Are Offsite Backups Really Needed for MSP Clients In 2024

MSP backup solutions have changed drastically over the last decade or so. Data is one of the most valuable assets of any business, and as custodians of business information in the form of client backup management it is our job to ensure we do everything within our power to ensure when the time comes, our clients can rely on us to make sure a bad day does not end up much worse.

There has been such a tectonic change in technology and with that business backup strategy in the last decade. Many of us that were doing technical support in the 90s probably have a tough time shifting our mindset to a place where relying on offsite backups could be a conceivable reality and yet here we are.

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I admit to still cleaning up my office files to ensure I do not run out of space on my hard disk and the amount of information thrown across the average data connection these days still blows my mind and yet the new generation probably never gives it a second thought.

This does present a problem in the form of inertia for even the most talented yet maturing technical people who are both happy and horrified that they are actually starting to think about accessing their 401(k) plans where because of our experience, we may still be questioning the robustness as to if cloud based backups can be fully relied on to competently backup our clients business information.

So in this article, I will be discussing how I think offsite cloud backups, both self hosted and vendor hosted cloud based backups stack up against say the reliable Synology NAS appliance that has always done a pretty good job on its own.

There may be a few of you reading that still either use tape based backup systems or a rotation of removable USB drives that someone is designated to take off site each night and I will also touch on those.

As a secondary goal of the main discussion here, I will also discuss how documentation can help IT consulting services manage and maintain backup and data recovery solutions including the range of offsite backups solutions available today.

There are a near infinite number of sites discussing every subject to do with being a service provider yet I have rarely seen an organization attempt to assist providers in applying a workable documentation framework. I make no apology for weaving a few tips about documentation as it relates to this topic here and there. 

Tech records are an essential aspect of the IT industry whether it be offsite backup strategies or the steps involved on how to communicate your retention policy to clients.

Chances are that your competition consistently outperforms (PDF link) you in areas such as ticket completion times and number of tickets resolved in a day not because they are more technically proficient than you but because they have an effective documentation strategy in place.

Offsite Backup Meaning

We need to outline when a MSP backup is not considered an off site backup as there are gray areas we need to address so that we are all on the same page as far as definition. The table below will outline the framework for this article.

We will consider any backup with the primary connection being a self installed RJ-45 cable of less than 300 feet to be a local based backup solution.

If the backup solution resides within the same building as the data you are backing up regardless as to the connection type then we will consider it an onsite backup solution and not a remote backup solution.

Local Or Cloud Backup Types - Definition

Backup Location	Backup Type	Comments
Same Building	Local	-
300 Foot RJ-45	Local	Primary Connection
Offsite USB Rotation	Local	-
Offsite Tape Rotation	Local	-
Wireless - Seperated Building	Offsite	Needs to be different building
Inpenetrable Safe	Local	Offisite if different building
Backup Appliance	Local	Unless offsite is a feature

Do You Need An Offsite Backup?

Technically there is no requirement in many businesses to have an offsite backup solution although more mature market segments such as health and finance have regulation in place to ensure it occurs.

In businesses without regulation, you could offer your clients a backup solution based on taking removable drives or tapes off site and you would only be considered mildly irresponsible because regardless of what I or anyone else thinks, it offers a solution that satisfies the clients risk profile.

MLM organizations and pyramid schemes continue to flourish today and their growth makes Moore's law look like an amateur. if the business is unregulated then those lacking in moral fiber will prey on those that do not know any better. Just like people will always chase the idea of getting rich quick, people will always pick the cheapest backup solution if offered to them. People underestimate the chances of bad things happening.

The most popular and profitable backup solution would be one that does nothing yet is the cheapest, because nobody cares until they need it and they think they will never need it.

In the old days I would get clients that would always believe nothing bad would ever happen and so saw the cost of a backup as a waste of money. I would get into a situation where they would opt for the cheapest backup they could choose.

That situation never worked long term because even though it was their decision, as the provider, you will be blamed if they cannot obtain their lost data. Clients are not interested in complexity, you offer them a backup that is substandard, they will take it because it's the cheapest.

The best solution here is not to offer any backup solution that will not cover all but the most unlikely disaster recovery scenarios and to do that your offerings must all include an offsite backup component.

Not doing so in this day and age is the hallmark of an unprofessional service provider.

I was offering offsite backups back when I started my own MSP, and it was a lot harder to offer it back then so anyone not providing them these days has no excuse in my book. If a potential client does not want to spend the money on a backup solution that includes an online component then you should walk away.

Online Backups Too Expensive?

The cost of online backups is something you can see coming and can budget for. Compare that to the situation where you have to advise a client of yours that may well have been paying for backup services for perhaps years and never needed to rely on it until now and then having to advise them that their data cannot be recovered?

