The backup and DR secrets of Australian resellers

ASI Solutions and StorageCraft

StorageCraft has a long heritage in the SMB, and is now starting to move upmarket to larger and more complex environments. A software solution, it supports physical and virtual environments, and can back up a multitude of platforms, old and new.

One standout feature of StorageCraft is its ability to restore to a different environment than the original backup, using something called ‘hardware independent restore’. The image-based backup format means StorageCraft can take a virtual machine backup and restore it to physical, or vice-versa. 

Daniel Johns, director of technical services, at veteran reseller ASI Solutions, likes that StorageCraft can deal with both virtual and physical environments. “It’s important to be able to deal with multiple platforms in the hybrid environments we work with,” he says. “It’s just so easy to use.”

ASI Solutions uses StorageCraft’s cloud-based MSP model to deploy almost entirely using a subscription model. “We charge a monthly service fee, which makes it really easy for customers to add or remove systems month-to-month,” Johns says. “Each month we get invoiced by StorageCraft for the amount of data consumed in the cloud, and we pass on that cost to the customer with a margin.”

MOQdigital and Veeam

Veeam is by far the most recognisable of the emerging backup and DR vendors, with almost every partner we spoke with using it alongside other products. Veeam started in the SMB arena, and is making inroads into the midmarket as the company continues its aggressive sales and marketing approach.

Focused on virtual machines, Veeam doesn’t really concern itself with physical machines, with the exception of Veeam Endpoint Backup, which is aimed at desktops or the last few physical servers in an otherwise all-virtual fleet. Veeam has gradually added support for applications like Exchange, SQLServer, and now Oracle in the recently released version 9.

Sydney-headquartered MOQdigital has partnered with Veeam for the past two years. Damien Harrison, MOQdigital practice manager for optimised platforms, notes that Veeam has a strong local presence to support its 100 percent channel approach. 

“The markets in Australia really appreciate local support. They like the ability to pick up the phone and call someone, or go and see someone face-to-face,” says Harrison, who was part of Technology Effect before it was rolled up with Breeze to establish MOQdigital

Veeam is licensed per-CPU socket, and also has service-subscription pricing for its Cloud Connect replication service. Members of the Veeam ProPartner program gain access to extra resources (and margin) and judging from the number of people who seem to be Veeam partners, the program appears to be extremely popular.

Zettagrid and Zerto

Local cloud provider Zettagrid makes use of both Zerto and Veeam in its offering to customers. Zerto’s focus is on replication, while Veeam concentrates more on the backup side of things. Both are focused squarely on virtualised environments.

“Both companies have fantastic products that are easy, convenient and help customers to protect their critical data and operations in a very cost-effective manner,” says Craig Guy, Zettagrid’s partner program manager. “As a service provider we really appreciate that these products are also great behind the scenes with powerful and scaleable APIs allowing us to work our Zettagrid automation magic to rapidly build and release services for our customers and partners.”

Given that both products are software only, customers need to provide their own storage and servers for backup or replication targets, and potentially other resources as well, such as network capacity. Zettagrid tries to help customers to make this cost-effective. “We take all of this into account to try and be as cost-effective for one or two VMs as we are for hundreds of VMs,” Guy says.

The subscription model for charging customers is particularly important for Zettagrid, given what it sells. “One of the defining features of cloud is the ability to pay as you go,” says Guy, “At Zettagrid we prefer to deal with partners that understand this concept and I’m happy to say they both full marks in this area.”

Zettagrid deals with Zerto directly, while they go through cloud distributor Rhipe for Veeam.  

Top tips: vendor selection

Look for a partner with local staff, both technical and non-technical. You want to be able to get support when you need it, and time zones make dealing with US- or Europe-based vendors tricky.

Check that the vendor’s sales team understands working with the channel. Direct sales or inside sales approaches are quite different the channel approach, and misunder-standings can create bad feeling.

Look for a vendor whose growth plans align well with yours. Tensions abound when you’re working at cross-purposes.

Expect to do your own lead generation, and consider vendor provided leads as a bonus. Look for co-marketing or co-selling opportunities rather than expecting the vendor to hand you leads on a plate.