The managed service provider (MSP) landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift. Legacy backup solutions that once seemed sufficient have become expensive liabilities in an era where estimates say cybersecurity costs worldwide will reach over $15 trillion by 2029.
Using disparate tools to manage different areas of client service is no longer feasible. MSPs are dealing with increasingly complex environments and threats, and have to consolidate solutions before tool sprawl breaks their business models.
The hidden cost of legacy backup and tool sprawl
In the face of growing threats and increasing complexity, consolidation has become a trend among technology professionals in the last few years. Gartner found that 75% of organizations sought to consolidate security vendors in 2022, up from just 29% in 2020. More recently, IDC found that more than half of organizations were already consolidating security tools and vendors, with over 85% planning consolidation by the end of 2025.
The problem extends beyond simple cost management. MSPs are striving to increase managed endpoints per technician from approximately 250 to 500, an efficiency gain of that magnitude is impossible without a natively integrated platforms. Legacy solutions create three critical business risks:
Operational inefficiency:
Managing multiple vendor relationships, training staff on different platforms and maintaining complex integrations drains resources from revenue-generating activities. A good benchmark is 350 fully managed endpoints per technician, but achieving this ratio requires automation and consolidation that disparate tools can’t provide.
Financial Instability:
Without proper consolidation, MSPs struggle to implement the 40/20/40 rule—allocating 40% of revenue to overhead, 20% to external technology and 40% to services gross margin. Tool sprawl inflates the technology allocation while reducing margins.
Security gaps:
Traditional backup solutions can’t verify that restored data is malware-free, which can create dangerous blind spots. Malware could return even after data recovery via infected files in the backup system. That kind of gap can become a critical business risk.
The Acronis advantage: One platform, measurable results
Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud addresses the challenges MSPs face with a natively integrated platform that delivers quantifiable benefits. IDC research shows cybersecurity consolidation can save an average of 16% of total tool costs and nearly 20% of time spent analyzing cybersecurity functions.
Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud delivers a comprehensive set of critical capabilities for MSPs:
- Comprehensive workload protection in Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud covers more than 20 different workload types, with all solutions built to work together and manageable through a single agent and console. Native integration eliminates the complexity of managing separate solutions for physical machines, virtual environments, cloud workloads and Microsoft 365 data. The ability to manage from a single pane of glass is critical for MSPs shifting from managing on-premises systems to primarily working in SaaS environments.
- Automated threat response creates powerful operational advantages. When the cybersecurity component of Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud detects threats, it automatically triggers additional backup snapshots to preserve clean data before potential encryption. The backup component then verifies recovery points are malware-free before restoration.
- AI-powered automation delivers the efficiency gains MSPs need, cutting the time to perform full patching support, for example, from days to minutes. This level of automation is essential for achieving the endpoint-to-technician ratios that drive profitability.
- Microsoft 365 excellence provides best-in-class protection for the platform that defines modern business operations. Since Microsoft itself doesn’t completely protect client data, MSPs need solutions covering email security, collaboration applications, backup, archiving and extended detection and response (XDR) to ensure comprehensive data security.
- Comprehensive workload protection in Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud covers more than 20 different workload types, with all solutions built to work together and manageable through a single agent and console. Native integration eliminates the complexity of managing separate solutions for physical machines, virtual environments, cloud workloads and Microsoft 365 data. The ability to manage from a single pane of glass is critical for MSPs shifting from managing on-premises systems to primarily working in SaaS environments.
Strategic value for MSPs: Turn complexity into profit
For MSPs, consolidation creates critical competitive advantages. Better client protection through consolidation reduces response time to incidents and decreases remediation.
Replacing multiple point solutions with a single, natively integrated platform eliminates the operational burden of managing disparate tools. Product managers can accurately scope and price services instead of guessing at resource requirements. Technicians avoid performing repetitive tasks across multiple systems.
Cloud-native architecture supports the growth MSPs need without proportional increases in management overhead. Multi-tenant capabilities enable efficient client management while maintaining security and compliance requirements.
Built-in integrations with popular remote monitoring and management (RMM) and professional services automation (PSA) tools like Autotask, ConnectWise, Kaseya and Atera enable seamless operations within existing workflows.
And with a natively integrated cybersecurity solution, MSPs can create a standard offer to most clients, easing the burden of client management. This standardization enables tiered service packages that cater to diverse client needs while maintaining operational efficiency.
Why upgrade now: The consolidation imperative
The industry shift toward consolidation is accelerating, and early adopters can gain significant advantages. The convergence of RMM with other MSP tools into all-in-one platforms eliminates the need for multiple disjointed solutions, reducing complexity and improving usability.
Organizations migrating to unified platforms consistently report faster incident response, reduced operational complexity and stronger security postures. The combination of proactive cybersecurity measures, continuous monitoring and secure backup verification creates comprehensive protection that disparate solutions cobbled together can’t match.
The future of RMM lies in convergence with PSA, IT documentation and other tools to create a holistic IT management ecosystem. Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud delivers this vision today through unified RMM, PSA, remote desktop and IT documentation in the Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud platform.
Transform your business model with Acronis
The migration to unified cyber protection isn’t just about better technology. It’s about MSPs positioning themselves for sustainable growth in an increasingly challenging business. Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud eliminates the tool sprawl that constrains growth while delivering the comprehensive protection client’s demand.
For more information and registration, see all Acronis Events.