The list of areas where the channel should be able to help customers and generate revenue continues to grow, with Kaseya adding backup and recovery to the mix.
The managed service provider (MSP) specialist has shared survey findings in its State of backup and recovery report 2025: Navigating the future of data protection, which makes it clear that many users require support from the channel.
Although 40% of customers said they felt confident in their ability to back up and restore, a third admitted they were struggling.
“In today’s cyber landscape, it’s hard to be confident about any systems you’re using,” said Frank DeBenedetto, GTM general manager, MSP Suite, at Kaseya. “So much is out of your control, it’s not surprising that nearly a third of IT professionals have had nightmares about their backup. From human error to natural disasters to ransomware attacks, the only way to know your systems work is to test them repeatedly.”
Only a handful of customers got through last year without any outages, and the vast majority were forced to test their backups as a result of system problems.
Despite the high chances of downtime, the number of users that regularly test backups remains low, and it drops off even more when the focus moves to recovery. Only 20% of those surveyed were testing weekly and 12% of those were doing it on an ad hoc basis.
When asked how quickly they could recover systems, the responses varied from hours to days and even weeks. Some were completely in the dark, with 8% revealing they had no idea of how long it would take to get back up and running.
Eyes across the channel will light up at the news that more than half of the businesses surveyed intend to switch their primary backup solution. But partners pitching alternatives will have some hurdles to overcome, including price and budgetary constraints.
From human error to natural disasters to ransomware attacks, the only way to know your systems work is to test them repeatedly
Frank DeBenedetto, Kaseya
There was a desire to control cloud costs at the same time as moving more workloads off-premise. An ideally positioned channel partner will be able to help a customer navigate a cloud strategy and recommend a backup solution that provides security and works within budgetary constraints.
Kaseya found that 15% of customers quizzed admitted they had struggled to find the right cloud service provider for their business.
The channel could also play a role in reducing complexity and simplifying the management burden. Some customers reported that operating multiple backup tools created inefficiencies and added to the time it took to monitor the system. A portion also suffered from alerts coming through without visibility to make them actionable.
Kaseya recommended some best practices that MSPs could help customers follow. These include making sure security is a primary concern when switching backup solutions and seeing the shift to a fresh solution as an opportunity to consider cloud technologies and automated testing tools.
MSPs should also help customers develop clear backup policies, with regular testing and a commitment to ensuring security is layered throughout the process.
The need for backup and recovery ties in with other technologies the channel is being encouraged to pitch, including visibility solutions that offer users a clear picture of their infrastructure and where data resides.
