Data recovery set to drive reseller growth in 2014

Kroll Ontrack claims the majority (77 percent) of resellers see data recovery as a key driver for business growth in 2014.

According to a recent company survey, nearly two-thirds (60 percent) of resellers said that they believed data migration would also fuel growth, while 27 percent thought that data erasure would drive sales.

Of the 700 resellers surveyed by Kroll Ontrack, data recovery jobs in particular provide an opportunity to offer additional products to clients, including IT services (cited by 84 percent of resellers), back-up software (78 percent), back-up hardware (75 percent) and replacement hardware (65 percent).

The majority of resellers (89 percent) say that their clients go ahead and purchase additional products as a result of working with them on data recovery projects. These additional sales boost resellers’ revenues by up to $5,000 for the majority of respondents (59 percent), between US$5,001 and US$10,000 for a further 19 percent, and between US$10,001 and US$20,000 for 7 percent.

A smaller proportion (4 percent) said that they secure more than US$20,000 worth of additional sales as a result of working on data recovery engagements. Only 11 percent of resellers said that they did not sell any additional products following data recovery projects.

While resellers see real benefits from providing data recovery services in terms of additional revenue and customer loyalty, they have yet to fully capitalise on newer propositions such as legacy tape services.

Almost two-thirds of respondents (60 percent) believe that customers have requested legacy tape services, but that they don’t currently provide them – despite the fact that companies including Kroll Ontrack can make such services readily available via its reseller program.

“It’s great to see that our reseller partners gain such value from providing our data recovery, data management and data erasure services to their clients,” adds Adrian Briscoe, General Manager – Asia Pacific, Kroll Ontrack.

“A key benefit beyond the ability to generate extra revenue from hardware and software is to build customer loyalty by offering a more technical data recovery service – it’s all part of creating a relationship of trust in which clients know they can turn to their IT partners for help in even the most challenging circumstances.”

“However it’s not just data recovery in a crisis that creates opportunities to broaden a commercial relationship. Kroll Ontrack is increasingly working with reseller partners who want to offer data migration and legacy tape services to their clients.

“The global regulatory environment has increased the need for accurate data management and retrieval to the forefront, and resellers can support their clients’ requirements to get legacy data in shape by working with Kroll Ontrack.”