SolarWinds MSP: Unified LogicNow, N-able Product Road Map Coming

As SolarWinds MSP Leader Walter Scott prepares to exit the company, SolarWinds is formulating a unified product roadmap and team organization that will truly bring the N-able and LogicNow efforts together, company officials say.

Scott's exit -- within the next 60 days or so -- will arrive only a few months after SolarWinds acquired LogicNow and merged the business with SolarWinds N-able. Scott led the combined businesses -- the newly minted SolarWinds MSP -- while reporting to CEO Kevin Thompson. As a seasoned entrepreneur who launches businesses, Scott's exit was always part of the plan -- but things accelerated in recent months because the N-able and LogicNow houses are coming together quickly, according to Alistair Forbes, managing director for SolarWinds MSP.

"Walter is a master at launching and building businesses, and creating value in them," Forbes told ChannelE2E. "Both N-able and LogicNow have been in the MSP software space for quite awhile. We know the market. So that's giving Walter the opportunity to exit a bit faster than we originally planned."

Scott has not publicly announced if he has specific career plans post-SolarWinds.

One Roadmap, One Team

It doesn't sound like SolarWinds has announced a specific leader to succeed Scott. Instead, Forbes is working closely with Scott (for the next few weeks) and SolarWinds N-able GM JP Jauvin on a unified product and organizational roadmap for the MSP software business.

"JP and I are very much involved in that overall unifying roadmap," Forbes says. For SolarWinds MSP to truly succeed, the two businesses need to be fully integrated in terms of product R&D, future deliverables and the team organization, he adds.

Instead of flipping a one-time switch, the product and team integrations will arrive as a process of steps. "We've got a substantial customer base relying on the N-able and LogicNow products and we don't want to drop the ball on that, nor do we want a scenario where we're so busy looking inward that we lose sight of our MSPs' needs," he adds.

Indeed, SolarWinds MSP supports roughly 20,000 service providers across the N-able and LogicNow bases.

Unified Roadmap: Q3 or Q4 2016?

Forbes didn't offer specific date for the unified roadmap and talent efforts, though he said the company will look to communicate the product roadmap to partners later this year.

The near-term unifying effort will involve the N-able and LogicNow products, while a mid-term effort will begin to expose additional SolarWinds products to the N-able and LogicNow MSP bases. Opportunities in that area include SolarWinds' network management offerings, he said.