Simplifying Backup Management for MSPs

When managed service providers (MSPs) take responsibility for client backup management, it brings to mind those accurate but mildly irritating sayings like, “You’re not buying a drill. You’re buying a hole,” or “You hire the pilot to land the plane, not fly it…” It’s true, though. MSP customers are not paying you to manage their backups. They’re paying you to have their data available when disaster strikes. If you can’t restore their data on demand, you’re going to be in big trouble.  

Backup is critical for every business, but backup management can be a challenging workload for MSPs. Complexity and security are two factors that get in the way of success. Automation and cloud backup are part of the solution, and by following a few best practices we'll cover in this post, you can ensure that MSP backup management services are effective, secure, compliant, and profitable.  

What is backup management? 

Backup management for MSPs encompasses setting up, administering, and testing data backup and recovery for your clients. It’s a workload that combines software, hardware, processes, people, and business. For example, if your client has data in an on-premises data center, a co-location facility, and the cloud, then you’ll have to back up all of these different data repositories using backup software. You can back up the data onto on-premises storage hardware or cloud-hosted storage volumes.  

The significance of backup management for MSPs 

Backups prevent data loss and facilitate business continuity. Data loss can occur through cyberattacks, equipment failure, insider malfeasance, or carelessness. If there is a backup, it is possible to restore the lost data. For this reason, a sound backup process should be part of disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity planning. It’s key to cyber resilience. 

MSPs are a natural choice to handle backups. Even with automation, backup tends to be a labor-intensive and detail-oriented workload. It may be wise to outsource it to vendors with specialized skills and technology. An MSP can also provide continuity of service that spans the tenures of IT employees, who may come and go.  

Backups are a good source of recurring revenue for MSPs; there are opportunities to earn with setup and change management, as well as monitoring backups and testing. The service is important to the client, so it provides an opportunity to create value as a trusted partner. 

Different types of backups and their importance 

Clients typically get to choose between full backup, incremental backup, and differential backup. Each has its pros and cons: 

• Full Backup—Creates a complete copy of targeted data sets. The advantage to the full backup method is that it’s easy to restore. There’s just one data set to bring back. On the downside, it’s time consuming. 

• Differential Backup—Just backs up data that’s changed since the previous full backup. It’s faster than a full backup, but it takes more time and storage space than what is required for an incremental backup.  

• Incremental Backup—Only backs up data that has changed since the last backup, either full or differential. This is the most rapid mode of backup. On restoration, however, it is necessary to bring back each incremental backup, which makes the process complex and slow. 

MSPs need to determine which approach is most suitable for their client. For example, if your client has a short recovery point objective (RPO), it might be impractical to rely on full backups. A full backup might take too long to capture data generated within the RPO window of time. A frequent incremental backup is the right choice in this case. 

Key challenges in backup management for MSPs 

Challenges loom for MSPs that perform backup management. Complexity is one factor. Another involves managing backups across multiple clients. It’s stressful to administer backups horizontally and vertically. You are also responsible for handling the security and compliance aspects of backups. And, the process usually involves cloud backup for MSPs, which requires new competencies and business practices.  

Creating an effective administrative layer 

Your MSP backup management practice should run from a well-designed and implemented administrative layer. This is the locus of control and intelligence for all the backups you’re managing. Wasabi Account Control Manager can be the foundation of the administrative layer. It helps your MSP business manage different client accounts and gain insights into usage. The tool provides a single management console for your team to manage multiple clients' storage accounts using automation and consolidate sub-account creation, administration, and billing. It offers complete visibility and control over the entire Wasabi object storage footprint. 

Managing complex client environments 

Managing backup for complex client environments is not easy. Drivers of complex include environments that span public and private cloud, as well as on-premises infrastructure. A multicloud architecture, such as one that combines Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, adds more complexity, as does a mix of operating systems and data types. Backups for systems with differing recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) can also be difficult to manage. Geographic distribution is problematic, too, especially if they span regions with different regulations affecting data privacy.  

Ensuring data security and compliance 

MSPs that manage backups for clients are responsible for the compliance and data security of the backups. Most compliance frameworks require backup, either explicitly or implicitly. HIPAA, for example, which covers privacy for health records, mandates that healthcare organizations have data backup and disaster recovery procedures in place. PCI-DSS, which is mandatory for companies that handle payment card transactions, also includes backup as part of its required data security policies. The MSP is responsible for handling backup and disaster recovery in ways that will satisfy compliance audits and certifications.  

