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Risks for businesses who have no backup or disaster recovery (BDR) mechanisms in place are real and well documented. Ninety per cent of businesses who lose customer data cease trading two years later, whilst the survival rate for businesses without BDR in place is less than ten per cent. In a final statistical blow, fifty per cent of businesses who suffer loss of data to not recoup the money spent on trying to recover it.
As shocking as these figures seem, managed service providers (MSPs) looking to sell BDR services should not use fear and scaremongering to make the case for complete security. There is much more value to BDR than meets the eye – and it is the job of the MSP to make the customer aware of the benefits in order to allow them to make the case to the wider business. Here are just some of the advantages to implementing BDR.
1. Improve the day-to-day running of the business
Making a plan for BDR requires complete organisation of the customer’s business. In order to backup data, they must begin by looking at their software and processes so that they can recover data as quickly as possible should disaster strike. A good MSP should work with their customer to answer questions such as: How long can the business go without critical and noncritical data and services? Which services and data must go back online first? What is the cost of downtime to the organisation? The answers to these questions will form the basis of a robust plan for BDR implementation, with maximised efficiency and clarity.
2. Increase the company’s overall revenue
When a business suffers a disaster of any scale, it goes without saying that services are disrupted and resources begin to dwindle. This impacts directly on its viability. Ensuring around-the-clock uptime for customers is vitally important to keeping them profitable.
3. Ensure compliance with industry requirements
Some customers may have a legal responsibility to ensure backup and disaster recovery are implemented, dependent on their sector. Even if a customer is not a public company, industries such as healthcare and finance must meet certain compliance standards. MSPs must spend time getting to grips with any regulatory requirements placed on a customer’s business, so that their BDR plan keeps them firmly on the right side of the law.
4. Protection from natural disaster
Natural disasters, ranging from flooding and storms to fire damage must also be on an MSP’s radar. Although it might seem like a fairly remote threat to data, a fully functioning BDR plan gives the client complete reassurance that all data can be restored, whether it be in a deleted folder or a flooded server room. This will make their IT management strategy more efficient and easier to manage.
5. Spot short-term inefficiencies and streamline the business
Having and implementing a solid BDR initiative can help clients make sure their IT spend is well targeted. Businesses want to see IT pros contributing to the growth of the company, not picking up the pieces from loss of data. Technology available today allows the MSP to implement disaster recovery solutions, which are less costly per user supported – and more effective — than continuing to use outdated systems. Research shows these implementations can reduce costs by over thirty-five per cent, compared with businesses, which use older technologies. In today’s unpredictable economic climate, reducing costs is of paramount importance, and a well-designed BDR plan can help MSPs achieve efficiencies for their clients.
6. Enjoy long-term efficiency
Using the most up-to-date technologies increases efficiencies for your customer not just during a disaster, but during the daily grind of maintaining their applications and data, too. These technologies can also introduce more automation into the backup process, freeing up valuable time for IT pros, as well as enabling them to look after more applications. This takes the pain out of the backup process and makes uptime more efficient. Consequentially, this will allow the business to enjoy long term growth by spending less time managing data.
This advice clearly demonstrates the value backup and disaster recovery brings to business. Fundamentally, the MSP can give their customer confidence and peace of mind in the security of their data. It can also increase profitability and the efficiency of the organisation. Making the business case when promoting services, instead of pushing the fear factor is the most effective way to inform customers.
