Today’s businesses and organisations rely on the digital world for a huge proportion of their operations, so keeping systems online and protected is essential. For that reason, backup and continuity solutions are in demand with many businesses prioritising investments in this area to ensure they can remain competitive and can continue to support customers.
In many ways, the increased adoption of cloud and software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions is driving that increased demand. SaaS-based applications have become a preferred choice for new and modernised deployments, with the data these applications generate expected to be among the fastest-growing sets of critical enterprise data over the next five years.
According to Gartner’s latest forecast, worldwide end-user SaaS spending is projected to grow 20 per cent to total $247.2 billion in 2024, and is forecast to reach almost $300 billion in 2025.
That rapid growth is why Gartner has also predicted that 75 per cent of enterprises will prioritise backup of SaaS applications as a critical requirement by 2028. That compares to 15 per cent in 2024, due to businesses becoming increasingly dependent on SaaS.
Michael Hoeck, senior director analyst, Gartner, explained, “The risk of IT outages underscores the urgent need for regular backup and recovery of critical enterprise data. As businesses are more dependent on SaaS technologies, it becomes crucial to ensure SaaS data is both protected and recoverable. Given the vulnerability of SaaS data to errors, cyberattacks and vendor mishaps, robust backup solutions are also indispensable.”
Lee Walker, head of cloud sales, PlatformX Communications (PXC), added, “The continued adoption of cloud computing and SaaS solutions is driving increasing demand for sophisticated backup options and, in this space, there are a number of opportunities that can be realised.
“The rise in hybrid cloud backup, for example, which combines on-premises and cloud-based storage, is offering organisations a balance between data security and cost-effectiveness, reducing risk for today’s businesses when investing in these solutions.”
Plan B
Gartner’s Hoeck added that backup-as-a-service (BaaS) is coming into the spotlight. He said, “Integrating BaaS is essential for safeguarding cloud workloads and maintaining operational continuity. Furthermore, enterprises must understand the shared data responsibility model of SaaS applications and evaluate their vendors’ data protection measures. If these measures are inadequate, third-party solutions should be considered to guarantee comprehensive data protection.”
Disaster-recovery-as-a-service (DRaaS) is a similar approach that can include a broader service set. PXC’s Walker explained, “We can also see DRaaS becoming increasingly important as businesses recognise the need to have comprehensive plans in place to avoid consequential loss of business data, and to be able to recover from any disaster fast. If these plans aren’t in place, this could be critical for businesses.”
Innovations within the artificial intelligence space are opening up new possibilities for the backup and continuity stack. “We’re also seeing more integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning within backup solutions,” said Walker, from PXC. “These technologies are revolutionising data management through features like automated data cleaning and noise reduction, and algorithms that highlight and resolve dataset issues, all of which allow for an increased focus on data protection and backup.”
MSPs are able to guide SMEs through their options here, as well as offering support in the event of any issues. Walker said, “While SMEs often lack the resource to manage in-house data backup, we’re finding that more of these organisations are looking towards managed service providers to support these demands – providing further opportunities for the Channel.”
Continuous connectivity
Another important part of the puzzle centres on ensuring businesses and organisations remain connected to the internet. “In today’s all-IP world, maintaining continuous Internet connectivity is crucial, commented Lee Broxson, CSO, Jola. “Implementing 4G or 5G backup solutions ensures that operations remain uninterrupted during primary connection failures. An ever-increasing number of devices are being connected, therefore a resilient network is of utmost importance.”
Broxson added that low-cost 4G and 5G data multi-network SIMs can help to “solve the affordable reliability conundrum that end-users have faced for years”.
He explained, “Broadband connections can be unusable for days with no compensation, while Ethernet circuits cost 10 times as much and still offer no guarantee of 100 per cent uptime. A second fixed line is expensive and offers little comfort because it relies on shared infrastructure.
“If you were climbing a rock face, you wouldn’t attach your second rope to the same piton. Multi-network SIMs further improve SLAs and negate the need for expensive site surveys, while private APN options steer traffic away from the public internet, considerably improving security.”
