MSPs: Increase Your Margin With Microsoft 365 Backup

In this blog, Chris Groot explains how Cove’s M365 Backup can help you build more profitable and resilient businesses for your customers.

I’ll be blunt: Microsoft 365 (M365) backup isn’t just a “nice-to-have.” It’s a must.

Yet, we still frequently hear: “Why do I need to back up Microsoft 365? Doesn’t Microsoft take care of it?”

In short, no! M365 applications fall under what Microsoft calls the Shared Responsibility Model for data protection. In this model, Microsoft is responsible for application availability and infrastructure security. Customers remain responsible for protecting the data created using those applications.

Third-party M365 backup products and services are the best way to protect against accidental or malicious deletion, application outages, ransomware and other malware, etc. In fact, in its service agreement, Microsoft specifically recommends using a third-party backup provider.

In Cove Data Protection, we’ve seen a 56% rise in M365 restores over the last year alone. The need for M365 backup is there. For MSPs, this represents a massive growth opportunity. But growing is one thing. Growing profitably is another.

Profitable growth with M365 backup services

In my experience, there are four main levers MSPs pull to grow their businesses.

Adding New Customers: This may be the first thing you think of. However, even top-tier MSPs aren’t adding clients by the dozen every month. Most are bringing in three to five clients at best. So, this is more of a slow burn strategy.

Growing with Clients: As your clients expand, so should your offerings. If they’re scaling from 50 to 200 employees, for example, you need solutions that scale to meet their growing needs.

Implementing Price Increases: With rising salaries and an ongoing IT talent shortage, annual price adjustments have become nearly essential. The fastest growing MSPs already do this with minimal client pushback today. You can, too.

High-margin Services: As you build deeper relationships with clients, expanding your services with high-margin offerings like M365 backup is an effective growth strategy. As you add more value to your clients, you can (and should) charge more.

From a business perspective, adding M365 backup to your portfolio is a highly effective way to build margin on your services. It can be sold as a standalone offering or bundled with Microsoft administration services, a BDR offering, or even as part of a security or cyber resilience package. And with Cove, implementing and managing M365 backup is simple. Junior technicians can handle restores and oversee backups, so even the labor element is high-value for MSPs.

Why You Need M365 Backup

In summary, bad actors will increasingly target M365 because it houses critical data for SMBs. As a result, backup is required by most cybersecurity and compliance frameworks today. Cyber insurance providers increasingly require proof of a comprehensive backup strategy to even qualify for coverage. So, M365 backup isn’t just an add-on; it’s a must.

If you’re not already offering Microsoft 365 backup, I encourage you to consider how it could strengthen your MSP’s offerings and increase your profitability.

If you have any reservations, let’s chat—I’d love to understand why.

Chris Groot is General Manager, Cove Data Protection, at N‑able

Email Chris

To FIND OUT MORE about Cove Data Protection visit www.n-able.com/products/cove-data-protection Or simply start a FREE TRIAL at www.n-able.com/products/cove-data-protection/trial