I've been working at a rural K-12 school district for 16 years and have gradually taken over the IT department. For a long time, we've relied on a Managed Service Provider (MSP) to handle our backups, which has been a mix of peace of mind and a big expense—about $500 a month. They claim they use either Synology or Veeam to manage backups for our virtual servers, domain controllers, and several file servers. However, with our tightening budget, I'm questioning whether this is the best setup or if we're just throwing away money. The MSP wants to replace our aging server and NAS with a cloud service setup, increasing our monthly cost by $100 and hitting us with a $1,000 upfront hardware cost. I'm curious if this is a fair deal or if there are better, more cost-effective solutions for someone new to managing backups. Your expertise would be greatly appreciated, especially since we're working with limited funds!
3 Answers
If the new cost is $600 a month with the additional $100 increase, that's still pretty steep for some. Unfortunately, finding a lower-cost commercial backup solution might be tough. You could explore open-source options and DIY setups, but those often come with their own risks. Just be aware that cutting corners on backups usually leads to trouble when you actually need to restore data.
You definitely want to ensure your backups are solid before any disaster hits. Make sure your current setup covers all bases—like ransomware, fire, or accidental deletion. A common approach is the 3-2-1 rule for backups: have three sets of backups, use two different media, and keep at least one of them offsite. You’ll want to evaluate if your MSP's service fulfills these needs. If they do, it might be worth keeping them. Otherwise, you may want to consider alternatives. By the way, Windows Server can back up to Azure, which could be a cost-effective solution depending on your data size.
If you trust the MSP and aren't confident managing backups yourself, I’d suggest going with their offer. Cloud backups can be tricky, especially if you’re new to it, and the hassle of managing it yourself might lead to headaches. Having reliable backups reduces a lot of stress at work, so don’t skimp on them, even if budget is tight.
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