He put this into context with the example of a retail customer. Broxson said, “A prime example of this is in the retail market. Keeping retailers online to ensure they can continue to transact and collect customer data is vital. 5G backup solutions mean no lost revenue during primary failover.”
Broxson said that MSPs and resellers can capitalise on this demand by offering reliable mobile connectivity to ensure seamless backup during unexpected disruptions. He said, “Mission-critical applications such as lift lines requiring battery backup and a move-off PSTN will benefit from 5G backup. Routers that provide in-built battery backup for power autonomy in the event of a building outage allow businesses to remain online.”
These solutions can also offer protection in the event of certain cyberattack. Broxson said, “Mobile data provides a separate network path, reducing end-user vulnerability during a DDoS attack. Jola routes all our public fixed IP SIM traffic through Cloudflare to provide best-in-class, always-on, real-time threat protection. As a result, our partners and their end-users are protected from reputational damage, financial impact and data loss that could otherwise result from the thousands of cyberattack attempts.”
He emphasised what channel companies can deliver to their customer base. Broxson said, “By focusing on mobile data connectivity as a backup strategy, channel companies can deliver effective solutions that minimise downtime, protect against disruptions and enhance business resilience.”
Uninterruptible power
Another safeguard that could be put in place is uninterruptible power supply (UPS) solutions. Today’s UPS deployments are often supported by IoT monitoring so critical systems can be supervised and data analytics can spot issues before they become problems.
This creates UPS solutions that are capable of predictive maintenance while ensuring optimal power usage and efficiency.
Critical safeguards
So, why are an increasing number of businesses considering investing in backup and continuity? Walker, from PXC, explained, “Data is the new gold bullion for businesses and organisations are increasingly recognising how important it is to protect. As such, backup and continuity are essential.
“With rising concerns around data breaches and ensuring regulatory compliance to avoid service disruptions that can be crucial to businesses – financially or reputationally – there is a growing need for backup solutions that ensure true data protection and adhere to any regulations.”
Building an offering
Channel companies have a huge opportunity to guide their customer base through their options to ensure organisations have the right continuity and backup solutions. As with many areas of technology, connecting the dots is essential. Walker, from PXC, said, “Backup is no longer a standalone offering so it’s imperative that wholesale providers deploy complementary services over the top to provide a further boost to customer data protection and security postures.”
Walker pointed to key services including data encryption, disaster recovery, endpoint detection and response (EDR), Managed Detection and Response (MDR), data loss prevention (DLP) and immutable storage. He added, “For channel partners to effectively streamline their operations, the ability to connect to backup platforms over API or via pre-built integrations is increasingly important.”
A growing market
The backup and continuity market is expected to continue to flourish, with large enterprises putting BaaS solutions in place alongside on-premises tools. In the past, some organisations placed a low priority on these services, believing their providers held responsibility.
“Protection and recovery of SaaS applications have often been a lower priority for many enterprises,” said Gartner’s Hoeck. “This is due to confusion over the native SaaS vendor’s responsibility for data protection, and the lack of industry-level standardisation. Limited API-based data access for protection and recovery from native SaaS vendors further complicates effective data protection, slowing support for third-party backup solutions.”
However, the SaaS application backup market is rapidly growing, initially led by specialised startups but now also includes established enterprise backup and recovery software solutions companies. Gartner predicts that by 2028, 75 per cent of large enterprises will adopt BaaS alongside on-premises tools to back up cloud and on-premises workloads.
For channel companies that are evaluating the options for their customers, it will be vital to verify the capabilities of any solutions in contention. “As the market matures, it is essential for businesses to conduct thorough governance assessments and verify the capabilities of their SaaS vendors. Leveraging third-party backup solutions can significantly enhance data protection and recovery, ensuring that enterprise data remains secure and accessible,” said Gartner’s Hoeck.
This article was included in our February 2025 print issue. You can read the magazine in full here.