Backup as a service RFP template and vendor questions
Requirements, questions, and evaluation criteria specific to backup as a service procurement
7 min read
Backup as a Service (BaaS) procurement demands rigorous RFPs due to escalating cyber threats and complex data environments. Selecting a BaaS provider has become a critical strategic decision with long-term implications for organizational survival, making a detailed RFP essential.
What should a backup as a service RFP include?
A strong RFP for backup as a service should define business goals, required capabilities, integration and security needs, implementation expectations, supplier questions, and weighted evaluation criteria. It should make suppliers prove fit rather than only describe features.
What makes backup as a service RFPs different
BaaS RFPs differ significantly from general IT procurement due to the criticality of data recovery in the face of cyberattacks and disasters. The evaluation must extend beyond basic storage capacity and consider advanced features like immutability, anomaly detection, and clean room recovery. Furthermore, compliance requirements such as DORA and NIS2 add layers of complexity, requiring careful assessment of the vendor's security posture and data sovereignty capabilities.
The rise of SaaS applications and distributed workforces also necessitates a focus on endpoint protection and cloud-to-cloud backup solutions.
Data immutability and ransomware protection capabilities
Compliance with industry-specific regulations (e.g., DORA, HIPAA, NIS2)
Integration with existing security infrastructure and incident response plans
Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) for critical systems
RFP vs RFI vs RFQ
Here's when to use each document type when procuring backup as a service software.
RFI
Request for Information
Use early in your search to understand what vendors offer and narrow your list. Gather general capabilities, company background, and high-level pricing ranges.
RFP
Request for Proposal
Use when you know your requirements and want detailed vendor solutions and pricing. This is your main evaluation document for shortlisted vendors.
RFQ
Request for Quote
Use when requirements are fixed and you just need final pricing. Often used after RFP when you're ready to negotiate with finalists.
For BaaS, an RFI helps understand the range of available solutions and vendor capabilities. An RFP is crucial for in-depth evaluation of security features, compliance adherence, and disaster recovery preparedness. An RFQ is less suitable due to the complexity and customization required for BaaS implementation.
Technical requirements checklist
Use this checklist when defining your RFP scope.
Data Security & Immutability
Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) storage for backup data
Logical air-gapping to isolate backups from production networks
Encryption at rest and in transit (AES-256, TLS 1.3)
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for administrative access
Recovery Capabilities
Automated backup scheduling and verification
Clean room recovery environment for malware scanning
Instant recovery options for virtual machines and applications
Granular file and folder-level recovery
Cloud & SaaS Support
Direct-to-cloud backup for endpoints
Cloud-to-cloud (C2C) backup for SaaS applications (M365, Salesforce)
Support for backing up data within IaaS environments (AWS, Azure, GCP)
Integration with cloud-native security tools
Compliance & Governance
Data residency options to meet data sovereignty requirements
Compliance certifications (SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, DORA)
Audit logging and reporting capabilities
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Reporting & Analytics
Backup success rate monitoring
Storage utilization reporting
Anomaly detection and alerting
Customizable dashboards and reports
Questions to include in your RFP
Architecture & Deployment
Describe your architecture for data immutability and how it prevents ransomware from modifying or deleting backups.
Ensures backups remain protected even if an attacker gains administrative access.
Detail your deployment options and the advantages/disadvantages of each (cloud-native, hybrid, gateway-based).
Helps determine the best fit for the organization's infrastructure and recovery needs.
Explain your disaster recovery and business continuity plan, including geographic redundancy and failover procedures.
Verifies the vendor's ability to maintain data availability in the event of a major disruption.
How does your solution handle backup and recovery for remote endpoints (laptops, mobile devices) with limited bandwidth?
Addresses the challenges of protecting data in distributed work environments.
Security & Compliance
Describe your approach to logical air-gapping and how it isolates backup repositories from the production network.
Prevents lateral movement of attackers from production to backup environments.
Detail your anomaly detection capabilities and how you use AI/ML to identify potential ransomware attacks or data breaches.
Enables proactive threat detection and faster incident response.
What compliance certifications do you hold (SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, DORA) and how do you ensure ongoing compliance?
Demonstrates the vendor's commitment to security and regulatory requirements.
Explain your data residency options and how you ensure data sovereignty compliance for different geographic regions.
Meets legal and regulatory requirements for data storage location.
Recovery & Performance
Describe your clean room recovery process and how you scan data for malware before restoration.
Prevents reinfection of systems during recovery.
