BackupAssist Launches MSP Program and as-a-Service Product

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Australia-based BackupAssist, with offices in the U.S., has expanded its go-to-market strategy in the North America with a new MSP Program and a new BackupAssist-as-a-Service product, the company announced Monday. Last month, BackupAssist [Version] 10, with new cloud independent – i.e. Amazon S3 or Microsoft Azure – backup features, was released.

BackupAssist’s Troy Vertigan

BackupAssist, which provides automated Windows server backup and recovery software for the small and medium-size businesses (SMBs), sells 75 percent of its product through the channel globally, with half of sales in the U.S. channel-led. The company’s perpetual licensing partner program launched in 2008.

“Our new MSP Program offers MSPs exclusive access to purchase BackupAssist on a pay-by-the-month subscription basis,” Troy Vertigan, vice president channel sales and marketing, told us. “Now that we have two channels, it really gives us the ability to meet the unique needs of resellers in five ways,” he said, pointing to choice and flexibility; margin and profit; mutual success; business continuity; and product mix.

The BackupAssist MSP Program is free to join, offers core monthly subscription licensing beginning at $15 per month for BackupAssist, and Cloud Backup (standalone) for $10 per month. Cloud Backup is a BackupAssist add-on for internet-based cloud storage that supports Amazon S3 and Microsoft Azure, and a multisite manager.

Other add-ons include: Hyper-V Advanced; Exchange Granular; SQL Continuous; and tape backup.

Some of the program features include: the ability for partners to increase revenue and margins by bundling with other services, create a recurring revenue stream, and leverage economies of scale with the existing cloud infrastructure; a simple pricing model; and dedicated support via account management to help close business and technical support for pre- and post deployment.

The vendor also is offering a fully featured 30-day trial.

“MSPs can start placing orders, literally within minutes from our partner portal,” Vertigan said. The vendor’s partner portal, for both resellers of perpetual licenses and MSPs, allows partners to place orders, manage orders and licenses, and see all of their customer accounts.

With the new MSP Program, BackupAssist expects more business to come through the channel or by 2018; Vertigan expects to see 200 percent growth in the U.S. channel.

While the MSP Program is being launched in North America, expect to see expansion to additional markets in the future.