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Autotask Community Live Day 2: CEO Mark Cattini on SMB Digital Transformation

Mark Cattini, SVP of field service, Salesforce
Autotask CEO Mark Cattini

Autotask CEO Mark Cattini has taken the stage at Autotask Community Live in Hollywood, Fla. Keynotes from IT Glue and side conversations with Webroot are on tap. But that's not all.

Keep checking this blog throughout the day for...

Autotask Keynote: CEO Mark Cattini

  • Supporting the Region: Cattini opened the conference addressing the recent losses and heroic efforts to help those impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The company is backing OneAmericaAppeal.org to help the recovery efforts.

Shifting to the IT services conversation, Cattini said:

  • Mission Statement: "To enable you to deliver the best customer experience, as efficiently and as profitably as possible." Translation: Autotask has bet the company on IT services provider success.
  • Autotask Reach: The company now has 15 offices worldwide. The company has also invested deeply in Lithium, a community engagement platform. Keep a close eye on Lithium and what it means for community support. Later in the keynote, Pat Burns also drove home Lithium's importance to the overall experience.
  • Support Responsiveness: Chat now represents 53 percent of support tickets, and less than three minutes response time. The global average wait time on phone support is less than 5 minutes in recent months, down significantly. On same-day revolution, 70 percent of tickets are closed on the same day.
  • Training: Partners are viewing 1,000 hours of training on Autotask's YouTube channel.
  • Adoption: More than 50 percent of Autotask partners are using two or more Autotask products. I need to double-check if that figure represents the overall partner base worldwide, or just partners here at the conference.
  • API Integrations: Cattini shared several stats on product integrations. We're set to interview him later today and we'll do a drill down on those integrations recapping the stats...

Describing Digital Business and the Shifting Software Landscape, Cattini said:

  • The Big Bang: The classic opening line about software eating the world, as per venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. From music to financial services, everything now revolves around software.
  • Digital Transformation: Quoting Robert Smith, CEO of Vista Equity Partners (Autotask's owner), Cattini describes the fourth industrial revolution -- and the major impacts on the way.
  • Supply and Demand Software: And yes, he pointed to Uber, AirBnB, Netflix and Amazon being software companies that are eating the world and redefining traditional markets through supply and demand software engineering... Skeptical? Ask Cattini about the number of SKUs Amazon manages vs. Walmart. He's got the figures.
  • Digital Alert: "Digital is the main reason just over half of the companies on the Fortune 500 have disappeared since the year 2000." CEO, Accenture.
  • SMB Flip-flop: Global SMB software spending will surpass hardware by 2018, according to IDC. "This isn't just about enterprise; it's about what's happening to every business now," Cattini said of the digital and software push.
  • Where Autotask & Partners Fit In: It's about helping partners to become business technologists. "More than keeping the lights on, it's about you helping your customers to transform their businesses," Cattini asserted.

How Autotask Empowers SMB Business Transformation, Cattini said:

  • Design: Autotask frees up partners to work on their business (not "in" their business) because the platform is 100 percent cloud and SaaS.
  • Reimagined PSA deliveres human-centric experiences; insights driving actions; and deep analytics.
  • Own the Endpoint: Manage every device, deploy new services, and and identity revenue opportunities.
  • Automated Managed Services: Here, he pointed to Autotask Workplace (File Sync and Share) and Autotask Endpoint Backup.
Autotask’s Pat Burns

VP of Product Management and Strategy Pat Burns

  • Unified Platform: More than an API connection, Burns drove home the database-level integration between RMM and PSA -- ensuring analytics information is delivered in a business context.
  • Example Processes in the Platform: Burns is getting down into product details and example use cases -- including end-users being able to create tickets soon. Check in directly with Autotask for feature/function highlights.
  • New Autotask PSA Ticket User Interface: Burns recapped it on stage, but here's a deeper dive about the user interface updates.
  • Autotask Endpoint Management: Here again, Burns drove home the latest AEM release and enhancements. Ping him for the details.

2018 PSA Roadmap Preview From Pat Burns

  • Watch for UI upgrades to the Project Task capabilities, similar to 2017's PSA Ticket user interface upgrade.
  • Line-of-business multi-tenacy is on the way. You may want different security and workflows across lines of business. Autotask is working on that.
  • Mobile app is getting a complete overhaul and going "native." I'll check to see what that means during a meeting with Burns later today. A first build of the mobile app will likely debut toward the end of 2017, he estimated.
  • CRM: Substantial investments are on the way.

2018 RMM Roadmap Preview From Pat Burns

  • Watch for a new public API, reporting enhancements, patch management and anti-virus audit improvements.
  • Contract management and billing: Keep an eye on them.

2018 Backup and Workplace From Pat Burns

  •  Backup and Workplace Penetration: Autotask is attempting the cross-sell here at the conference. Consider these stats: Roughly 98 percent of attendees leverage Autotask PSA; 50 percent leverage Endpoint Management; and roughly 5 percent to 10 percent leverage Autotask Endpoint Backup and Workplace.
  • Unlimited Backup Storage?: Watch for unlimited storage in the next release cycle. I will ask Burns exactly what that means and when it will arrive...
Author: Luis Giraldo, senior director of marketing, N-able

IT Glue Partner Strategy

Actually, this session is all about nine key learnings for MSP and IT services success. Great job by IT Glue's Luis Giraldo, who continues to own an MSP. The learnings involve:

  1. finding your why and brand promise;
  2. the right pricing;
  3. standardizing your stack -- like having 10 technicians who can manage one type of firewall;
  4. build an amazing experience through net promoter scores. Ask him about additional KPIs that he leverages. Document where the time goes to figure out if you have broken processes.
  5. The relentless pursuit of process. Have checklists that identity the exact steps to make sure nothing is forgotten are perfect.
  6. Daily double-down. Decide on a daily basis that you want to deliver on your Why and your brand promise. As you scale, your challenges will scale.
  7. Manage your book of business. Churn is evil.
  8. Focus on Profits.
  9. Solve Business Problems. Pursue meetings with customers' entire management team to understand the business challenges they need address.

PS: I didn't do Giraldo's presentation justice. During his 20-minute slot, he delivered practical information to help MSPs rethink their KPIs and business priorities. For more details check out Giraldo's Quarterly Business Report tips here: www.ITglue.com/acl.

Thoughts From President Bill Clinton

  • Clinton shared some thoughtful notes on leadership, the world leaders he admires -- and what really exists at Area 51. Frankly, my notes wouldn't do him justice. And to paraphrase his top piece of advice: Chase your dream. If you fall on your face and it doesn't work out, chase a different dream. When you stop chasing dreams you'll lose the will to live.
Webroot’s Charlie Tomeo

Webroot's Evolution Beyond MSP Endpoint Security

  • Webroot is perhaps best known as an endpoint security company. Charlie Tomeo VP of worldwide business sales, is widely credited with building out the company's MSP engagements. So what's next? Tomeo pointed to Webroot's evolution into a security platform provider. Three key examples: Keep an eye on Webroot's DNS security push; new training tools that help customers understand phishing; and forthcoming developments that will allow MSPs to detect malicious anomalous network traffic in real time. Each of those developments involves a tuck-in acquisition from the past year or so...

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Got questions for Autotask or want to potentially grab some time with me at the conference? Just email me: [email protected]

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.