Acronis has launched an online backup and recovery solution that will be sold through the channel that requires minimal upfront investment or technical commitment but promises consistent recurring revenue for partners.
The Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 Online offers both file, server and complete bare metal recovery option for a fixed per server fee of around £25 per month. The system uses a seeding option which requires an initial server snapshot onto a NAS device which is shipped to Acronis who then maintains offsite replication on behalf of the end customer. New or changed files are then sent via any IP network such as low cost DSL to the Acronis datacentre for the life of the contract.
Acronis partners will be able to buy the new solution via distributors as a standard part number at a margin of between 15 to 20 points with recurring revenue paid for the life of the contract.
The firm is also offering a list price ‘direct touch’ version directly from its website, but David Blackman general manager for Acronis in North Europe believes that the bulk of sales will come through the channel: “Customers will get a better price from resellers than direct and the partners can do all the setup work for them – which is what SMBs usually want.”
The solution uses a European datacentre based in Frankfurt but Blackman envisages that if the service grows, the option of a dedicated UK host would be considered. “They [partners] don’t have to invest in anything, they need a bit of nous around our software but that’s it,” he adds.
At launch, the service will be branded as Acronis but Blackman states that the option to white label it to larger service providers is under consideration.
For the virtualisation enthusiast, Acronis has a per host version which will backup unlimited number of virtual machines up to 2TB in capacity for around £55 per month.
In the event of a site failure, such as flood or fire, Acronis will ship out one of its NAS devices with the last backup of each downed server along with bare metal restore software to get the end customer up and running. This can be shipped directly to the channel partner to allow rebuilding and relocate servers on behalf of client. This invocation process allows channel partners to make additional revenue.
The service launches on the October 12 and kicks off with a free 60-day evaluation available online.
Last week the vendor opened a new UK office and announced it has appointed eight new recruits over the past six months to support its customers and channel partners.
