The hybrid cloud refers to a cloud computing model which combines off-site and on-site cloud deployment models. This model offers an efficient and scalable data-backup system at an affordable rate.

Key benefits of hybrid cloud backups:

1- To start with, data protection for the small and medium sized enterprises is a necessity these days. This is because the SMBs of today are highly dependent on technologies and find it impossible to conduct business without accessing customer data and supply-chain data. This means that for every minute of downtime that they face, they will lose a lot of revenues. Costs are obviously much higher when they lose data permanently.  Even the slightest outage may cost a business heavily, to the extent that it may get disrupted completely. So, it is very important to ensure that all the key IT functions continue uninterrupted in spite of hardware faults. Hybrid clouds will ensure that all applications, images and data are stored in off-site servers. This ensures that data is not damaged because of local accidents. It also lets applications and data to be accessed from failover locations. Business continuity cannot simply be guaranteed through backups; it means failover systems must come into action right away. During disasters, hybrid clouds will allow the SMB to run the key applications in virtual machines so that clients can access data from computers or laptops or phones.

2- Even if you have the best data protection, it is of no use unless someone at the SMB purchases this. With hybrid clouds, capital investment is not needed. Hybrid cloud backups will let SMBs stay away from upfront investments. Running SMBs on a daily basis is hard work and decision makers do not want to increase the workload for their employees. Simply hybrid solutions managed by capable MSPs can streamline the process. Since everyone is doing it SMB decision makers are also conforming to this trend of adopting the hybrid cloud.

3- The backup needs for SMBs are also hard to anticipate. The introduction of a new IT system can drastically change the backup volumes when it is strongly used. SMBs face a dilemma because of this unpredictability on the one hand and the growth of business data on the other. When you underestimate the needs you have to get more infrastructure capacity which will escalate costs. When you over-estimate, you end up spending much more unnecessarily. Hybrid clouds help SMBs resolve this dilemma because it gives them the capacity they need off-site and internally allows them to increase capacity as needed.

4- When SMB simply depend upon on-site backups, the capital costs are very high for the infrastructure. The costs for management are also steep. MSPs may also face financial wows when they create their own backups. With hybrid clouds, the capital costs are reduced as the on-site capacity can be downsized to only what is needed. Fixed prices eliminate unexpected cloud cost spikes and simplify decisions for data protection. It also helps to lower administrative costs for the service providers.

5- SMBs are often subject to mandates like PCI and HIPAA which demands that they protect data from corruption, maintain specific records for specific time and document successful tests of data recovery systems. A hybrid cloud model fulfills all these regulatory needs. When the SMB solely depends on local backups, it means that it will have to keep many versions of the files; this means higher costs for data protection. But, for this, an off-site cloud is better suited. So, the hybrid clouds will allow MSPs and SMBs to comply comfortably with mandates for data protection.

6- Any MSP’s monthly revenue will come from its ongoing services. The hybrid cloud backup turns out to be an excellent source for predictable recurring revenues. The need for SMBs to protect data increases with tie and MSPs can benefit from recurring revenues when they get the best cloud backup services. The MSP can maintain ownership of the on-site servers and contribute to recurring monthly revenues. They can leverage the hybrid cloud backups for getting related recurring revenues through monitoring SMB environment for backup needs.

7- Finally, for SMBs the tasks of managing many relationships with MSPs can be hard. The SMBs tend to feel they are spending thinly across multiple vendors. When these SMBs find MSPs that are reliable, they will accept them for all their IT requirements. Hybrid clouds support this engagement. They give MSPs control over the central part of the business’s IT environment. When they introduce SMB clients to the hybrid cloud backup solutions, they become their trusted advisors.

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