SOS Online Backup Gains $3 Million In Funding For Cloud Storage Channels

SOS Online Backup currently partners with 600 to 700 MSPs along with several hundred other reseller partners ranging from one-man fixit shops to Yahoo to bring its cloud storage technology to customers, said Ken Shaw, CEO and founder of the El Segundo, Calif.-based company.

SOS Online Backup was founded in Australia, but opened a U.S. office in 2006. It is currently signing up about 50 new partners a month, and over 90 percent of its business comes from North America, Shaw said.

The company offers a "white label" cloud storage solution which channel partners can then offer to customers using the reseller's brand, Shaw said.

This includes a full set of tools and systems for channel partners to offer cloud storage, including built-in marketing and sales support and technical training, he said. The offering also includes the software needed to turn a server into an on-premises backup device for local data protection, he said.

Best of all, SOS Online Backup offers gross margins to partners of between 50 percent and 60 percent, Shaw said.

"Our program has been successful because we provide such a high margin," he said. "Backup has been a pain for resellers. Now they can make 50-percent margins on it."

With the new round of funding, a total of $10 million has been invested in SOS Online Backup, Shaw said.