With ransomware attacks surging, customers demanding always-on access and regulatory pressures tightening, airtight data protection and seamless business continuity have become ever more important for businesses. The State of BCDR Report 2025 reveals that over half of organizations are preparing to replace their primary backup provider in the next 12 months, pointing to weak disaster recovery (DR) capabilities as a major concern. This shift signals a major opportunity for MSPs to step in and deliver the comprehensive business continuity their clients urgently need.

However, even with its vital importance, business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) remain one of the largest line items — and riskiest bets — for most MSPs. Unfortunately, many MSPs are still stitching together fragmented tools that were never designed to support the operational demands or service delivery models unique to MSPs. This not only inflates overheads but also chips away at margins. Other MSPs are falling back on low-cost technologies and solutions that cut corners on recovery time, reliability and scalability, ultimately putting client security and trust in jeopardy. As business continuity takes center stage, clinging to such weak BCDR strategies puts service providers at risk of falling behind.

We’ve created this ultimate BCDR checklist to help MSPs take a clear, strategic look at their business continuity offerings. This will help you quickly assess where you stand with your BCDR offering and show you how an ideal BCDR platform like Datto’s will help you streamline operations, strengthen client trust and boost profits.

1. Go beyond backup: deliver built-in business continuity

For MSPs, backup alone doesn’t cut it anymore. What clients really need is business continuity baked into the solution from the start. That’s where Datto BCDR stands out. Instead of forcing MSPs to cobble together multiple vendors and tools, it offers a turnkey, all-in-one platform built to deliver seamless continuity across every client environment.

This all-in-one model translates into serious gains for MSPs:

• Path to faster profitability with a solution that’s quick to deploy and easy to scale.
• Simplified management that boosts technician efficiency and streamlines back-office workflows.
• One vendor, one invoice, zero surprises. No third-party add-ons or hidden complexity.

Datto BCDR, powered by SIRIS and ALTO, is also flexible enough to support clients of every size, from a lean SMB to a growing mid-market client. Whether your client needs a physical appliance, virtual deployment, image-based setup or private infrastructure, Datto adapts to meet their unique environment and industry requirements.

And when it comes to backup integrity and recovery speed, Datto’s Inverse Chain Technology™ changes the game. Each image-based backup stands on its own as a fully independent recovery point. No fragile backup chains, no restore failures, just reliable and rapid recovery when it counts.

Pair that with instant virtualization, both on-prem and in the cloud, and you get near-instant access to critical systems during outages. Datto BCDR also has groundbreaking features like 1-Click Disaster Recovery (1-Click DR) that make disaster recovery much more effortless and reliable — as simple as reordering from your favorite fast-food app. 

For MSPs, it all adds up to fewer emergencies, stronger SLAs and the power to deliver true uptime assurance.

2. Get automated proof of backup success — because trusting “backup completed” doesn’t scale

Seeing a “backup completed” message doesn’t guarantee that your clients’ data is safe or restorable. Datto offers automated capabilities for MSPs to ensure that every backup works when it matters most.

With automated screenshot verification, Datto ensures your clients’ virtual machines (VMs) boot correctly from backups and are recoverable. It even goes a step further with application-level verification to ensure workloads perform as expected after a restore. No more assumptions, no more surprises.

Datto also helps MSPs deliver real value during quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with exportable reports that show details, such as backup dates, verification status, recovery point integrity and retention settings. These reports help you prove reliability and justify costs.

When recovery is needed, Datto offers the flexibility required to respond fast and effectively:

• Versatile recovery modes

Support for physical-to-virtual (P2V), virtual-to-virtual (V2V), virtual-to-physical (V2P) and bare metal replicas — plus flexible options for asset and data recovery across diverse environments.

• Hardware-agnostic bare metal recovery

Restore systems and applications to dissimilar hardware with the bare metal recovery (BMR) technology that is designed to work across varying server configurations and vendors.

• Fast, secure file recovery

Indexed search and self-service recovery with role-based access controls (RBAC) make it quick and intuitive to recover the right files without compromising security.

