Networking, IT management, MSP, Content

Auvik Networks: The Next Big MSP ‘Platform’?

Auvik Networks saw an MSP market gap that most RMM (remote monitoring and management) software providers initially overlooked. While numerous MSP software tools support PC and server monitoring, Auvik focused on network infrastructure management.

Auvik CEO Marc Morin
Auvik Networks CEO Marc Morin

Smart move. Auvik, led by CEO Marc Morin, has been a rising star in the MSP software market. The company raised roughly US$15.6 million in early 2018, and then acquired Talaia for network traffic analytics software in late 2018.

The results appear impressive. The company's revenue grew 7,914% from from 2015 to 2018, according to Deloitte research. Still, actual dollar and profit figures remain undisclosed, and growth figures can sometimes be misleading when they involve companies starting from scratch.

Auvik Frankly MSP Conference 2020: What's Next?

Fast forward to present day. Auvik is set to kick off its first-ever Frankly MSP conference in Santa Barbara, California.

In a classy move that represents Auvik's culture, the event includes a Code of Conduct -- something that's common at more established Silicon Valley-type events, but often overlooked in the MSP sector.

CMO Jacqui Murphy

CPO Alex Hoff

As the event gets set to start, a few key questions come to mind:

  • How much has Auvik grown over the past year?
  • How long will that 2018 funding last the MSP-centric software provider?
  • What new partner marketing initiatives and associated wrinkles might MSPs hear from Chief Marketing Officer Jacqui Murphy?
  • What new R&D surprises might Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Alex Hoff deliver?
  • How far, ultimately, will CEO Mark Morin take Auvik and its network monitoring platform?

MSPs that look upstream toward the enterprise market may recall classic IT management platforms like BMC, CA Unicenter and HP OpenView -- which grew and transformed from IT tools into full-blown enterprise IT management platforms. But those full-blown platforms ultimately imploded as cloud services emerged.

Newer trends are under way in the cloud-scale IT monitoring market, where MSP-friendly companies like LogicMonitor may ultimately compete against Datadog, New Relic and others on multiple automation fronts.

RMM and Network Monitoring: Emerging Rivalries

Meanwhile, RMM software rivals are catching on to the networking opportunity. Kaseya and SolarWinds MSP, in particular, have spent the past year or so touting their various network monitoring and management tools. Datto has its own networking equipment for MSPs. And NinjaRMM's leadership has extensive network-centric expertise.

Nevertheless, in most cases the spirit of 'coopetition' (cooperation and competition) fills the network-centric RMM market, particularly as it pertains to Auvik integrations.

Auvik in early 2019 confirmed integrations with such MSP-centric platforms as ConnectWise's BrightGaugeKaseya’s IT GluePassportal and Warranty Master (led by Dan Wensley and backed by IT Glue founder Chris Day).

In another impressive move, Auvik collaborated with Cisco to give MSPs deeper insight into the performance and health of Cisco network devices.

Auvik CEO: Growth Experience

No doubt, Auvik CEO Mark Morin knows how to scale a technology business. He previously co-founded PixStream -- a video networking business that Cisco acquired for $554 million in 2000. (Alas, Cisco abandoned that business amid the dot-com implosion.)

How far will Morin take Auvik -- and in which new directions? We expect clues to emerge at the conference.

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.