As we look ahead to 2027, SMB operations in the Asia Pacific region are shifting from traditional backup and disaster recovery toward something more transformative.
Data drawn from our biennial Future of Operations study shows SMBs place critical priority on unlocking the full value of business data.
Solution adoption intent in the Business Continuity domain takes on a new dimension when viewed in this light.
Reframing backup data from passive insurance to active business asset is a pivotal shift and an exciting opportunity for partners.
In the fifth of our Future of Operations Insight series, we will dive into the key insights from the study that relate to business continuity.
We’ll focus on the drivers of continuity strategies, solution adoption patterns and where they need external expertise to achieve their objectives.
Data from the Future of Operations study shows 63% of SMBs rank the reduction of enterprise risk as a high-to-critical business objective. 67% rate improved operational resilience at the same level of priority. Moreover, 68% of all SMBs in the study are pursuing capability builds that will accelerate responsiveness to market and business change.
These strategic imperatives are driving major shifts in the business continuity domain. SMBs are moving from traditional backup and disaster recovery towards something more transformative: operational data resilience.
This is reframing continuity strategies to drive real-time insights, enable AI-readiness, and unlock new levels of business agility.
Source: The Future of Operations: Advancing AI Innovation and Cloud Agility for Small and Medium Sized Businesses, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Crayon, March 2025
Continuity is no longer merely about safeguarding or recovering data after a disruption. The study clearly indicates SMBs now consider continuity a proactive enabler of intelligent data management, optimisation, and analytics-ready architectures.
This evolution directly aligns with the rapid adoption of AI-driven strategies across SMBs, underscoring the convergence of analytics and continuity.
What was once viewed solely as an insurance policy—backup data stored passively—is now becoming a crucial strategic resource.
SMBs have started recognising that their backup and recovery data can serve broader strategic purposes, including real-time analytics, operational insights, and predictive decision-making capabilities.
The study provides significant insights into why SMBs are shifting focus:
Already adopted by 35% of SMBs surveyed in the study, this solution has a 41% adoption intent rate leading into 2027. This trend signals the increased value SMBs place on structuring stored data for usability and insights.
Data continuity strategies correlate closely with artificial intelligence initiatives. AI demands accessible, clean, and analytics-ready data—precisely what modern continuity and resilience solutions must provide.
SMBs no longer accept downtime or delay. They require data that is continuously available, always optimized, and resilient across multi-cloud and hybrid environments.
The report reveals a compelling reality: the boundary between traditional business continuity and analytics is blurring.
Rather than being treated as two distinct capabilities, continuity and analytics now share common goals:
By merging continuity and analytics, SMBs benefit from an environment where their backup data is not just secure but is instantly valuable, feeding analytics platforms, supporting decision-making, and driving business agility.
This convergence offers a powerful new narrative for partners. Continuity is no longer just a safeguard, it’s an enabler of better insights, AI-readiness, and cloud-native resilience.
To leverage this shift, partners can consider combining offerings across traditional backup, storage tiering, hybrid cloud solutions, and modern data warehousing to create comprehensive, resilience-centric data platforms.
Key capabilities of such integrated solutions might include:
Offering SMBs continuity solutions that directly feed into data warehousing platforms ensures analytics-ready data at all times.
Automated and policy-driven tiering helps SMBs balance cost and performance, ensuring critical data is accessible in real-time.
Transitioning traditional backups into cloud-native, analytics-ready repositories, allowing rapid recovery and active analysis.
Enabling SMBs to manage and govern data consistently across multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments to optimise data availability and security.
By aligning offerings to these capabilities, partners can move up the value chain from providing operational hygiene to creating new value with continuity solutions that directly contribute toward achieving strategic business objectives for greater operational resilience and competitive agility.
SMBs need services to underpin their solution adoptions. Data in the study shows SMBs are seeking third party expertise to service the following needs within the Business Continuity operational domain:
Partners can angle cloud strategy development toward strategic consulting, roadmap creation and advisory services that help SMBs migrate continuity operations strategically to cloud-native environments.
The need for managed cloud operations services could be met with proactive monitoring, governance, and automated cloud management offerings that maintain continuity without the complexity and resource challenges that SMBs can face when trying to manage internally.
Business application implementation service needs tied to continuity was a surprising insight emerging from the study. The opportunity to capitalise may lie in extending BCDR services into the applications layer, bundling continuity strategy within implementation services for Cloud ERP or CRM.
Beyond horizontal business applications such as ERP, there is opportunity for partners to look at continuity service needs within verticals where applications are often discreet to specific industries. A good starting point for considering plays here can be found in the Data Operatives Field Guide.
Develop comprehensive platforms combining backup modernisation, intelligent tiering, cloud data warehouses, and analytics capabilities.
Educate SMB customers on the dual role of continuity data—both protective and strategic.
