Alex Walsh, Regional VP of Channel, EMEA North, Keepit

As organisations across EMEA continue to expand their SaaS environments, channel partners are under growing pressure to deliver stronger data protection, resilience and compliance services. Alex Walsh, Regional VP of Channel, EMEA North, Keepit, tells us why independent SaaS data protection, data sovereignty and recurring revenue services are becoming critical opportunities for partners navigating an increasingly complex cloud landscape.

Why did you decide to move to Keepit? For me, the move was about doing something genuinely different. I didn’ t want to join another vendor doing the same things in the same way. What attracted me to Keepit was the opportunity to help build a channel-first business at a point of real momentum, rather than joining a mature model that was already set in stone.

Keepit’ s focus on pure SaaS data protection stood out immediately. We’ re not a legacy infrastructure vendor that added SaaS backup as a feature; it’ s our entire purpose. On top of that, Keepit owns its technology stack within its data centres, which gives us independence from hyperscalers and the ability to move quickly. That combination of technical independence, data sovereignty and a clear channel commitment felt genuinely disruptive.

Just as important was the culture. When I spoke to people across the business, there was a real sense of excitement about what the channel could become. That enthusiasm, coupled with a clear long-term vision, made it a compelling decision.

How can partners drive value and margin in today’ s SaaS-heavy environment? Partners need to shift away from a licenceled mindset and focus instead on business outcomes. In a SaaS-first world, customers are not simply buying tools; they are looking for confidence that their data is secure, recoverable and compliant when incidents occur. Value is increasingly measured by resilience, not features. What many still misunderstand is that SaaS providers such as Microsoft are responsible for service availability, not for long-term protection or recovery of customer data.

A common margin-draining mistake is only protecting part of the SaaS estate. Microsoft 365 and identity services are often addressed first, yet organisations typically run dozens and in many cases close to 100 SaaS applications, each with its own data risk. Applications such as HR, finance, collaboration and e-signature platforms all contain businesscritical information, and none of them assume responsibility for backing up customer data. Leaving those workloads unprotected creates both operational exposure and missed revenue opportunities for partners.

The real opportunity lies in services. Partners that wrap technology with Backupas-a-Service, recovery testing, compliance-led consultancy, migration support and multi- SaaS protection bundles can significantly increase margin while strengthening longterm customer relationships. These services

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