Backup solutions are also not an on/off situation. OK so your clients may be unwilling to pay for an all inclusive backup solution however you could perhaps decide to only backup their user drives and profiles.

As mentioned, that is what I used to do when it was much more difficult however in today's market, I would not offer any solution that does not include a comprehensive online incremental backup solution.

Online Backups - Cheaper?

They say that online backups are more cost effective than traditional local backups. I am not sure we are there yet, there will come a time when this is true however we need to take into account the economies of scale at work.

My view is that if you are a small business or individual then your requirements are low and using a cloud solution for all of your needs will likely cost very little and could well be an effective backup solution. 

While not strictly classed as a backup, you could use MS Onedrive or Google Drive and these will give a little bit of protection if set up correctly.

As a service provider, offsite backups can be a far more expensive proposition and certainly backing up to a level that gives the client close to 100% coverage is not going to be cheap.

Depending on the type of organization, your clients may have so much information to backup that unless you provide them expensive dedicated internet links, there may not be enough hours in the day to complete a successful backup no matter how efficient the compression techniques are.

Backup Scalability 

Online backups do have the advantage of being more scalable. Most cloud backup providers have the capacity to provide increased resources from their end as long as your internet link can handle the throughput.

Costs rapidly increase as your needs increase and it requires some careful planning especially for larger organizations so that the costs do not become excessive.

Online Backup Disadvantages

Online Backup Speed

Speed is the largest disadvantage when it comes to a remote backup solution. Speed in both directions so backing up is only half of the equation. When it comes to a situation where an organization needs to put their disaster recovery plan into action, the pressure can be immense.

Advising the client that “it's all good, we will have your 200 staff up and running within 4 business days” while the 1 terabyte of server images download is not going to go down very well.

My advice here is to engage a local cloud backup provider if possible, a company that has a presence and datacenters in the same city as you and your client are located. It means the worst case scenario is you would have to hop in the car and obtain a copy rather than waiting on the postman.

Organizations that live in known hurricane paths or other areas where there are risks that could impact an entire city may need to look at risking the slow turnaround in recovery or invest more in having multiple offsite backups to cover those scenarios. 

Vendor Lock In

Because of the way online backups work, it requires a lot of overhead to get the backups to a point where they are doing an incremental backup in a timely fashion.

Sometimes there is time invested in posting the initial backup as it may be much faster depending on the amount of information that needs to be backed up.

This can take a lot of organization and time and so realistically you experience vendor lock in. If another vendor comes out with the latest feature or your existing vendor has poor technical support then the pain inflicted before you can consider leaving is much higher.

Lack Of Control

Once you sign up with a cloud backup vendor, you are reliant on them to be professional and ensure they react within reasonable time frames. 

Your clients are relying on you to ensure their information is backed up and you can do all the checks to ensure it works OK however if the vendor disappears, goes out of business or puts their hands up and says “sorry it looks like we cannot recover your clients information” when that critical moment arrives then it is going to be a very bad day.

It's a risk that you cannot totally eliminate and it is a risk that is not a factor when you have a toasty warm reliable TrueNAS device sitting under your desk quietly going about its business.

Verdict

The verdict is that offsite backups in this day and age are absolutely required for any backup plan offered by a competent service provider.

Offsite backups should be used in conjunction with a reliable local automated backup solution such as Veeam coupled with a Rockstor NAS device or perhaps an Acronis Cyber Appliance.

The reason for this is that a local backup solution will give you the speed and coverage to restore the vast majority of user/application information that may form part of a restore request within the clients timeframe expectations.

The online backup component should complement a local backup strategy for all but the smallest companies. Many service providers will mix and match however there are a number of solutions out there now that will offer both in an all in one backup appliance.

So to give a car analogy, instead of going to Corvette and buying the drive train then going to Jeep to purchase the body and interior before attempting to make the two halves work nicely together, you go to a single vendor and buy the entire car taking comfort in the knowledge it has been already put together and tested.

If your budget allows and your clients are willing to invest in an all in one backup unit such as HPE Greenlake, then that would be my recommendation because rather than trying to integrate and get two separate solutions working, you purchase a backup unit that does both so that it gives you total coverage.

Conclusion

Offering a reliable backup and recovery solution is complex. While you can buy an off the shelf backup solution in a number of forms, there will always be risks involved. Being able to convey this to the client without losing the sale can be tough and it may be tempting to lower your price by eliminating features you know the potential client needs.

We hope this article has provided you with a solid foundation and understanding of this topic.

We have a number of other backup hardware articles listed below that will provide you with more detailed information on a number of related topics:

https://optimizeddocs.com/blogs/backups/backup-strategies-index

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