How MSPs can Grow Their Margins with SaaSAssure

The traditional way of deploying backup solutions usually involves installing hardware (backup servers, storage devices) and software (Backup engines, and endpoint agents). Extracting data from a client network and storing it in a cloud can be a bit complicated and may involve senior tech time to get each client set up.

SaaS backup can be deployed much easier. The SaaSAssure platform has built-in connections to a large library of SaaS services protected directly through their APIs. All that’s needed for the setup is the appropriate credentials and SaaSAssure does the rest - no engineer time needed, no servers to configure, no agents to install. The platform even comes with built-in storage (although an MSP can use their own cloud storage if they prefer). So, while extra revenue is being generated, there aren’t many additional costs involved. 

MSPs often consider the amount of effort and tech time required to manage and create knowledge around a new service offering once it's up and running. The great thing about SaaSAssure is that it’s been designed from the ground up with MSP operations in mind, with a modern user interface optimized for ease of use. Day-to-day service operations like reviewing backups, addressing failed jobs, and restoring data can all be managed with a few simple clicks. All backups are fully automated. It’s incredibly easy to train any technician to manage it, allowing less experienced team members to handle these tasks confidently. There’s even a feature that can prevent data destructive tasks from being completed without additional approvals, again, reducing the cost of operations. 

It's well understood that security is a key concern when setting up a data protection service. SaaSAssure is built with the highest security settings including 256-bit encryption in-flight and at-rest, MultiFactor Authentication (MFA), role-based access controls, and an industry first feature called “MultiPerson Approval (MPA)”. MPA, when enabled, requires multiple admins to approve any task that would be data destructive (like deleting a backup job, or a backup set, or initiating a recovery). 

These features increase the overall security of the practice and provide an extra layer of protection for high-value client data. For clients with specific compliance requirements, such as data backups, encryption, and country-based data storage constraints, SaaSAssure meets these needs. To address geographic data constraints, backup jobs can be directed to an MSP’s own S3 compatible storage in the geography that they choose, instead of the built-in storage. 

MSPs recognize the challenge of scaling a new service without significant effort and understand substantial upfront investment and a ready demand from customers are crucial for successful implementation. With SaaSAssure, it’s easy to start offering it to customers, and just as easy to scale.  There are no minimum requirements, and very little upfront investment in terms of training.  There’s no scaling challenge, as a single tech can administer 10s to 100s of customers with the SaaSAssure console.  If client’s add users, it’s a simple process to add new protected users and bill customers.  If they need a new SaaS service protected, it takes just a few clicks to get the app added and a backup job automated. 

MSPs are well aware of the challenges involved in scaling a new service, including the need for significant effort and substantial upfront investment. They also know that having a ready demand from customers is crucial for successful implementation.

When SaaS disasters happen (read about the JIRA outage here), clients will call their MSP looking for help, once they realize that the SaaS provider is not responsible for their data (See our Shared Responsibility Model discussion here).  If their provider has already worked out a plan to protect them and cover their data, the trust goes up. If the MSP instead confirms that they had no plan and the data is gone, their client will be upset, even if they weren’t “technically” responsible.

There's a valuable resource available to help MSPs understand the financial impact of customer retention and the importance of strengthening customer relationships.