Atera, an MSP software provider with a unique pricing model, has gained critical mass with partners and customers. Next up, Atera is introducing network scanning and discovery software to help MSPs spot additional revenue opportunities across their customer bases.
Atera, based in Tel Aviv, Israel, develops cloud-based RMM (remote monitoring and management) and PSA (professional services automation) software. The platform is priced on a "per MSP technician" model -- and avoids more traditional per end-user or per device models.
"We have a dream to be the Zoom or Dropbox of the MSP software industry," Pekelman says. "We respect the legacy vendors but we've got a business model that's frictionless for MSPs."
Atera Financial Model: Catching on With MSPs
Pekelman's reasoning: Atera's MSPs don't feel "financial friction" because they aren't charged each time the MSP rolls out a new software agent to customer sites. As a result, MSPs typically extend Atera's software agents to as many end-customer devices as possible -- PCs, servers, printers, routers, switches, firewalls, and more, Pekelman asserts.
Moreover, the Atera pricing model -- again, per MSP technician -- scales in a profitable way, Pekelman says.
Atera has served MSPs since around 2016. Fast forward to present day and Pekelman says the company's combination RMM and PSA platform now supports:
- 4,000 customers, including MSPs;
- over 1 million devices under management;
- a customer base that spans 60 countries;
- a big footprint in North America, which represents about 70 percent of Atera's business.
Venture capital firms and growth equity companies have been reaching out to Atera, exploring potential investments in the business. But Pekelman hasn't made any decisions on that front.
Atera Network Discovery: Leading MSPs to More Revenue?
Next up, the company is introducing Atera Network Discovery—a technology that scans the network across each device, collects data, and analyzes the viable business opportunities in an actionable format, the company asserts.
The network discovery software leverages those 1 million devices under management coupled with cloud-based data gathering, management and insights. The result: MSPs gain an auto-generated list of business opportunities within their specific customer sets -- i.e, detailed action items that can trigger revenue-generating events. The typical MSP will find about $89,000 in recurring revenue opportunities in their customer sets when they run the discovery software, Atera asserts.
Atera Network Discover costs $39 per MSP technician per month. The software, according to the company, is designed to:
- Continuously scan the network and automatically extracts a list of business opportunities and tasks for the MSP;
- Provide network reports and insights on client networks, enabling MSPs to hold periodic business reviews;
- Identify any unsecured components and configurations that might be vulnerable to a potential security breach; and
- Alers MSPs to any business opportunities within a specific network.
Atera Network Discovery technology can be activated immediately for $39 per MSP technician user, per month.
MSP Software: Established Companies vs Upstarts
Atera and several other MSP software upstarts remain in growth mode -- even as the overall industry has consolidated around large private equity firms (i.e., Thoma Bravo, Vista Equity Partners and Insight Partners, among others) that own or invest in such platforms as ConnectWise, Barracuda MSP, Datto, Kaseya and SolarWinds MSP, among others.
Still, a growing list of MSP software startups are in growth mode -- carving out unique niches that involve MSP automation, visibility, compliance, data protection, revenue generation and more. Names to know include Auvik Networks (RMM for networks), Huntress Labs (threat hunting), Liongard (automation and visibility), Nerdio (Microsoft Azure cloud management for MSPs), and NinjaRMM (cloud-based RMM), among others.
Anecdotal evidence suggests Atera now belongs on that up-and-comer list as well.
