Keepit vs Arcserve SaaS Backup: The OEM Relationship You Should Know About (2026)

Arcserve SaaS Backup is built on Keepit. This is not a feature overlap or a similar architecture, Arcserve licenses Keepit's platform, brands the UI with Arcserve colours, and resells it as their own product. The underlying infrastructure, the backup engine, the storage, and the recovery tooling are all Keepit's.

This relationship is not hidden, but it's also not prominent in Arcserve's marketing. Partners selling Arcserve SaaS Backup may not realise they're selling a rebranded version of a product they could get directly from the source vendor with better terms and deeper feature access.

CRS distributes Keepit because the direct relationship gives partners the full product, first access to new workloads, full API capabilities, and local AU technical support. Arcserve SaaS Backup takes the same core platform and subtracts capabilities on the way to partners.

This is the single most important functional difference. Keepit provides a full REST API that MSPs use to programmatically manage tenants, configure backup policies, trigger restores, pull reporting, and integrate with PSA/RMM tools. For MSPs managing backup across hundreds of customer tenants, API access is non-negotiable.

Arcserve SaaS Backup does not provide a public API. MSP operations that are automated via Keepit's API have to be done manually through the Arcserve SaaS Backup UI. For a practice managing 20-50 customers, this is manageable. For a practice managing 100+ customers, it's operationally unsustainable.

Pretending this doesn't matter would be dishonest to partners. The API is how modern MSPs operate backup at scale. Its absence from Arcserve SaaS Backup is a deciding factor for any partner serious about the category.

Keepit is 100% channel-focused. Keepit does not sell direct to end customers. Partners who sell Keepit don't compete with Keepit for their own customers.

Arcserve sells SaaS Backup directly via buy.arcserve.com in addition to channel. If a partner has a prospect who Googles 'Arcserve SaaS Backup', the Arcserve website is often the top result with a direct 'buy now' button. The partner's sale is at risk of being short-circuited by the vendor itself.

For MSPs building long-term customer relationships around backup-as-a-service, vendor channel integrity is a business-model decision, not a preference. Vendors who compete with their own channel produce tension that eventually damages partner margins. Keepit's strict channel model is a structural advantage, not a marketing claim.

Keepit has a real in-country footprint in Australia. There's a Keepit technical pre-sales resource on the ground here, plus CRS engineering as the distributor providing deployment, escalation, and day-two support. Partners working on a Keepit opportunity can pull in either Keepit's own AU technical team for vendor-direct engagement or the CRS engineers as the distribution-layer expertise — often both on the same deal. AU business hours, AUD billing, and direct escalation to Keepit headquarters are all covered.

Arcserve does not have a technical team in Australia. Partners selling Arcserve SaaS Backup escalate to offshore support, typically US or EU hours, and rely on the OEM-Keepit infrastructure underneath without the direct relationship. For customers with operational issues during AU hours, this is a real gap.

For partners considering Arcserve SaaS Backup vs Keepit specifically for AU customers, the presence gap usually decides the conversation. Keepit in-country plus CRS engineering is structurally what partners need when customers have issues.

When Keepit releases new workload coverage (a new M365 workload, a new Google Workspace feature, or a new SaaS platform like Power Platform), Keepit partners get it immediately. Arcserve SaaS Backup customers get it after Arcserve updates its OEM integration, which historically lags by weeks to months.

For MSPs whose customers expect current coverage of new workloads, the feature-lag is a real disadvantage. Keepit was first to market with Entra ID backup, first with Power Platform, and consistently first with new M365 workloads. Arcserve follows on a delay.

Subscription terms also differ. Keepit offers 1-5 year terms, giving flexibility to match customer commitments. Arcserve SaaS Backup offers 1-3 year terms only. For customers preferring longer commitments (many AU government and enterprise customers), Keepit's term options are more flexible.

Honestly, the case is narrow. The situations where it makes sense:

• The customer is an existing Arcserve UDP customer and wants consolidated billing across Arcserve products (UDP + SaaS Backup on one invoice).
• The partner has a legacy Arcserve reseller relationship and isn't in a position to add Keepit directly.
• Arcserve is running a specific discount or promotion that temporarily offsets the disadvantages.

Outside those specific situations, partners should go direct to Keepit via CRS. The API, channel model, feature access, and AU support are structurally better.