Autotask Community Live 2017, a gathering of MSPs and IT services providers (ITSPs), kicks off today in Hollywood, Florida. Stay tuned to this live blog for MSP partner updates, observations and chatter in the halls. We'll be sharing conference updates through Tuesday, Sept. 19.
Here's the lineup so far...
1. RMM Momentum: Autotask's RMM (remote monitoring and management) business has apparently grown 10X since the company acquired CentraStage in September 2014, according to one source in the hall. Sounds impressive -- but we concede: We don't know what CentraStage's revenue or installed base were at the time of the company sale. We'll poke around for more figures...
2. Backup Balancing Act: Autotask Senior VP Len DiCostanzo is set to evangelize endpoint backup, file sync and sharing services for MSPs. The company also continues to work closely with third-party backup and disaster recovery (BDR) companies. While Autotask focuses on PC and notebook backup, integration partners mainly focus on servers, the MSP software company asserts. Former ConnectWise Chief Revenue Officer Adam Slutkin, now CRO at eFolder, is in the house. As are Datto VP Rob Rae and Vault America CEO Zak Karsan. Datto recently inked a distribution deal with Pax8. Could Vault America be working on something similar with a different date at the dance? Hmmm...
3. Remote Control: Look for a new Splashtop On-Demand Support (SOS) integration with Autotask PSA. MSPs can leverage SOS to start, manage and resolve a remote support session from within an Autotask ticket, Splashtop asserts.
4. Webroot's MSP Guru: When Webroot CEO Dick Williams announced his retirement plans earlier this month, I asked Williams how the security company spotted and engaged the MSP community so early and effectively. Williams credited Charlie Tomeo for pinpointing the opportunity and formalizing the strategy several years ago. It all started during a Webroot executive retreat... We'll dig for more history (and next moves) when we meet with Tomeo on Monday.
5. Private Equity On Hand?: I don't know if Autotask's private equity owners, Vista Equity Partners, plan to attend the conference. It has only been three years since Vista acquired Autotask in June 2014, so I'm not predicting any near-term financial "events." But... you never know... if or when more PE will show up at the table to perhaps fund more M&A... ... ...
6. In the Spotlight: President Bill Clinton, Erica Javellana (Zappos) and Peter Sheahan (author, Matter) are this year's guest keynoters. And Next Year: Look at the conference signage closely, and you'll notice Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec confirmed for Autotask Community Live 2018.
7. Growth Stories: What are the next moves for growth-minded MSP software companies PassPortal and IT Glue? Hmmm... We've got a few theories. But mum's the word for now -- at least until we've had a chance to catch up with both companies...
8. Keep Checking Back: We'll share more updates as we see, hear and imagine them...