Continuum Launches Fully Managed Backup Platform Continuity247

Continuum, a Boston-based provider of solutions and services for managed services providers, has launched a fully managed backup platform in a move executives say will help MSPs take their businesses to the next level.

The Continuity247 platform provides both on-premises and cloud-backup options that are backed up with services by the Continuum network operations center. The solution is powered by IBM's Cloud and SoftLayer infrastructure, but is local hardware independent for whatever infrastructure MSPs' clients already have in place. The combination is what Continuum CEO Michael George calls a "backup solution for today and the future."

In particular George said the offering is distinctive because it is hardware-independent, it is a software-defined backup solution with a lot of scalability, and it allows the MSP to own a lot more of the process and solution without dealing with backup headaches.

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"We really designed this to be a 'set it and forget it' solution, allowing us to use our service-delivery offering to offload the MSP from the labor associated with the backup business, and really enable them to make money on the places they should make it -- and it should be in and around the product without margins being eroded," George said.

George said the rollout will help MSPs pivot away from a "hardware-centric world" toward more profitable, long-term-sustainable areas of the business, such as security, provisioning, mobility and app development. The Continuity247 platform allows MSPs to build a business around software-defined solutions as well as approach the cloud in a competitive and margin-rich way, he said.

"This is the first product initiative off of a platform that will enable MSPs to pivot their business to get away from the hardware-centricity of the past and move more toward a software-defined world," George said.

The launch capitalizes on Continuum's acquisition of R1Soft, which closed in July of last year. The acquisition brought with it backup technology that protected nearly 250,000 servers and was used by more than 1,800 Web-hosting providers.

The launch isn't Continuum's first foray into backup solutions: A successful solution called Vault has been in the marketplace for more than three years. Continuum will be discontinuing selling Vault as of June 30, and partners who buy it up to that point will be able to provide it through July 30. After that, Continuum will continue to provide licensing support through May 2019. The discontinuation signifies Continuum's commitment to its new backup solution, George said.

"This is very, very strategic for us as a company and we're putting all our wood behind this arrow," George said. "Just so we don't dilute our efforts, we will be discontinuing selling our Vault product."

MSPs will get access to the new solution through the Continuum portal. Similar to other Continuum products, it will be priced with month-to-month billing with no contracts and will be fully integrated into Continuum for use with the company's RMM platform and NOC. The solution will be price-competitive in the market, with a variety of package options for different MSP needs, according to the company.

"It's really a complement to our existing solutions," said Dee Zepf, vice president of product management.

Gary Harlam, president of Warwick, R.I.-based Technology Advisory Group, has been helping beta test Continuity247 after using the Vault solution for almost two years. While he hasn't been testing the product for long, so can't judge its technical chops, he said he looks forward to Continuum's having more control over the solution, versus vendor control before.

"When it comes down to making business decisions, they control their own destiny. If we discuss a feature that makes sense, and I've seen this in other products, they will make sure it gets done. ... That's important," Harlam said.

PUBLISHED MARCH 31, 2015