BDR and Virtualization: A Required Combo for MSPs?

Within the backup and disaster (BDR) market, MSPmentor is hearing more and more buzz about virtualization. The latest example involves Quorum Software Inc. (QuorumSoft),which will begin promoting virtualized BDR solutions to managed services providers (MSPs) on June 1. In some ways, the effort sounds a bit similar to Doyenz, which has recruited scores of VARs and MSPs into its virtualized cloud BDR service.

There’s also a side story here: Our blogging team thinks the storage market — particularly online backup and consumer cloud storage services — will experience a major shakeout this year. As one reader recently mentioned to us, the cloud storage market is more like “crowd storage” — too crowded with vendors, some of which are failing to (A) embrace the channel and (B) failing to differentiate their services. We’ll offer more Crowd Storage insights on our sister site, TalkinCloud, very soon.

But back to the story at hand: Virtualized BDR storage solutions and partner programs for MSPs. QuorumSoft on June 1 will make the Alike MSP Advantage partner program available to the channel. According to a prepared statement:

The solution leverages the Citrix XenServer virtualization platform. We’re double-checking to learn more about QuorumSoft’s architecture — what’s potentially on premise, what’s potentially in the cloud… and if the cloud is involved: Whose cloud?

Meanwhile, Doyenz has spent the past year promoting virtualization-enabled cloud backup and recovery. CEO Ashutosh Tiwary is telling VARs and MSPs that the traditional backup model is old news, and partners should spend more time promoting rapid recovery times to their customers.

No doubt, additional companies are connecting the dots between BDR, virtualization and the cloud. We’ll potentially put the spotlight on those solutions as they pop onto our radar.

Additional reporting by Nicholas Mukhar. Sign up for MSPmentor’s Weekly Enewsletter, Webcasts and Resource Center. Follow us via RSS, Facebook, Identi.ca and Twitter. Check out more MSP voices at www.MSPtweet.com. Read our editorial disclosure here.