SMB Cloud Backup Demand: An Untapped Revenue Stream for MSPs

Cloud backup

SMB Market Is Hot

73% of IT companies surveyed say they target SMBs with 1 to 250 employees for their BCDR offerings, while 41% focus on SMBs with 25 to 250 employees.

Resellers’ Best Seller: Backup and Recovery

56% of resellers said cloud backup and recovery is their company’s best-selling offering, followed by collaboration and file sharing.

Cloud Services Double Growth Rates

36% of solution providers with BCDR offerings as a top seller expect to grow 21% or more next year; 20% of them forecast growth of 31% or more, compared with the channel’s average overall growth rate of 17%.

What Drives BCDR Adoption?

34% of solution providers said SMB buyers adopt cloud-based BCDR to improve data protection and business continuity.

Price Is Still a Factor

27% of survey respondents said lowering IT costs is the biggest reason for purchasing cloud BCDR services.

What SMBs Store in the Cloud?

30% of all data stored in the cloud is for backup and recovery, followed by user files (28%) and line-of-business applications (19%).

How MSPs Engage Customers

Security breaches, loss of data, downtime or concerns about unprotected data drive discussions with clients about cloud backup services, according to nearly 45% of IT service providers who sell to SMBs.

SMB Concerns: Cost and Security

29% of respondents said the biggest obstacles MSPs face in cloud backup are recurring costs and total cost of ownership; 25% cited security and data integrity concerns.

Overcoming Obstacles With Hybrid Solutions

25% of solution providers use hybrid cloud BCDR offerings as a top method to overcome their customers’ resistance to cloud BCDR. Another 25% use security and reliability demos to counteract their reluctance.

Private Cloud or Hybrid Systems Power BCDR

62% of MSPs say they use private cloud or hybrid systems to support their BDCR offerings, compared with 16% with public-infrastructure-based solutions only.