MSPs: 3 Ways to Expand Your Revenue Stream Right Now

By Ahsan Siddiqui, Director of Product Management, Arcserve

Those responsible for data protection in organizations of every size and type see the same blaring daily headlines you see about cyberattacks and ransomware. 

A quick Google News search using the term “cyberattack” today included attacks on government agencies, an IT firm, and a bank, among many others. As an MSP, tracking the latest threats and data protection practices is part of the job. For your clients, it’s another reminder that their business is at risk.

The recent release of Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) confirms what you already know: ransomware is still the top threat to organizations, at 24 percent. Meanwhile, the DBIR also found that 74 percent of all breaches include the human element caused by errors, privilege misuse, stolen credentials, and social engineering attacks.

Expanding Data Protection Revenues Is a Priority for MSPs

As an MSP, you already understand the critical role data protection plays in keeping your client’s data safe and secure. That explains why 88 percent of MSPs say that expanding their data protection revenues is a top priority this year, according to a recent Arcserve survey.

Making data protection a priority is the easy part. Putting a plan in place that delivers on that goal is a bit more complicated. So, how do you expand your data protection revenue streams? Here are three strategies to make it happen.

1. Offer the Protection that SaaS Providers Don’t

Organizations large and small have wholeheartedly embraced SaaS applications like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Salesforce. As a result, Arcserve’s channel partners have seen a surge in demand for their expertise in deploying and implementing those applications for customers. That spells an opportunity because you can also offer backup and recovery solutions for SaaS applications as part of your service.

SaaS data protection solutions are crucial because when an organization transitions to the cloud, the cloud provider does not provide data backup and recovery. It’s a shared responsibility between the customer and the provider, whether it be Microsoft, Google, or Salesforce, as we explain in this post. 

Although they may not openly state it, these SaaS providers’ terms and conditions contain legal language that clearly says they are not liable for data loss due to data corruption, security breach, or accidental deletion. The onus is on your customer to recover the lost data and repair the damage, not the cloud provider.

Think of it like the relationship between a driver and an automaker. The manufacturer is responsible for meeting quality and safety standards, but it’s up to the driver not to be reckless and crash the car. So when it comes to data in the cloud, your customer is responsible for protecting their data. The fine print in SaaS provider contracts protects providers from lawsuits; it does not offer protection for customers against data loss and its financial implications.

That opens the door for channel partners to provide that layer of protection and help your customers safeguard their data and mitigate risks in the cloud by offering data protection services that meet the unique needs of your clients. For example, you can provide backup and recovery services tailored to virtualized environments, SaaS applications, and remote work environments.

2. Explain the Risks of Inadequate Data Protection

Educating your customers about the importance of safeguarding their SaaS data—and the risks if they don’t—will get their attention. You should illustrate how data loss, accidental deletion, ransomware attacks, and other threats they may face in the SaaS environment can be incredibly costly. And you should highlight how these risks can have severe consequences for business continuity, compliance with data protection regulations, and overall peace of mind for the organization.

Once you outline the risks, you can explain why SaaS backup and protection are critical in mitigating them. You can demonstrate how backup and protection solutions deliver a necessary layer of security and assurance beyond what cloud service providers offer. And you can highlight how these solutions enable your customers to recover lost data, restore systems to previous states, and protect against ransomware attacks. That helps them minimize downtime and financial damage.

Most importantly, emphasize the value of SaaS data protection in business continuity. You can easily show how having a reliable backup and protection strategy ensures that your customers can quickly recover from data loss incidents, maintain operational continuity, and reduce the impact of any potential data breach or accidental data deletion.

Finally, you can point out the peace of mind that comes with robust data protection. Knowing that critical data is backed up and protected against potential threats gives your customers a sense of security and confidence. It allows them to focus on their core business operations without worrying about data loss and security breaches.

3. Differentiate With Value-Added Services

As an MSP, you can boost your revenue from SaaS backup and protection services by offering extra features that add value for your customers. For example, you should provide automated backups at regular intervals or on a scheduled basis, which reduces the risk of data loss due to human error. 

You should also offer the ability to recover data granularly, such as individual files, folders, or emails. This kind of granular recovery option enables customers to restore specific data items without restoring the entire backup, thus providing greater flexibility and efficiency in the data recovery process. A recent post about analyst DCIG’s “Safe Assumptions” about Microsoft 365 SaaS backup describes how Arcserve stacks up regarding features and benefits.

One of the primary challenges with SaaS data is privacy and security. With Arcserve, you can offer services that ensure customer data is backed up securely and stored in compliance with relevant regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA. To ensure data protection and compliance, you can provide features like data encryption, access controls, and regular security audits. 

These services are especially valuable for your customers with specific compliance requirements. That helps you differentiate your company from competitors and maximize your revenue.

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