Beyond Cost: What’s Really Driving Cloud Storage Decisions For MSPs

Storage costs are rising and MSPs are feeling the pressure. In an exclusive interview with CRNtv, Andrew Smith, director of strategy and market intelligence at Wasabi, and Gary McConnell, CEO of VirtuIT Systems and a Wasabi partner, shared findings from Wasabi’s 2025 Cloud Storage Index and offered strategic guidance for solution providers navigating this evolving landscape.

Smith emphasized a shift in how organizations use cloud object storage: “The majority of capacity associated with object storage sits in that kind of like hot to warm part of the spectrum,” he said, noting increased reliance on cloud for primary workloads like AI and analytics.

Cost management remains a top concern. “About half of [the cloud storage bill] is spent on fees and half of it is spent on stored capacity,” Smith explained, urging MSPs to understand variable costs like egress and API operations.

McConnell stressed the importance of visibility and oversight: “It’s super important to constantly have eyes and visibility into the storage utilization…setting alerting thresholds,” he said. He also highlighted Wasabi’s immutable backup feature: “You cannot touch the data,” citing its effectiveness during ransomware events. “The number one challenge I see in storage in general is the cost,” McConnell added. “Wasabi’s done an incredible job of bringing a low-cost effective storage tier to the market.”

Both leaders agreed that cloud-first strategies must be workload-aware and cost-conscious. Wasabi’s ecosystem partnerships and transparent tools are helping MSPs adapt and thrive.

For more information on Wasabi and its cloud storage solutions, visit: www.wasabi.com