Mastering Backup Solutions: A Complete Guide for MSPs and IT Resellers

In today’s digital landscape, businesses face numerous cybersecurity threats that can lead to data loss, system downtime and reputational harm. Cybersecurity is a growing problem, with cybercrime costing the UK billions every year.

The rapid adoption of SaaS platforms has transformed the way organisations operate, bringing innovative collaboration tools, scalability and seamless remote working. However, this increased reliance on the cloud has also put business data at risk, leaving it vulnerable and appealing to hackers. Robust backup protection is therefore essential to protect valuable business-critical information.

As an MSP or reseller, understanding the role of backup protection within the broader cybersecurity context helps your customers maintain operations and secure their businesses against ever-evolving threats. It also makes great business sense – by offering backup services, you can not only expand your solutions stack but also boost your monthly recurring revenue.

In the following guide, we’ll discuss the significance of backup protection as a key component of a well-rounded cybersecurity strategy. We’ll cover different types of backup solutions, including endpoint backup, SaaS application backup and disaster recovery.

We’ll also provide guidance on what to consider when selecting the right backup solutions for your customers and how partnering with intY can support your efforts in delivering the most effective backup and disaster recovery services.

Why is backup protection necessary?

Backup protection is an essential component of any comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. It helps safeguard businesses against data loss, reduced productivity and unforeseen expenses resulting from human errors, hardware failure, cyber attacks, power failure and natural disasters.

Events that require backup protection include:

• Accidental deletion: Users may mistakenly delete important files or data. Backup protection helps in quickly recovering and restoring this lost data, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations.
• Retention policy gaps: Default retention policies of SaaS platforms may only store deleted data for a limited period, which might not be sufficient for certain businesses or industries. Backup protection allows organisations to set custom retention periods, ensuring essential data is available when needed.
• Internal security threats: Disgruntled employees, rogue administrators, or hackers with internal access can deliberately delete or tamper with crucial data. Backup protection serves as a safety net, enabling businesses to restore compromised data and maintain business continuity.
• External security threats: Cyberattacks, such as ransomware, can target desktops and other devices, leading to encrypted or inaccessible data. SaaS backup protection helps organisations recover their data without having to pay ransoms or succumb to the attacker’s demands.
• Legal and compliance requirements: In many industries, you’ll need to restore specific data elements quickly to comply with regulations or legal requests. Granular restoration options provided by backup protection solutions enable businesses to recover individual files, folders or data elements, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory obligations while minimising the impact on other data or systems.

What are the main types of backup protection?

It’s important to understand the various types of backup protection in order to select the most suitable solution for your customer needs. Here are the main types of backup protection you need to be aware of:

1. Endpoint Backup

Endpoint backup involves the process of regularly copying and storing data from devices such as laptops, desktops, and servers within an office or business premises. This type of backup ensures that data can be quickly restored in case of hardware failure, accidental deletion, or other types of data loss events.

2. SaaS Application Backup

Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, such as Office 365, OneDrive, Teams, and email services, have become increasingly popular among businesses of all sizes. SaaS application backup involves creating copies of data stored within these cloud-based applications and storing them securely in a separate location. This type of backup helps protect against accidental deletion, internal and external security threats, retention policy gaps, and legal and compliance requirements.

3. Disaster Recovery (DR)

Disaster recovery is the process of regaining access to data, applications, and infrastructure after a disaster occurs, such as a server failure, power outage, or natural disaster. DR solutions ensure that business operations can continue while data is being recovered from the affected systems. DR can be an add-on to backup solutions or included as part of the solution package.

How to select a backup solution

When evaluating backup solutions, you need to ensure they meet the needs of your customers and also align with your business objectives. A comprehensive backup solution should offer versatility, ease of use, cybersecurity features and flexible pricing plans. Key points to consider include:

1. Does the backup solution offer DR or SaaS backup options?

It’s important to check whether the backup solution provides Disaster Recovery (DR) or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) backup options. DR backups protect your customers’ entire IT infrastructure, while SaaS backups protect data specifically within cloud applications. Choosing a solution that offers both options can help you cater to diverse customer requirements and ensure comprehensive data protection.

2. Can the solution be monitored from a single console, meeting your business and customers’ needs?

A backup solution that can be monitored and managed from a single console simplifies your ability to oversee multiple customers and backup tasks. This centralised management saves time and effort, enhances efficiency and reduces the likelihood of you overlooking critical issues.

3. Does the backup solution include cybersecurity features, such as ransomware protection?

Backup solutions with integrated cybersecurity features provide an added layer of protection against threats like ransomware. By choosing a solution that includes these features, you can ensure that your customers’ data is not only backed up but also protected from potential cyberattacks, offering them greater peace of mind.

4.Does the vendor offer flexible pricing plans that cater to your and your customers’ requirements?

Flexible pricing plans allow you to select the best-fit option for your business model and customer needs. This flexibility enables you to adapt to different customer requirements and budget constraints, ensuring you can provide the most appropriate backup solution while maintaining profitability for your business.

How intY helps MSPs with backup protection

As a leading provider of managed IT services, we offer a wide range of resources and expertise to support you in understanding, selecting and implementing the most effective backup protection for your business and customers, including:

• In-house industry experts to provide guidance and support
• Assistance with security reviews and assessments
• A multi-vendor approach to finding the best solution for your business and customers
• Established relationships with vendors to facilitate migration and staff upskilling

Secure your customers’ futures with robust backup protection

Backup protection is a critical aspect of any robust cybersecurity strategy. As an MSP or reseller, it’s essential to understand the different types of backup protection, their importance and the factors to consider when choosing the right solution for your customers, especially in light of the growing cybersecurity threat levels.

By partnering with intY, you can leverage our in-house expertise, multi-vendor approach and strong vendor relationships to provide the best backup solutions for your customers, ensuring their data and operations remain secure and resilient in the face of various threats.

Ready to boost your customers’ backup protection?

Contact intY’s team of experts today to discuss how we can support you in delivering the best backup and disaster recovery solutions tailored to your customers needs.