Scalable cloud-based solutions are widely popular among IT professionals these days. The cost, convenience and reliability of ready-to-use software as a service make this disruptive technology a favorable choice.

Still, the market needs some reassurance that backing up to the cloud is a smart and secure thing to do, as suggested by Paul Evans, CEO of UK-headquartered data management provider RedStore.

Redstor has over 40,000 customers globally, over 400 partners, and over 100 million restores a year. Last month in London, RedStore was named Hosted Cloud Vendor of the Year at the 2022 Technology Reseller Awards.

“Companies should not only say goodbye to on-premises boxes, they should celebrate because their removal reduces the risk of ransomware or the effects of fire or flooding in the data center,” Evans told TechNewsWorld.

SaaS is a software delivery model that provides great agility and cost-effectiveness for companies. This makes it a reliable choice for many business models and industries. It is also popular among businesses due to its simplicity, user accessibility, security and wide connectivity.

According to Evans, SaaS trends are disrupting the industry this year. Spiceworks Jiff Davis predicts that next year half of all workloads will be in the cloud.

Many organizations are undertaking cloud-first migration projects. Of particular interest are hard-hit businesses that are looking for infrastructure through operational excellence (OpEx) models and frameworks to avoid huge upfront investments.

“Data will become increasingly cloud-native in the coming year, especially with the continued growth of Kubernetes, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and Salesforce,” he said.

Danger Landscape Driving Factor

Grand View Research recently reported that the global managed services market, which was valued at US$ 239.71 billion in 2021, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.4 percent from this year to 2030. Many Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are looking to become more service driven.

At the same time, value-added resellers are looking to become cloud service providers. Evans said other distributors are trying to figure out which way they might be the best fit.

“The backdrop of this is a threat landscape that has changed dramatically, especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. State-sponsored malware and cyber warfare are coming to the fore in opposition to renegade shrewd criminals,” he said. .

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US President Joe Biden has called for the private sector to step in and close its “digital doors” to protect critical infrastructure. Sir Jeremy Fleming, director of the UK’s intelligence, cyber and security agency GCHQ, warned that the Russian regime is identifying institutions and organizations to bring down, making it only a matter of time before the attacks come.

“Threats are not only increasing in scale and complexity. The range of ransomware attacks makes it abundantly clear that companies of all shapes and sizes will increasingly become targets. As a result, we will see more businesses increase their IT, cyber security and compliance Enlisting MSPs to run the programs,” predicted Evans.

During our conversation, I discussed further with Evans how RedStore and other providers can strengthen digital security.

TechNewsWorld: What’s unique about Redstor technology compared to other solutions for data management and disaster recovery?

Paul Evans: Our approach focuses on the concerns of businesses regarding their risk position, resource constraints and profitability challenges while IT skills are lacking. Redstor offers what we believe is the smartest and simplest backup platform for MSP.

One factor is the ease associated with onboarding. With three clicks and a password, users are up and running and can scale easily. In addition, it requires lightweight support for multiple data connectors and is purpose-built from the ground up for MSPs that manage multiple accounts.

It’s not a monster of some Frankenstein’s hastily achieved solutions bolted together.

What makes Redstor’s platform technically smart?

Evans: Whether MSPs are protecting data on-premises or in the cloud – Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or cloud-native Kubernetes – they can do it easily and all with one app. By being able to span the on-premises cloud and SaaS worlds from a single location, rather than moving to several different interfaces, MSPs save time and money.

Redstor is smart because we enable user-driven recovery by streaming backup data on demand, so organizations have everything they need to get straight up and running in the event of data loss.

You don’t need to mirror everything, copy everything, or recover everything before it starts working again. During an outage, InstantData technology restores critical data back in seconds, while less critical recovery continues in the background.

This platform is also smart because it offers more than just backup. You also get archive and disaster recovery with high-end search and insights – all from one app.

Redstor is influenced by AI, and our machine learning model automatically detects and isolates suspicious files in backups so that they can be removed for malware-free recovery. MSP can do data classification with tagging. In the future, we will introduce anomaly detection.

How do cloud-based SaaS data protection and recovery systems compare to other solutions?

Evans: Organizations find that they need multiple boxes onsite to quickly pull data down to get a faster experience with the cloud. But on-premises Frankenstein solutions, coupled with technology from multiple acquisitions, aren’t going to meet today’s challenges.

Also, with hardware, there can be supply-chain issues and the lack of critical components such as semiconductors. Moving your data security to the cloud eliminates both these issues and the responsibility rests entirely on the MSP.

Without cloud-based security, you lack the best means of securing data. SaaS security is constantly updated and built in. Free updates are provided on a regular release cycle to keep customers ahead of the risks. MSP ensures reliable and secure connectors for many sources and popular applications now and in the future.

Also, storing backups securely in geographically separated data centers creates an air gap between live data and backups to enhance security.

What is driving the popularity of SaaS data protection?

Evans: The most important reason was when being onsite became problematic during the pandemic. Those with hardware-connected data security faced challenges fixing and swapping out the box. Many organizations also do not want boxes onsite because they are hard to come by because of supply-chain issues. Furthermore, the devices are known to be ransomware magnets.

SaaS overcomes these issues and more. MSPs are open to data portability requests and enable tools and services designed for today’s challenges. They can also complete the services digitally and distributors appreciate the value of SaaS made to channel supplied through online marketplaces.

Most SaaS applications now stress the need for a separate backup. More people are realizing that just because you have Microsoft doesn’t mean you can’t be compromised. You may have an internal user that destroys the data, or you may not have enough retention. Backing up SaaS applications is now the fastest growing part of our business.

What should an MSP look for from a vendor besides good technical support?

Evans: Technology built for MSPs should be partner-friendly from the start and include deep sales and marketing support. It should offer attractive margins with clear, transparent pricing so that MSPs can easily sell services.

The software should rapidly enhance data security, and by the end of the first negotiation, MSPs should be able to offer a proof of concept by deploying backups and performing rapid recovery to close deals faster.

Vendors are required to provide MSPs with the ability to purchase whatever they need from a single source, whether it’s protection for a Kubernetes environment, malware detection for backup, or data classification.

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The key is also an interface to eliminate the complexity of switching between different solutions and consoles. Plus, having the ability to view and manage data from a single interface saves valuable time.

A vendor’s platform should be designed for multi-tenancy and provide a high-level view of MSP’s own usage and customer consumption. It also requires that the types of data protected and where it resides. The vendor must have a history of using new advances, particularly AI, to detect and remove malware, data classification and cyberattack predictions.

How should businesses assess seller suitability?

Evans: Many vendors make a bold claim to be the best solution to the challenges in the market. MSPs should receive direct feedback from their peers and adequately field-test the solutions.

Top 20 Backup Software, Top 20 . Check the rankings for the G2 lists online backup software, and other user-supported reviews. Focus on reports based on user satisfaction and review data. For example, Redstor ranks first with the G2.

Also look for vendors that provide a clear road map of future growth that the MSP should be able to influence. Lastly, MSPs should focus on smart solutions that provide simplified security.