Today’s businesses expect more than just backup. They want storage included, reliable recovery services, deployment flexibility for restricted networks, and capabilities that support their compliance requirements. These are the expectations channel partners need to address.
That was the picture that emerged at the GATES India ICT Channel Summit 2026, held from Oct 27 to 29 at The Lalit, Chandigarh. The summit brought together system integrators (SIs), value-added resellers (VARs), distributors and resellers, along with a strong presence of managed service providers (MSPs).
Vembu was represented by Nagarajan Chandrasekaran, VP – Product Management, and Sakthi Prian, Global Channel Sales & Partner Strategy Leader.
Vembu Technologies received the GATES Gold Vendor of the Year honour, and was voted as SaaS Vendor of the Year by the audience, with 64% of the votes.
What partners are asking for
The conversations were with a wide mix of people: partners already working with established backup and security vendors, security-focused integrators, and greenfield partners new to data protection. Several themes kept returning.
Storage and services, not just software: Cloud backup storage was among the most frequently requested capabilities. Partners want a complete offering that includes storage, rather than assembling it themselves. Alongside this, several showed real interest in Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS). One SI explained that the licensing and delivery models of the larger backup vendors did not suit how it sells services, and was keen to explore Backup as a Service (BaaS) and Recovery as a Service.
Recurring revenue: Many MSPs and SIs are looking to move beyond one-off software resale into managed backup, disaster recovery and recovery services. For them, the question is less about individual features and more about whether a platform can support a sustainable service business.
Air-gapped environments: Integrators handling government projects asked whether both BDRShield and XDRShield can be deployed in air-gapped networks. For organisations where connectivity is deliberately restricted, this is often a starting requirement rather than a nice-to-have.
Compliance readiness: Partners wanted to understand how BDRShield fits into customers’ efforts around ISO 27001 and India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, and whether supporting documentation or ready-made policies are available. We explained how backup, retention and recovery capabilities can support wider governance work. No single product can deliver compliance on its own, and partners appreciated a clear conversation on where backup fits.
Differentiation: Partners, including some working with other leading vendors, asked directly how BDRShield differs from established players. Detailed comparisons were among the most common follow-up requests.
Where BDRShield and XDRShield fit
These conversations map neatly onto the two products’ roles.
BDRShield by Vembu focuses on backup, data protection and recovery. It was the product partners discussed most, particularly Microsoft 365 backup to on-premises storage, which one partner highlighted as a practical advantage for customers who want to keep data under their own control. Cloud storage, DRaaS and managed recovery services were the other areas of interest.
XDRShield by Vembu focuses on threat detection, investigation and response. Security-focused SIs responded positively to its free offering, which makes it easy to evaluate with customers before committing.
Many partners also asked how Vembu is using AI. Our direction is towards an AI-powered business continuity and recovery-ready approach, in which security and data protection solutions share intelligence: detecting a threat, isolating affected machines and starting recovery to keep the business running. This is where we are heading, and it reflects what partners told us they need: detection, response and recovery that work together rather than in separate silos.
Making it low-risk for new partners
For partners new to Vembu, we outlined a simple approach: support through the whole sales cycle, including demos, proof-of-concept deployments, onboarding and technical support. Many also asked whether Vembu works directly with resellers and SIs or only through distributors, a question we were glad to discuss in detail.
The takeaway
The strongest message from the event was that channel partners are looking for solutions built around the way they sell and support customers: storage included, recovery offered as a service, flexibility for restricted environments, and a clear route to compliance conversations.
Our thanks go to the GATES team for organising the summit, to everyone who stopped by to talk, and to the partners who voted for us. The recognition is welcome, but the conversations matter more. They tell us where to focus next.
If you are an SI, MSP or reseller exploring backup, disaster recovery or security as a growing part of your business, we would be glad to hear from you. Explore BDRShield and our partner programme If your customers also need threat detection and response, you can try XDRShield.
