IT spending has been steadily shifting from traditional on-premises offerings to cloud services over the past five years, and the trend is continuing upwards. In fact, according to Gartner, Inc., SaaS application spending will grow to over $99 billion worldwide in 2020.
The enterprise has adopted SaaS at a rapid rate, but SMBs are typically more agile than large companies with heavier investment in on-premises technology. So, what does this mean for MSPs? There’s an immense revenue opportunity in moving end-users to the cloud and creating a new stream of monthly recurring revenue (MRR).
SaaS applications such as Microsoft Office 365 and Google’s G Suite are popular because they’re easy to use, highly scalable, standardize employees on the same applications, and are relatively inexpensive. However, SaaS apps don’t deploy and manage themselves. SaaS applications also require additional data protection for business owners’ critical assets and to maintain compliance, just like any other mission-critical application or service—another opportunity for MSPs.
In this blog, we’re going to discuss the importance of third-party backup of SaaS apps for MSPs and additional benefits of SaaS backup tools beyond data protection.
Why Your Customers Need SaaS Backup
There’s a common misconception among SaaS application users that backup isn’t necessary because their data exists in the cloud. However, this is patently untrue. SaaS applications are just as vulnerable to data loss as on-premise apps. Why? Because the number one cause of data loss is human error. People delete files, open phishing emails, accidentally download malware, and more. SaaS vendors are unable to distinguish if certain user actions are done in error or deliberately.
Although employee data in Office 365 is stored in Microsoft or Google’s servers, these vendors are not responsible for lost data due to human error, deprovisioned user licenses, or ransomware attacks that occur on the client’s side.
MSPs need a way to recover their clients’ data from any number of these threats:
- Human error (the #1 cause of data loss in SaaS Applications)
- Malicious deletion by a disgruntled employee or outside entity
- Malware damage or ransomware attacks
- Operational errors such as accidental data overwrites
- Lost data due to canceled app licenses
Aside from recovering from data loss, your techs need a more efficient way to manage SaaS applications for clients. Team members should be able to find what they need fast and without specialized training in order to handle data loss or user lifecycle management issues efficiently. SaaS Protection reduces time spent managing backups with automated features and allows techs to easily deprovision users from SaaS applications when employees leave to save money on licensing fees, get support, and still have access to historical data.
No matter what stage of growth your MSP is in, SaaS backup should be an important part of your service portfolio. There’s still a world of opportunity for MSPs managing SaaS applications. If you want to protect the reputation of your brand, build more profitability, and do the right thing for your clients, Datto SaaS Protection is your best bet.
Aside from protecting your business against data loss and generating recurring revenue, SaaS Protection saves you time and gives you peace of mind.
If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of protecting SaaS data, check out our recent eBook, Selling SaaS Backup Made MSPeasy. In this eBook, you’ll learn how to grow your MRR with cloud backup sales, why you need SaaS backup, data protection responsibilities, and more. Download today to learn more!
Angela Diaco is product marketing manager for SaaS Products at Datto Inc. Read more Datto blogs here.
