Measures Of Success In Backup & Recovery

Remote backup is one of the most popular items in a foundational service for many managed services providers (MSPs). The abilities to build comprehensive backup systems and ensure data is located across distributed physical locations are crucial challenges to many small and medium-sized business customers served by MSPs.

The service is becoming easier for MSPs to deliver, which means they have the option of working with vendors whose business models focus on hosted, online and cloud-based backup services aimed at SMB users and delivered via MSP channels.

While backup as a managed service is not commoditized, it has reached the point in the market at which simply offering the service is no longer a sufficient differentiator for most MSPs. Business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) is expected by clients and integral to the value MSPs provide in their overall practices.

How do MSPs demonstrate differentiated value in a service now seen as a market standard? The best method is to employ key metrics that monitor customer expectations and the recoverability of backed-up data. These metrics not only serve as vital underpinnings of a truly customized andhighly valuable offering, they help MSPs explain and differentiate the value provided to their clientele more clearly than discussions of backup functionality and capacity.

Of BCDR performance and capability measures, the two that stand out for solution providers are recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO). MSPs must understand these two key metrics to track and include them in their service-level agreements and put their unique stamp on this critical service.

In this tech guide, we will define the two backup measures, how they can be applied in a real-world context and how solution providers can use them as differentiators in their managed services practices.

Want to learn more? Download the complete tech guide now.