Many MSPs today offer Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and Disaster-Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) as core solutions, but often overlook the revenue potential behind them. BaaS and DRaaS comes with built-in capabilities that can be packaged and delivered as value-added services, creating new revenue streams beyond basic backup.
However, while MSPs expand service offerings, these expanded services often come with additional infrastructure and operational costs that impact overall profitability. MSPs should take a more strategic approach and evaluate not just how to deliver these services, but how to do so profitably.
Key features MSPs can monetize
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Disaster recovery (DR) testing
DR testing has become increasingly important as customers expect not just backups, but proof that recovery will actually work when needed. This creates an opportunity for MSPs to offer scheduled DR testing services, such as quarterly validation, and position them as part of a broader business continuity assurance package.
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Long-term data retention
Long-term retention is often driven by compliance requirements which require organizations to retain data for years. It is closely tied to audits and legal risks; failing to comply can result in fines. This creates an opportunity for MSPs to offer compliance-based backup tiers, charging on the basis of the data retention period.
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Off-site backups
Many organizations have local backups but struggle to extend them off-site due to limited infrastructure, network constraints, or operational complexity. During ransomware attacks, they lack a reliable backup copy for restoration. MSPs can seize this opportunity to offer off-site backup services and charge for storage capacity or bundle DRaaS offerings.
As these features are highly valuable, they often come with hidden costs. In many backup solutions, enabling them requires additional infrastructure and licensing, which quietly erodes MSP profitability.
How to evaluate the real cost of a backup platform
To truly understand profitability, MSPs must evaluate the total cost of service delivery beyond the base price. The following evaluation is designed to help you identify and assess potential hidden costs. Here’s a comparison of how leading backup solutions stack up against these critical profitability benchmarks:
Some platforms require additional infrastructure or impose limitations that could increase cost, while others integrate these features directly.
Synology ActiveProtect: Maximize BaaS and DRaaS profit margins while simplifying operations
ActiveProtect is Synology’s purpose-built data protection solution that supports MSP use cases, enabling providers to deliver advanced BaaS and DRaaS without the hidden costs and complexity involved with other backup vendors.
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DR testing: ActiveProtect automatically performs backup verification after each backup by restoring data to its built-in hypervisor. The entire process is recorded as a video, which MSPs can directly share with customers as proof and eliminate the need for manual testing or report generation.
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Long-term retention: With built-in tiering, older data can be automatically moved to a wide range of lower-cost remote storage options. Combined with centralized storage management and global deduplication, MSPs can optimize capacity across clients instead of scaling each site individually—maximizing utilization while controlling costs. WORM protection also extends to tiered data, ensuring long-term backups remain immutable and compliant.
>> Beyond long-term retention, see how ActiveProtect supports a wide range of compliance requirements.
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Offsite backup: With ActiveProtect, MSPs can store copies in cost-effective storage without being locked into expensive infrastructure. Combined with global deduplication at the source, it reduces bandwidth required for transfers to the MSP side, while built-in bandwidth control helps manage traffic across multiple clients—lowering overall networking costs.
Not only does ActiveProtect help you deliver profitable services at a lower cost, but it also makes it easy to deploy and deliver BaaS and DRaaS to your customers.
See how ActiveProtect makes BaaS and DRaaS easier to deliver
>> Interested in learning more? Contact us to get started.