Highlight continuity platforms as integral to business intelligence and AI-readiness strategies, and operational data resilience as a contributor to business objectives for risk reduction, change responsiveness and data-led value creation.
The global market has entered a tech-led wave of business innovation, driven by data analytics and AI. Backup data is a vital strategic asset can be harnessed within this wave.
Operational data resilience represents better protection + better performance + greater insights for more profound outcomes and business impact for solution investments.
The opportunity exists for partners to proactively explore this emerging trend with customers.
Move from a focus on functional backup and recovery to new data-led value creation within the Business Continuity domain.
Partners that can reframe and extend existing capabilities will position themselves as frontrunners in an increasingly data-driven future.
Sales and Marketing
Business leaders don't live in the tools. They live in the outcomes. The metrics they care about most are not always limited to compliance and risk. So how do you connect data protection to the big-ticket objectives, when they're less obvious? Our in-house pre-sales expert, Michael Brooke explains.
Guides and eBooks
As SMBs mature in the Data Protection lifecycle, they need help to optimise spend, reduce the compliance burden and ensure results align to business objectives. The third installment of our Data Protection Playbook series provides practical guidance for partners on how to address emerging pressure and connect ongoing investment to measurable business value.
Training
Copilot Agents: what are they and how do they differ from AI assistants and chatbots? Our in-house Copilot expert Ksenia Turner explains the use cases and service opportunities for partners.
Blogs
Fragmented data protection systems and processes create compliance proof-gaps for SMB customers. Scott Hagenus, Director, Cybersecurity here at Crayon explains.
Sales and Marketing
Ever wonder why a pitch has some IT Managers leaning forward, while others glaze over? Michael Brooke, Cybersecurity Pre-Sales Lead offers some insight on how to tune your approach to chime with different technical mindsets.
Guides and eBooks
How can partners help their SMB customers to move from silos of security and continuity to a more cohesive, measurable and insurable data protection framework? The second edition in our Data Protection Playbook series maps out their journey, and yours.
Vendor Announcements
Copilot for Business has landed at Microsoft Ignite 2025, levelling the GenAI playing field for SMB customers. Learn all about it from our man on the ground, Andreas Bergman.
Press Release
Press Release
Blogs
As cybersecurity and continuity converge in platforms and in practice, partners need new playbooks to address modern Data Protection standards. Our in-house cybersecurity pre-sales lead, Michael Brooke explains why.
Guides and eBooks
What triggers an SMB customer to begin exploring their need for better Data Protection? The first of our four Data Protection Playbooks for partners breaks down how to position and win in the Pre-Adoption and Exploration stage.
Insights
Data Protection priorities are shifting for SMBs. Ramp up your ability to respond with curated insights, articles and resources to help you guide every customer conversation with confidence.
Partner Spotlight
In this Partner Spotlight, Acceltech Managing Director Ivy Tarrobago shares how Crayon’s responsive support enhances client outcomes and business growth.
Whitepapers
Data Protection is a must for all SMBs but how can partners align solution investment with critical business objectives? Our latest paper shows you how.
Press Release
Crayon has been recognised with a huge double win at the CRN Channel Asia awards ceremony.
Insights
All the latest insights, articles and resources on M365 Copilot, curated into one place.
Insights
SMB customers are storing greater volumes of sensitive data in more places than ever. Secure backup and recovery practices are essential to how they protect it.
Partner Spotlight
Bigfish Technology saved AU$20,000 on its annual Microsoft licensing after one call with Crayon and has since built a strong partnership that enabled Bigfish to get access to Crayon’s expertise and vendor ecosystem.
Insights
Insider risk is a subtle and continuous challenge for SMB customers. Turn it into a manageable and quantifiable aspect of their Data Protection strategy.
Blogs
From rethinking backup to governance frameworks and behavioural analytics, what's involved in building a complete Data Protection strategy for SMB customers?
Insights
We explore the evolution of Microsoft's channel strategy over the past ten years, and what can be learned by viewing it through a Value Cycle lens.
Guides and eBooks
The Microsoft Fabric Partner Guide curates our recent articles, videos and resources to accelerate Crayon partner learning.
Insights
Rhonda Robati, Executive Vice President of Crayon APAC assesses the factors driving Microsoft's channel strategy and the evolution needed to be a Partner of the Future.
Blogs
After decades of experience navigating seismic shifts in vendor strategy, Warren Nolan knows the importance of being pragmatic and proactive in the face of disruption to the Microsoft CSP Program.
Insights
What are the most critical business objectives and solution adoption priorities for SMBs in our region? Download the latest Forrester study to find out!
Training
Which Wasabi consumption model is the right fit for various scenarios? We explore the options.
Guides and eBooks
Mission essentials for winning data protection business in education, healthcare, retail and manufacturing.
