Norwalk, Conn.-based Datto Inc. has introduced a free, industry-first BDR assessment tool that MSPs can use to identify backup needs in a customer environment and propose appropriate solutions.
Co-developed over an 8-month period with RapidFire Tools Inc., an Atlanta-based maker of IT and security assessment solutions, the new system automatically inventories a client’s applications and determines what data is and isn’t being backed up at present both on-premises and in cloud environments like Office 365, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services. It then collects statistics on matters like download speeds, available storage capacity, and additional capacity requirements, and produces a report in both printable and Microsoft PowerPoint formats recommending appropriate Datto solutions and quantifying the projected return on those investments.
The end result is a powerful tool for driving fact-based sales conversations with new and existing customers about BDR solutions, according to Rob Rae (pictured), vice president of business development at Datto. Rae officially unveiled the new system last week at The ASCII Group‘s final 2016 IT SMB Success Summit of 2016, in Newport, R.I.
“This will be a huge game changer for those of you that actually use it because now you’re focusing on the gaps, you’re focusing on the total cost of actually having downtime, and you’re going to be winning deals because of this,” he told attendees of that show.
The new tool, which is available exclusively through Datto, is free to channel partners regardless of whether or not they currently partner with that firm.
“We want the channel to go out and win more business,” said Rae at last week’s conference, adding that interested MSPs can email abc@datto.com for more information.
Datto was named winner of the 2016 ASCII Cup for vendor of the year on the same day it introduced the new assessment system. That award goes annually to the company selected by ASCII event attendees as having demonstrated the greatest goodwill toward the channel and commitment to helping ASCII members grow their businesses.
RapidFire Tools plans to use the BDR assessment tool it created with Datto as the inspiration for a similar system it will add to its existing product roster in the second half of 2017, according to Mike Mittel, the company’s president and CEO.
“At some point in the future, we’ll incorporate some of that technology back into our network assessment or our security assessment modules and we’ll offer similar functionality,” he says.
RapidFire Tools introduced a software-based appliance that detects internal network threats in May and a system that lets MSPs schedule automatic recurring network assessments for their clients in April. The Datto system is the first the company has developed in partnership with a third-party vendor, Mittel notes, but probably won’t be the last.
“We’re open to the opportunity,” he says. “I think this is just the first in other relationships we’ll develop in the future.”
