Syncro Acquires Watchman Monitoring; MSPs Gain Apple Mac Capabilities -

Syncro has acquired Watchman Monitoring. The deal unites Syncro's cloud-based remote monitoring & management (RMM) and professional services automation (PSA) platform, with a SaaS-based monitoring service that tracks the health of Apple Macs and Windows PCs. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is technology M&A deal number 661 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2021. See all technology M&A deals for 2021 and 2020 listed here.

Syncro is an emerging disruptor in the MSP software market. The market picture, according to ChannelE2E's perspectives, looks like this:

Entrenched platform giants such as ConnectWise, Datto, Kaseya and N-able develop IT management, automation, protection and security software that support tens of thousands of MSPs.
Barracuda and NinjaRMM, among others, have also gained critical mass with tools that support thousands of MSPs.
MSP software upstarts such as Syncro, Atera and SuperOps.ai have been gaining traction with pure cloud software that generally lacks legacy code.

Syncro and Watchman Monitoring: Business Size, Focus

Syncro, backed by Mainsail Partners since August 2020, has 79 employees listed on LinkedIn; Watchman Monitoring has 10 employees listed on the business social network.

The acquisition retains all Watchman Monitoring personnel, adds more than 400 customers, and enhances Syncro's ability to monitor Mac devices, the buyer said.

The Watchman Monitoring software capabilities will tuck into Syncro’s RMM-PSA platform in early 2022; those features will be available to Syncro customers at no additional cost, the buyer said.

In a prepared statement, Syncro CEO Robert Reichner said:

“We are thrilled to welcome Watchman Monitoring to the Syncro team. Their dedication to developing easy-to-manage solutions will empower all Syncro users to deliver exceptional service to their clients."

Added Allen Hancock, founder of Watchman Monitoring:

“Watchman Monitoring’s deep expertise in the Apple ecosystem allows Syncro to offer more complete Mac support. It’ll be easier than ever for MSPs to take on new Mac clients."

Apple Mac Monitoring Software: Mergers, Acquisitions and Funding

Meanwhile, M&A and funding in the Apple device monitoring market has been strong. Examples include:

October 2021: PDQ.com acquired SimpleMDM, a software platform that allows IT departments to remotely manage Apple macOS, tvOS and iOS devices.
April 2021: Kandji raised $60 million in Series B funding to “drive the future of Apple Enterprise management”
2020: Jamf launched an IPO and then acquired Mondada for Apple patch management software.
2020: Apple acquired Fleetsmith to help customers remotely manage Mac, iPhone and iPad devices.
2020: Fleetsmith raised $30 million in Series B funding.

Within MSP circles, one of the better-known Apple Device Management platform companies is Addigy. Indeed, Addigy positions itself as the only multi-tenant remote monitoring and management (RMM) and MDM tool available for Apple devices. Recent moves include a global partnership with Pax8, a cloud-centric distributor that offers a SaaS marketplace for MSPs.

Still, we're aware of at least one more Apple-centric monitoring company that may soon engage MSPs. Stay tuned.