Backup is an essential component of cyber resilience, holding the keys to fast restoration and continued operations following a cyberattack or other disruptive event. An important yet often overlooked element in backup planning is SaaS backup, which delivers clients granular backup power at the file or device level. Microsoft 365 Backup is central to this equation and a proven entry point [CF3]for MSPs.
Selecting a provider partner
If you’re a regular reader of Cyber Resilience Zone, you’ll know there are three things to look out for when looking for a provider partner:
1. A single-suite provider covering all aspects of cyber resilience - Cyber resilience is achieved through layers of solutions and technology. Just as your customers turn to you as a one-stop shop for their needs, your ability to turn to a single, responsible provider for the solutions you provide your customers is essential to scaling your business.
2. Proven resilience solutions - The cybersecurity and resilience landscapes are dynamic. The solutions you provide your clients should be leading-edge, not lagging behind, in the ongoing fight against cyber threats.
3. Proven channel commitments - You can’t play games with your revenue stream. The provider you partner with should have a solid track record in the channel with a strong cultural commitment to partner success.
The Right Microsoft 365 Backup Solution
Microsoft 365 is a tried-and-true entry point for SaaS backup solutions. The risks are obvious and resonate with customers. It’s your job to provide a solution that does the job seamlessly and painlessly. These are the seven things to look for:
1. Granular control: Your customers should get, via the cloud, the same granular recovery solutions they could achieve on-site, right down to the individual file level. Depending on their situation, they might need to recover folders, files, metadata or the entire system. The backup solution you arm them with should handle all of them.
2. Full-suite protection: Microsoft 365 is a full suite of collaboration tools. If your clients aren’t using all those applications today, they might be tomorrow. That’s why it’s essential to avoid one-off solutions for select applications. The provider you partner with should cover all of it – SharePoint, OneDrive, Exchange, Teams, Groups, Planner … all of it.
3. Customizable RPO: The solution should adapt to each client's recovery point objective (RPO) through customizable backup frequency.
4. Centralized management: Administrative tasks like legal hold, audit reporting, role-based access, exports and APIs should all be manageable through a centralized portal.
5. Automated backup and retention: When backups don’t happen automatically, they don’t happen reliably. The solution you provide your customers should just happen without interrupting their daily work activities.
6. Rapid recovery: The holy grail of cyber resilience is weathering and responding to problems so quickly that a company’s delivery of products or services remains on schedule, even during an attack. To achieve this level of resilience, your clients need a backup and restoration solution that’s up to the task.
7. 24/7 support: It’s often said that cybercrooks never sleep. Their malicious programs never do – that’s for sure. Since attacks happen around the clock, you and your clients need round the clock deployment and recovery support available.
Final tips for finding a partner
Your partner should scale with you and your clients. Look for financial stability in your provider partner so you don’t have to worry about it being here tomorrow. Your provider partner also should already be providing services at scale. Both are essential to delivering affordable and scalable solutions you and your customers can rely on over the long haul.