Is your data backed up?

It may seem like a ridiculous idea. Of course all of your data has a backup, right? Think again. This tale of IT woe shows that it can happen at any small business.

A question often asked is, “how could anyone be so stupid as to not back up data?” Reflecting on my own experience, I see how it could happen. Sometimes a series of events can interfere with important and seemingly basic IT tasks, such as backups.

Maybe that’s the first question for solution providers to ask a small business owner. And if they do have a backup in place, will it work when they need it? Just having a backup doesn’t mean that it will be effective when called upon.  Here are some more questions to ask SMBs about their backup system:

• What would it cost you if a server failed – not just in terms of hardware and software, but in terms of productivity?
• What is your Recovery Time Objective (RTO)? Can you afford lengthy downtime while you spend days trying to restore your server?
• How reliable is your current backup/disaster recovery solution? Have you ever tried to restore a server, desktop and laptop?
• How long did it take to restore? Do you know how quickly you could be up and running again if a server, desktop or laptop no longer worked? Would it take you days or even weeks to have access to your data?
• Would you have access to the data even if the server could not be salvaged? Would you be able to restore your systems and data to new hardware or virtual hardware?

The solution, of course, is something you can offer them, as potential customers. By using the StorageCraft Managed Service Provider (MSP) licensing model you can provide ShadowProtect backup and disaster recovery software on a monthly subscription basis to your customers. You can do this without any up-front costs because you will only be charged – each month – for the licensing you are currently using, for the licenses you’ve already sold. If a customer orders 10 server licenses and then only uses eight, you will only be charged for the eight they use, and only during the months they use them.

We have tons of information about selling backup and disaster recovery as a service to your customers. Check here first to learn more about the StorageCraft MSP Partner program.