In some ways, the big news isn't a surprise. SolarWinds MSP Executive VP Walter Scott is exiting the company within 60 days or so, ChannelE2E has confirmed. That's only about 90 to 120 days after he helped to clinch SolarWinds' surprise buyout of LogicNow to form one of the world's largest MSP software companies.
But is Scott's pending exit from SolarWinds MSP -- which combines SolarWinds N-able and LogicNow -- all that surprising? Not at all. If you check our earlier coverage, we described Scott as an entrepreneur, business builder and deal maker. Those traits helped Scott to build LogicNow into one of the world's top MSP software providers. And that same knack for dealmaking helped to trigger LogicNow's sale to SolarWinds -- creating a software company that supports 20,000 MSPs worldwide.
Frankly, I couldn't picture Scott working for a big software company over the long haul. I suspected that he'd want to return to his entrepreneurial roots, though I certainly didn't know for sure. My best guess was that he'd run SolarWinds MSP for about six months to a year. But the transition is happening faster than I expected. An internal communication today confirmed that Scott and at least two other executives are planning to depart the company in the next 60 days or so.
SolarWinds MSP Leadership
Going forward, keep a close eye on JP Jauvin (SolarWinds N-able's leader) and Alistair Forbes (LogicNow's best-known software spokesman). They and other SolarWinds MSP leaders will surely work closely together to sort through the company's MSP software roadmap. That potential roadmap includes a range of next-generation SolarWinds technologies (example: Application Performance Management) that could empower MSPs in new ways. The team will also need to balance SolarWinds MSP's messaging about two separate RMM platforms (one from N-able, one from LogicNow) and their use cases.
We've reached out to SolarWinds MSP for more details about Scott's planned exit, the business unit's succession plan and plenty more. And frankly... we're wondering about Walter Scott's next personal move. Surely, he isn't done building software businesses -- is he?
Stay tuned for more updates soon.
