Scaling Backup for 100+ Clients: How MSPs Avoid Storage Bottlenecks

Today is World Backup Day! It is a timely reminder for Managed Service Providers to check in with their backup strategy and check that they’re ready for growth. MSPs are seeing around 23% annual growth in the volume of client data they manage¹. As that data grows, many backup solutions will face real challenges in keeping up. This article explores how to recognize those growing pains early and how to architect your systems to avoid storage bottlenecks before they become a serious issue.

Data stored by MSPs is growing at a rate of 23% per year.

Why MSPs Experience Storage Bottlenecks at Scale

Storage bottlenecks commonly occur when infrastructure fails to scale with data growth. Storage systems typically experience sharp performance declines when utilization surpasses ~80%². Legacy backup systems often amplify these issues because they're designed for smaller datasets and struggle under increased loads, leading to longer backup windows and higher failure rates³. Incremental upgrades to legacy systems might offer short-term fixes, but they rarely solve the core scalability issues.

Signs That Your Backup Solution Won’t Scale

It's crucial to spot the warning signs early to prevent scalability issues:

• Critical Utilization Thresholds: Significant performance drops typically happen when storage reaches around 80% capacity².

• Extended Backup Windows: If backups consistently run into business hours, it indicates your system is struggling.

• Increasing Failure Rates: Infrastructure overload is a leading cause of recovery failures, responsible for approximately 58% of backup failures⁴.

• Decreased Restore Speeds: Slower restore times or inconsistent restore performance indicate serious bottlenecks.

Architecting Backup Storage for Long-Term Scalability

To ensure your backup infrastructure scales effectively long-term, MSPs should adopt strategic architectural planning rather than reactive upgrades. Here are the key factors to consider:

Node Growth and Scale-Out Architecture

Backup systems should be designed around a scale-out approach, adding nodes to distribute workloads rather than relying on expanding single, centralized servers. Each additional node contributes to overall performance, capacity, and reliability, preventing bottlenecks and ensuring seamless growth. The restrictions around node additions should also be checked, as some systems have hard limits.

Technology Choices for Scalability

Choosing the right storage technology impacts scalability significantly. Leveraging clustered storage solutions that utilize global namespaces allows data to be spread efficiently across nodes, simplifying management and improving resilience. Object storage solutions can further enhance scalability, performance, and ease of management due to their inherent distributed architecture.

Planning for Long-Term Retention Periods

Retention periods for backup data directly impact storage requirements. As data retention policies increase in length, often due to compliance or business continuity requirements, the volume of stored backups can balloon quickly. Incorporate long-term retention into your initial storage planning and regularly reassess these requirements against current storage capacity and future expansion.

Continuous Performance Monitoring

Proactive monitoring of performance metrics (i.e. backup and restore duration, storage latency, and throughput) is essential for anticipating and resolving potential issues before they impact service quality. MSPs should implement monitoring tools and establish baseline metrics to quickly identify deviations signaling potential bottlenecks.

Simplified Management and Automation

As backup infrastructure scales, complexity increases significantly. Selecting solutions that prioritize ease of management and robust automation can reduce operational overhead and minimize human errors. Automation in tasks such as provisioning, capacity management, and routine maintenance helps ensure efficient scalability without additional strain on IT resources.

Future-Proofing Your Backup Strategy

To successfully scale over the next five years, MSPs will need to anticipate continued exponential data growth. Global data volumes are projected to more than double by 2028, significantly impacting backup storage requirements. Additionally, client expectations for data protection and recovery speed are rapidly evolving; more than half of enterprises are already planning major backup infrastructure upgrades to meet these expectations⁴.

Ensuring your backup infrastructure is future-proof involves choosing solutions that are inherently scalable and adaptable. MSPs must focus on strategies that prioritize flexibility, robust architecture, and efficient resource management. Regularly reviewing performance metrics, planning capacity in advance, leveraging storage efficiency technologies, and embracing automation are essential steps to meet and exceed client expectations consistently.

Proactive management of scalability challenges equips your MSP to confidently handle growth and maintain competitive advantage. By continuously aligning your backup infrastructure with projected growth and technological advancements, your business remains prepared to address both current and future data protection needs effectively.

References:

1. 451 Alliance, 2024

2. StorageNewsletter, 2024 Buyer’s Guide

3. Rubrik

4. Veeam Data Protection Trends, 2021 & 2024