Cloud is quickly becoming the de facto offering for many solution providers, with fairly simple implementation and a monthly recurring revenue stream that can help balance their cash flow. These applications are also of great benefit to their small business clients, between capital savings to continuous and relatively seamless updates.

Like any piece of a solution provider’s portfolio, each cloud offering should be carefully evaluated for both weaknesses and strengths, with a process put in place to address each. A product/service plan should be created to guide their team through the proper sales procedures, registration, implementation and support. Will the solution provider handle all or part of the service needs, or will the vendor support the application? Those factors and steps need to be properly documented and communicated to the provider’s staff and clients, establishing clear and solid procedures to address issues concerning those products and/or services. That same principle applies to the cloud.

Another factor that comes into play is compliance. Are all of your client’s systems able to conform to local, state, federal legislation—as well as the rules of their particular industry or associations? When data and other applicable information are transmitted across the Internet, copies are not automatically created. Network issues could interrupt the process and work can be lost. If the company doesn’t back up that information frequently, it’s a serious risk to business continuity and employee productivity. If the application isn’t sitting in house, on a server or other system, the chance of losing valuable data could be much greater if a solution provider hasn’t put an adequate plan in place.

Why Cloud?

The cloud evolution is quickly turning into a revolution, with solution providers and IT vendors in a race to gain the upper hand and market share. According to a study by research company IDC, worldwide IT cloud service revenue was greater than $16 billion in 2009 and expected to hit $55.5 billion in 2014. That equals an annual growth rate of 27.4%—approximately five times greater than traditional IT products.

Demand from both the consumer and business communities is fueling the rapid growth. One driving factor is the reduced cost of cloud services, as suggested by the IDC research, and the ability to gain access to more features at a reduced price. The smaller incremental payments required to gain access to these applications make it more palatable to those facing economic hurdles. With a lower cost of acquisition, it can be easier for solution providers to package multiple cloud offerings and bring an even greater value to their clients.

Other factors contributing to the revolution include automated updates, access from multiple locations and even mobile applications. Improvements are uploaded seamlessly (or close to it) by the cloud vendor, meaning everyone will be working off the same version at all times. While the transition to the cloud may reduce the billable hours from installing traditional software updates, it also lessens the support staff costs associated with that process and lets a solution provider redeploy them to manage other higher-margin tasks. Of course, the alternative is to have the clients purchase these services directly from the vendor. That eliminates a VAR recurring revenue opportunity and removes a part of the IT system from their control, while allowing a potential competitor to get a foothold in the account. Each of those concerns should be carefully considered before a solution provider decides to opt out of the cloud services.

Minimize Your Business Clients’ Cloud Risk

Qualified solution providers can also configure and integrate multiple cloud solutions, as well as secure and backup the data for their business clients. While setting up a web-based application may not be complicated for a somewhat tech savvy individual, enabling the entire organization to get the most from these systems requires training and experience.

With a number of cloud solutions accessed from a variety of locations, organizations may find themselves scrambling to back up the necessary data from each to meet their business continuity and compliance needs. For example, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) requires publicly held companies to maintain copies of all financial records and make them available for the Security and Exchange Commission if requested.  A good retention policy must be in place—including the documents to be stored and the processes used to back them up. It doesn’t matter if the company is using cloud or onsite systems, the same rules apply.

In addition, HIPAA and a number of state and local regulations either directly require or imply that businesses must maintain certain backup and retention standards. That’s where VARs and MSPs can step in with a solution (such as Intronis cloud backup and recovery) that can address those needs. With some training and support from vendor partners, solution providers can become true cloud backup specialists—and a valued resource for small businesses.

Ted Roller is VP of channel development Intronis, the cloud backup specialist. Monthly guest blogs such as this one are part of The VAR Guy’s annual sponsorship program. Read the archived Intronis guest blogs here.

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