" In some cases , MSP business owners are giving up 40 %– 50 % margin on inefficient backup ."
Modern ransomware variants often come with a gestation period designed to overcome the backup defense , meaning the malware does not detonate and encrypt immediately . It first attempts to disable environmental utilities , such as antivirus and VSS writers , as well as delete and encrypt backups it is able to locate . MSPs should look for unified BCDR solutions that are hardened against malware and use artificial intelligence ( AI ) and machine learning to detect suspicious patterns and alert administrators to ransomware before it wreaks havoc . Solutions with anti-phishing defense capabilities empower end users and provide another layer of protection from credential compromise , ensuring that phishing attacks are stopped before an ATO takes place .
A truly unified solution provides a single view of the entire data landscape . The key is keeping it simple with a single vendor . Moving between multiple systems wastes time and increases room for errors . Technicians can spend up to 33 % of their day monitoring , managing , and troubleshooting backups . Automated solutions that proactively fix common problems in production and backup environments are key to increasing productivity , securing the environment , and ensuring recoverable backups . With a unified BCDR solution , MSPs can rest assured that their clients ’ data is protected and can divert their time from manual tasks that slow productivity and profitability . In some cases , MSP business owners are giving up 40 %– 50 % margin on inefficient backup .
According to the MSP Benchmark Survey , fewer MSPs are testing their disaster recovery programs weekly or monthly , while more are relying on annual testing when compared to the previous year — 30 % in 2020 versus 17 % in 2019 . This downward trend amplifies the need for greater testing automation in the BCDR space , as frequent testing is more than what most MSPs can handle . MSPs should look for a solution that helps them orchestrate automated runbook testing to validate that recoverability of applications and services as well as ensure that compliance objectives , such as Recovery Time Objective ( RTO ) and Recovery Point Objective ( RPO ), are being met .
By prioritizing a unified BCDR solution , companies of all sizes — and the MSPs that support them — can build comprehensive uptime strategies no matter where data lives and adequately protect it from ever-evolving cybersecurity threats .
Unified BCDR solutions don ’ t need to break the bank . Due to the changing IT landscape brought on by the pandemic , more vendors have embraced subscription pricing to help MSPs better secure data at a pricing structure that aligns with their needs .
A Partner Who Has A Vision For The Future
As more MSPs reassess their needs and those of their customers , having a partner who can pivot is invaluable . Choose a vendor that offers flexibility and support with a plan to transition from on-prem to the cloud if needed .
As an MSP grows , backup solutions can become an albatross around the neck without the right partner . What worked for a handful of clients won ’ t scale to support a larger operation . At the end of the day , backups provide MSPs with peace of mind . Transitioning to the cloud means change , and protecting data should remain a top priority . ■
Practice Automated Testing For The Win
The only way you know you will recover is to test regularly , automatically , and after every change to your infrastructure . You also need to prove to your clients that you have verifiable plans in place to execute recovery programs .
Recoveries seem simple but are often complex because many applications have multiple tiers spread across different virtual and physical machines . You want to test how you would recover not just individual machines but also how all the machines in an application are recovered together . While instant recovery with zero downtime is ideal , putting in place the resources to meet this objective may not be feasible for every application for every client .
PRO TIP : Recovery plans should triage applications by their importance to the business so critical apps can be recovered first .
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