3. Protect with confidence: purpose-built, immutable cloud that works for you

A BCDR solution is only as strong as the cloud behind it, and not all clouds are created with MSPs in mind. With Datto BCDR Cloud, you get a cloud environment purpose-built for continuity, security and scale — no bolt-ons, no DIY setups and no surprise bills.

Datto BCDR Cloud automatically stores backups in an immutable, encrypted and air-gapped format so that the data can’t be altered, tampered with or erased by ransomware. You don’t need to spend time engineering your own secure cloud architecture or managing third-party storage platforms. It’s all built-in and ready to go.

Key advantages of the Datto BCDR Cloud include:

• Advanced ransomware detection built directly into the backup chain to flag and isolate threats before they spread.
• Cloud Deletion Defense™, which allows you to recover snapshots even if an agent is accidentally or maliciously deleted.
• Built-in DR orchestration and failover, so you’re always prepared to restore operations without scrambling under pressure.
• 24/7/365 expert support from a team that understands BCDR inside out.

And perhaps, most importantly for MSPs, predictable pricing. With cloud retention included in your subscription, there are no extra charges for data ingress, egress, DR testing or actual disaster recovery events. That means:

• Flat, transparent costs
• Simplified billing
• Predictable profitability at scale

4. Simplify everything: one vendor, one platform, all BCDR services

Juggling multiple tools, vendors and interfaces adds complexity, drains resources and eats into margins. Datto changes that with a single, unified platform that delivers everything MSPs need to manage BCDR across all clients, environments and workloads.

Through the Datto Partner Portal, MSPs get a centralized view of all protected systems — whether on-prem, in the cloud, remote or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based. It’s a one-stop command center that simplifies client management and keeps your team focused on delivering value, not chasing tools.

This unified experience brings real operational benefits:

• Streamlined onboarding for new techs thanks to a consistent user interface, common workflows and less training overhead.
• Faster technician handoffs and better workload balance. No steep learning curves or tool toggling.
• Reduced tool sprawl, which cuts vendor bloat, lowers costs and increases service efficiency.

With just one support line and one invoice for your entire BCDR stack, you also spend less time on vendor management and more time scaling your business.

5. Unlock true partnership: get the support that powers your success

Great support isn’t just about resolving tickets. For MSPs, it’s about having a partner who understands your business model, your clients and the pressures you face every day. That’s exactly what Datto delivers — 24/7/365 support designed specifically for MSPs, with expertise that goes far beyond the technical.

Datto’s BCDR specialists are trained not only in recovery workflows but also in the MSP service delivery model. Whether you’re performing a disaster recovery test, managing an active failover or preparing for a big client pitch, you’re backed by a team that knows how to help you succeed — technically and commercially.

Key support and enablement benefits include:

• Around-the-clock access to engineers with deep BCDR experience who are ready to assist with testing, failover or troubleshooting.
• Support-assisted DR testing so you’re not alone when validating recovery plans or delivering on client SLAs.
• The Backup Concierge Program that provides you with a dedicated backup solution architect who:
  • Provides sales guidance to help you close more deals.
  • Helps with pricing, packaging and quoting.
  • Joins client meetings and demos as an extension of your team.
  • Gives you access to co-brandable marketing materials and campaigns.
• Plus, through the Datto Partner Portal, you get access to a full suite of MSP enablement tools, from datasheets and how-to guides to customizable client-facing presentations that help you communicate value with confidence.

With Datto, support isn’t reactive; it’s proactive, personalized and built to help your business grow.

Choose BCDR that delivers — because backups alone aren’t enough

Your clients count on you to deliver when it matters most. So why settle for a backup solution that doesn’t back you? Datto’s unified, MSP-first BCDR platform turns recovery moments into client wins and SLAs into predictable, recurring revenue.

Use this checklist to evaluate your stack. If your current solution falls short, it’s time to move on. Take the first step toward a more resilient, profitable MSP business by getting your pricing today.