What is your "Time to First Byte" during a restore of 10 Terabytes of data from the cloud?
Indicates the performance and scalability of the vendor's cloud infrastructure.
Detail your automated scheduling and verification process to ensure backup integrity.
Guarantees that backups are valid and recoverable when needed.
What are your Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) for different types of workloads?
Defines the acceptable downtime and data loss in the event of a disaster.
Integration & Management
Describe your integration capabilities with common SaaS platforms (M365, Salesforce, etc.) and IaaS environments (AWS, Azure, GCP).
Ensures comprehensive data protection across all critical systems.
How does your platform handle "Shadow IT" discovery and ensure that unprotected cloud instances are identified and backed up?
Addresses the risk of data loss from unauthorized cloud applications.
Detail your API functionality and how it can be used to integrate backup alerts with a Security Operations Center (SOC).
Enables automated incident response and faster threat remediation.
Describe your single pane of glass management console and how it simplifies the management of on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments.
Streamlines backup administration and reduces operational overhead.
Pricing & Licensing
Provide a detailed breakdown of your pricing model, including all costs associated with implementation, licensing, storage, and egress fees.
Ensures transparency and helps avoid hidden costs.
What is your process for "Vendor Lock-in" mitigation? What is the cost and process for extracting historical backup data if we switch vendors?
Protects against being locked into a proprietary platform with high switching costs.
Do you offer volume discounts or long-term contracts and what are the associated terms and conditions?
Helps optimize the total cost of ownership.
What are your data retention policies and how do you handle data deletion requests in compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations?
Ensures compliance with data privacy laws.
Vendor Viability
Provide information about your company's financial stability and years in business.
Assesses the vendor's long-term viability and ability to support the solution.
Describe your customer support model, including service level agreements (SLAs) and escalation procedures.
Ensures timely and effective support in case of issues.
What is your product roadmap and how do you plan to incorporate emerging technologies like Generative AI and post-quantum encryption?
Ensures the solution remains viable against future threats.
Can you demonstrate a successful "Clean Room" recovery of our most complex multi-tier application?
Tests the vendor's ability to handle complex recovery scenarios.
Compliance and security requirements
Depending on your industry, you may need to require proof of these certifications and standards.
SOC 2 Type II
Required for organizations requiring assurance of data security and availability. If applicable, request current SOC 2 Type II report
ISO 27001
Required for organizations needing a globally recognized security standard. If applicable, request current ISO 27001 certification
HIPAA
Required for healthcare data. If applicable, request BAA template and HIPAA compliance documentation
GDPR
Required for organizations processing data of eu citizens. If applicable, request GDPR compliance documentation and data processing agreement
DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act)
Required for financial entities operating in the eu. If applicable, request DORA readiness assessment and compliance plan
NIS2 Directive
Required for essential and important entities within the eu. If applicable, request NIS2 compliance documentation and supply chain security measures
Evaluation criteria
Here is the suggested weighting for backup as a service RFPs.
Functionality FitHow well the solution meets stated requirements and use cases
25%
Security & ComplianceStrength of security features and adherence to relevant compliance standards
25%
Total Cost of OwnershipImplementation, licensing, storage, egress, and ongoing costs
20%
Integration CapabilitiesEase of integration with existing systems and cloud platforms
15%
Vendor Viability & SupportFinancial stability, customer support, and product roadmap
10%
Recovery PerformanceSpeed and reliability of data recovery processes
5%
Some weights were adjusted based on your priorities.
Increase if replacing a highly customized legacy system
Increase for highly regulated industries
Increase if complex integration landscape exists
Increase for critical deployments requiring high availability
Increase if RTOs are extremely tight
Red flags to watch
Vague pricing responses
Vendors who can't provide clear pricing often have hidden costs or complex fee structures that inflate TCO
No customer references in your industry
Lack of relevant references suggests limited experience with your specific requirements and use cases
Manual restore workflows
Indicates a lack of automation and potential for errors during recovery
Proprietary encryption
Avoid vendors using "custom" algorithms; they should use well-established standards like AES
Lack of SaaS native tools
Suggests a legacy product that may not be optimized for cloud environments
Key metrics to request
Ask vendors to provide benchmarks from similar customers.
Implementation timeline for similar customers
Helps set realistic expectations and identify potential delays
Average time to first value
Indicates how quickly you'll see ROI from the investment
Backup success rate
Measures the reliability of the backup process
Restoration time for critical systems
Verifies the ability to meet Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs)
