How MSPs Can Navigate Multiple BDR Choices

Take a look at the data backup and disaster recovery (BDR) market, and you'll find many solutions promising the same results. That can pose a challenge for managed services providers (MSP) looking to select the best one for their businesses. But there are a few ways MSPs can weed through vendor marketing tactics.

CCNS Consulting owner Karl Bickmore told MSPmentor that MSPs should focus on three factors before selecting the right BDR solution: virtualization times, alerting and monitoring features, and continuous backup.

The length of time to virtualize a server in a disaster recovery situation could be catastrophic to a business, especially if expections of a particular solution are not met.

"Not all BDRs are the same and many do not live up to their own marketing hype," he said. "You should see the process in action and make sure that it meets your clients' need."

Bickmore also noted the need for thorough  monitoring features: "As with the management of all computer networking equipment, good predictive alerts can make the difference in solving problems proactively."

He said MSPs should look for available PSA integrations for BDR solutions, which can save time and provide the best value to customers.

"There are many BDRs that will backup fine, but once virtualized, they don’t have the ability to keep backing up and sending changes offsite," Bickmore said, adding that a disaster recovery virtualization can take awhile.

"From our experience, once you go to a disaster recovery virtualization, it can sometime take a week or even more to return to normal operations," he said. "That is far too long to have files changing and not backed up."

He suggested that MSPs should find a backup solution that doesn't just backup and recover, but recover in a timely manner.