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New Infrascale CEO, CXOs Face Crowded Data Protection Software Market

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Data protection, backup and disaster recovery (BDR) technology provider Infrascale has named Russell P. Reeder as CEO and overhauled its C-suite. The moves come as Infrascale and multiple rivals seek to differentiate in the very crowded market for data protection services, and multiple private equity firms mull more acquisitions and exits in the sector.

Infrascale CEO Russell P Reeder
Infrascale CEO Russell P. Reeder

In addition to naming a new CEO, Infrascale's new hires/executive appointments include:

  • Brian Kuhn as Chief Operating Officer;
  • Robert Peterson as Chief Financial Officer;
  • Carolyn Kress as Chief People Officer;
  • Lindsay Haun as Vice President of Global Customer Success; and
  • Adam Berger as Vice President of Global IT and Cloud Operations.

Many of the executives have cloud and private equity experience, including earlier stints at OVHcloud and Route 66 Ventures -- one of the financial firms that backs Infrascale.

In a prepared statement, Reeder said:

“I am excited by the opportunity to build upon the success that Infrascale has seen to date. The company’s technology is recognized by experts as industry-leading, our partner and customer base is solid, and we have a smart, motivated and committed global team that can deliver. It’s the ultimate recipe for success – the right market, people, customers and technology.”

Infrascale founder and former CEO, Ken Shaw Jr., is now an advisor to the company.

Infrascale: Business Reach, Competition

Infrascale has a niche footprint in the MSP software market, and briefly enjoyed most favorite nation status with ConnectWise. But ConnectWise ultimately worked with multiple BDR providers, and data protection rivals such as Datto gained critical mass with MSPs.

For Infrascale, that likely means focusing on partner niches far beyond the SMB/MSP sector, ChannelE2E believes. Infrascale says it protects over 350 Petabytes of data for over 70,000 customers and 250,000 devices across nine private data centers and multiple public cloud providers, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure.

Still, the data protection market is crowded with alternatives in the SMB, midmarket and enterprise sectors. M&A activity and private equity investments have been frequent, though valuations likely vary widely based on company health, growth rates, IP and market share.

Among the key moves and players to watch:

Infrascale: What's Next for Data Protection Company

Where does that competitive landscape leave Infrascale? Current Investors Route 66 Ventures and Carrick Capital say they have "committed to support the company’s accelerated growth plans following strong operational and financial performance, and the new additions to the leadership team."

New CEO Reeder has extensive M&A and exit experience. For instance, Reeder previously led exits for content-on-demand and digital publishing platform LibreDigital (acquired by RR Donnelly), and cloud hosting business MediaTemple (acquired by GoDaddy).

It's a safe bet Infrascale is seeking to strengthen its business while ultimately seeking a buyer, ChannelE2E believes.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.