Small-business solution providers are ditching backup tapes due to their cost and manual processes, which can be risky for clients, according to Matthew Mosteller of Vashon IT. The shift towards storage as a service is gaining traction as small businesses become more comfortable with outsourcing data management, says Doug Chandler of IDC.
EFolder, founded by John Williams, is offering online backup services to solution providers, with data protected by AES and RSA encryption. Partner levels offer varying revenue sharing options, with prices starting at $20 for the first gigabyte of data. Steve Harper of Network Management Group praises eFolder for its technology and commitment to the channel.
Vashon IT partners with eFolder for storage, citing good margins and no startup costs. SOS Online Backup is also entering the market, offering compressed data backup with 256-bit AES encryption and live continuous backup. Pricing starts at $75 per year for 1 gigabyte of capacity.
Vembu Technologies from India is offering backup services to the U.S. channel, allowing solution providers to quickly set up backups for clients’ mobile PCs and servers. Solution providers pay a fixed fee per client and keep all revenue. The company also offers a Service Provider Edition for online backups.