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Kaseya Connect Global 2023: Acquisitions, New Services, Market Data

Fred Voccola Delivers Kaseya Connect 2023 keynote

Kaseya has acquired cybersecurity vendor Vohani Security and a sales and quoting platform called Audit which was developed by MSP Two River Technology Group in New Jersey.

Those two announcements were among several unveiled by CEO Fred Voccola in his keynote address at Kaseya Connect Global on April 25.

“We believe we have a complete platform today,” Voccola said, after providing a list of all the different suites and modules contained in the Kaseya IT Complete platform. By using a single complete platform, MSPs can become more efficient and save money, according to Voccola.  “But being complete means staying complete. We are always growing to keep up with your needs.”

What Do MSPs Get with Vonahi?

Vonahi offers automated penetration testing, something that many MSPs are unable to offer due to the advanced skills required and the high expense -- $10,000 to $30,000 per test, according to Kaseya.

Vohani fully replicates manual internet and external network pen testing with its automated network testing. The solution provides MSPs with an easy and affordable way to continuously evaluate cybersecurity risks in real-time.

Kaseya will immediately lower the price of this system by 10%. Those who are already Vohani customers will get 10% more licenses at no additional charge.

What do MSPs Get with Audit?

Audit is an automated sales proposal and QBR system designed to turn technical MSP data into an executive summary showing gaps in service coverage. The report offers visual cues of red and green boxes to demonstrate the IT service gaps to prospects and executives. Voccola said that this system demonstrates the value of the deal to clients and that results in an increased close rate, boosting monthly recurring revenue (RMM).

The system also enables MSPs to save time with reusable templates. Kaseya will provide every Kaseya customer with 5 licenses of Audit for free, and those who are current Audit customers will get an additional 5 licenses for free.

Kaseya Intros Cyber Insurance Fast Track Program

Through this new program, designed to help with the current crisis in cybersecurity insurance pricing, Kaseya customers leveraging the company’s security suite can immediately qualify for cyber coverage at a price “significantly below market rate,” Voccola said. Kaseya customers can receive. $1.5 million in cyber protection at prices 20% to 40% below traditional cyber policies.

Both MSPs and their customers are immediately qualified to purchase this insurance.

Remote IT and Security Management Certification Program

Also known as Kaseya RITSM, this program is modeled after similar programs offered by Cisco and Microsoft, training students in Kaseya-specific tools for remote IT and security management. The certificate program is offered for 40 hours and is available only to pre-qualified students (those with IT or technology degree and/or related experience).

Classes will include both technical skills and training as well as instruction on “IT bedside manner” work and also “commercial awareness” classes.

All the classes are taught on the IT Complete stack. Kaseya said that 5,000 certifications will have been awarded by the end of 2023. The program is designed to help Kaseya MSPs better address the ongoing shortage of qualified technology professionals.

Kaseya’s Value Proposition

Voccola’s keynote overall focused on the value MSPs receive by partnering with the company because its IT Complete platform includes all the components an MSP needs in its technology stack. That’s how Voccola began the keynote, going through every one of the suites offered by Kaseya and providing a look at the modules inside each suite.

Voccola said that there are two types of integration with other platforms and applications – cosmetic and workflow. Cosmetic integrations are when two companies agree to partner to create the integration and it looks integrated on the front end. But because these are not deep integrations, they typically fall apart in 2 years and are no longer supported. Voccola said that Kaseya has some integrations like this.

But the better type of integration is the workflow integration. These are permanent integrations and they make life easier for MSPs because there is no need to switch among multiple interfaces and platforms to complete tasks. This type of integration is what Kaseya is working to build with its acquisitions, including deep integrations with Datto, which it acquired a year ago.

This contrasts with the strategy employed by Kaseya competitor ConnectWise which has taken more of an ecosystem approach to incorporating functionality into the platform, Voccola said. He added that ConnectWise integrations are more cosmetic and less workflow.

To help MSPs take advantage of more of the functionality in the Kaseya platform, Kaseya is introducing a new ProfitFuel white glove service to help businesses deploy suites and modules of Kaseya. Many of these will be migrations from competing solutions to a component of the Kaseya IT Complete platform. These are intended to help MSPs, who are busy working in their business every day so they may not have time for this type of work, Voccola said. The program provides commercial flexibility to implement and deploy to match contracts and migration timelines.

What Voccola Says About Market Size, Kaseya Growth Rate, & Competition

Voccola told ChannelE2E in an interview that there are 140,000 MSPs in the markets that Kaseya addresses including Europe, North America, Latin America, Hong Kong, the Philippines, India, and other areas.

“We see that growing,” Voccola told ChannelE2E. He said that while there’s consolidation in the industry there are also new MSPs entering the market, too. For every consolidation in the market there are three new MSPs that enter the market.

Voccola said that Kaseya’s organic growth rate is close to 35% a year, which he said is higher than that of competitors N-able, which he said is at 6.5% and ConnectWise which he said is at 7 to 10%. (This is quite a bit higher than Canalys Principal Analyst Jay McBain’s growth estimate of 9.4% for Kaseya.)

Voccola attributes Kaseya’s high growth rate to its strategy.

“Our products are more integrated, and they are cheaper,” he said.

Jessica C. Davis

Jessica C. Davis is Editorial Director of CyberRisk Alliance’s channel brands — MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E. She also oversees content and programming for the MSSP Alert Live event. She has spent a career as a journalist covering the business of technology including chips, software, the cloud, AI, and cybersecurity. She previously served as Editor in Chief of Channel Insider and later of MSP Mentor where she was one of the first editors to oversee the creation and vision of the MSP 501 list.