Data sovereignty laws complicate compliance for cloud backup processes. In countries where these regulations are in effect, data about their citizens must be stored in that country, e.g., personal data about German citizens can only be stored in Germany. MSPs managing backups on cloud platforms that span more than one country must be able to ensure storage of data in compliance with these laws. 

The MSP is also usually responsible for securing the data it backs up. Malicious actors often target backed-up data, so it’s important to encrypt the data at rest. Even better is to implement immutable backups, which use cryptography to make data impossible to alter or delete. It’s like an air gap that renders backed up data impervious to ransomware attacks. 

Strategies for effective backup management 

Developing an effective and profitable backup management service doesn't have to be a daunting task. Best practices and purpose-built tooling make the process relatively simple, if not turnkey. The goal is efficiency. Automation, along with cloud backup and recovery, is key to success. 

Automating backup processes for efficiency 

However you structure your backup management service, the objective needs to be efficiency. Remember that every manual task your team members perform carries a cost. Automation is essential. Not only does automation save time by reducing manual processes, but it also cuts down on errors, which are common in complex backups and lead to bad outcomes when you can least afford them. 

Backup processes that can be automated include: 

• Scheduled full, differential, and incremental backups 

• Backup verification and validation 

• Disaster recovery testing 

• Data recovery 

It is also possible to automate the detection of changes in the backup landscape. If a backup management solution detects a change in system configuration or a new data repository that requires backing up, it can automatically notify relevant stakeholders.  

Implementing cloud backup solutions 

It is a best practice to follow the “3-2-1” rule in backup management. This means keep three copies of data on two different media, one of which is offsite. Today, the offsite copy is almost always kept on a multi-tenant cloud. Cloud backup is better than conventional on-premises backup because of the cloud’s flexible consumption model, geographic diversity, and infinite capacity. A cloud MSP can easily back up data to the cloud storage platforms using specialized cloud backup software, such as Veeam.  

Committing to regular testing and maintenance  

It is imperative to test backups. A backup that fails to restore is a big problem. Regular testing can discover issues like corrupted data in the backup volume, errors and data loss, and missed RPOs and RTOs. Regular backup maintenance should also be an element of your backup program. Maintenance covers things like checking for changes in backup systems, such as software updates, and completing any required tasks.   

Simplify backup management with Wasabi 

Wasabi offers cloud object storage that’s well-suited for MSP backup management needs. The platform provides a single tier of high-performing storage with fast transfers that can meet tight RPOs and RTOs. Geographic diversity enables application of the 3-2-1 rule, but with administrative control over storage locations to help with compliance. Deployed in top-tier storage regions certified for SOC 2, ISO 27001, and PCI-DSS, Wasabi meets the standards that MSP clients require for compliance.  

Backup security comes from server-side encryption, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and strict identity and access management (IAM). Wasabi’s unique Multi-User Authentication capabilities provide control against malicious or accidental modification or deletion of backups by requiring more than one user to approve changes to backed-up files. Immutable backups, enabled for free by Wasabi Object Lock, create a strong countermeasure against ransomware and accidental data deletion.  

Financially, Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage offers your MSP several cost benefits that translate into stronger earnings for backup management services. Wasabi does not charge for data egress, which is required for data restoration. Nor does Wasabi charge for API calls, which other cloud storage providers charge for backup verification and other routine processes. This approach to cloud storage pricing keeps costs consistent, with no surprises that can eat into profitability. 

Wasabi partners with the predominant backup solutions. Key technology partners include Veeam, Rubrik, Commvault, and Acronis. These partner relationships enable you to deliver backup management services to clients using their preferred backup software.  

Conclusion 

Backup management can be a good line of business for an MSP. However, the workload presents its share of challenges. Backup environments can be complex, making administration cumbersome and inefficient without automation. Managing multiple client accounts compounds the difficulty. MSPs must also take security and compliance seriously.

Cloud platforms, coupled with automated backup management tools, are usually the best approach. The Wasabi cloud provides an attractive feature set for MSPs that want to deliver backup management services to their clients. These include fast RPOs and RTOs, immutable storage, and geographic diversity. A rich partner ecosystem enables MSPs to perform backups for clients using their desired backup software.