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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.

 

Business Continuity strategies have changed for SMBs

Business Continuity strategies have changed for SMBs

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

 

Reframing Continuity as Operational Data Resilience

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.

Key Drivers of Operational Data Resilience

Key Drivers of Operational Data Resilience

The study provides significant insights into why SMBs are shifting focus:

Cloud Data Warehouse Adoption

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.

AI-Readiness

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.

Real-Time Usability

SMBs no longer accept downtime or delay. They require data that is continuously available, always optimized, and resilient across multi-cloud and hybrid environments.

Continuity Converges with Analytics

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:

  • optimised data availability
  • instant recoverability
  • immediate insight-generation capabilities. 

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.

Solution Opportunities

Solution Opportunities

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:

Data Warehouse Integration

Offering SMBs continuity solutions that directly feed into data warehousing platforms ensures analytics-ready data at all times.

Intelligent Storage Tiering

Automated and policy-driven tiering helps SMBs balance cost and performance, ensuring critical data is accessible in real-time.

Backup Modernisation

Transitioning traditional backups into cloud-native, analytics-ready repositories, allowing rapid recovery and active analysis.

Cross-Cloud Governance

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.  

Service Opportunities

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:

  • 52% cloud strategy development
  • 45% managed cloud operations services
  • 45% business application implementations

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.

Get the Guide

Practical GTM Steps for Operational Data Resilience

Practical GTM Steps for Operational Data Resilience

Combine and Package Offerings

Develop comprehensive platforms combining backup modernisation, intelligent tiering, cloud data warehouses, and analytics capabilities. 

Communicate New Value

Educate SMB customers on the dual role of continuity data—both protective and strategic. 

Position Real-Time Insight Capability

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.  

Redefine Continuity for Strategic Agility

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. 

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