a file is deleted, changed or misplaced? Microsoft’s retention period often comes as a huge surprise to end users.
OneDrive and SharePoint data is only retained for 30 days while emails are only retained for 93 days. MSPs will usually hear one of two hesitations: “Microsoft already backs everything up” or “I already subscribe to an archiving service”. This is where MSPs must demonstrate their expertise and show the value of adding data backup to the platform. Microsoft definitely doesn’t back up everything and it’s necessary that MSPs let their customers know this. Also, customers that have archiving services often think they no longer need a backup. Unfortunately that is far from true and many customers find out the hard way. An archive and backup serve many different purposes. A backup contains all previously backed data and can quickly and easily be restored (if done properly). An archive may only contain a portion of the data required to meet the customer’s compliance levels.
Our biggest recommendation? It’s all about reviewing the importance of cloud backup as part of a multi-layered email security service offering. MSPs must explain to their clients that this is a critical aspect that’s missing, as well as talk about the risks. After all, email is still the main vector for cyber-attacks coming in.
Another important fact to discuss: the importance of ALL data. OneDrive and SharePoint hold a lot of valuable information for many businesses. If someone deletes a folder, the aftermath can be costly at best.
If you are offering Office 365, consider offering cloud backup as a standard part of your offering. You’ll not only be protecting your customer’s data, it will also set you apart from other MSPs that do not. You’ll be seen as the expert in this area because of your knowledge.
CPU offers cloud services for MSPs looking to assist their clients with Office 365 backup services. You can resell our backup services as a stand-alone service or bundled into your managed services plan at an added cost. How does it work? It’s simple… We provide the service at a discount, and you resell it as needed.
CPU has staff, engineers, and partners all over the world and are here to help you expand your MSP business. Contact us today to find out more about our cloud partner program.
