Framework IT Takes Business Continuity To MSP Model

Company:

Headquarters: Zionsville, Ind.

Technology Sector: Storage

Key Product: Framework IT Survivor or Statistic

Year Founded: 2008

Number of Channel Partners: 50 in the U.S.

Ideal Channel Partner: Managed Service Providers

Why You Should Care: Framework IT's Web-based business continuity planning technology scales from SOHO to enterprise accounts.

The Lowdown: Before end users deploy a business continuity plan, they need to know where their holes are.

Framework IT's Survivor or Statistic offering provides a "Survivability Index" assessment to find those holes and then enables VARs and MSPs to build a continuity plan with customers through a subscription basis.

The 20-question assessment gives users a score and then a 64-step roadmap to build a solid business continuity plan, according to Pete Heles, founder and president of Framework IT.

"It gets into supply chain continuity, facilities security, steps in prevention, everything," Heles said.

The Survivor or Statistic offering is available in four flavors: SOHO (1-15 employees), small business (16-100 employees), medium (101-1000 employees) and enterprise (1000-plus).

Framework IT also has a unique model in that its technology is sold exclusively through MSPs and VARs, but there is no list price.

"The reason we're going through the channel is we know it's important for a trusted advisor to help clients. Nobody is better than an MSP partner or a good reseller to help get this stuff put in place," Heles said.

Most Framework IT's partners wrap Survivor or Statistic into their existing services offering. He noted one partner who charges about $200 per month per user, where his cost for the software is about $50 per month.

Framework IT hopes to increase its partner base to about 500 by the end of 2010, up from about 50 now. The company is selective about who it adds, Heles said.

"We want someobody comfortable selling at the C-level. This is not a technology sell. This helps MSP differentiate from everybody else," he said.

Adding a service like Survivor or Statistic can also drag along hardware and other technology sales, Heles said.

"What we're finding is when a company gets their continuity plans put together, they spend about $1,000 per employee to upgrade their technology. It takes technology from being neat and cool to being a business value. Things like VMware and continuous data protection are being added," Heles said. "We're watching people buy pretty heavyweight stuff because the CFO recognizes there's a business purpose for it."