tests out the way we want it to and the way Kaseya says in their presentations , then we ’ re going to switch out the RMM .”
While they ’ re still in the testing phase , “ if there is an incident and we can remediate as fast as they say , or if there ’ s a backup restore request and we can restore it as fast as they say , it ’ s going to up the productivity for our team a lot ,” notes Huynh . “ And when you up the productivity of your IT team , that means there ’ s more profit to the bottom line .”
It ’ s Not All About Math
Price is important , of course , but for some MSPs , there are other considerations when it comes to changing your basic stack . Even though Neal Juern , CEO of 7tech , an MSP and MSSP in San Antonio , Texas , is already using Kaseya ’ s Datto Backup and IT Glue , “ we ’ re just doing things from a security perspective that make it really hard for us to take advantage of what Kaseya launched . Just the switching of all those platforms might cost us more than the savings for two or three years .”
The concept of Kaseya 365 “ makes sense for Kaseya as a company ,” says Lawrence Cruciana , who runs his MSP in Charlotte , North Carolina , on a different platform . “ I think it allows them to better control their investment in their development and their support . If everyone has the same access to the same product , and it ’ s a simplified licensing and consumption strategy , everyone wins from that .”
Like Juern , though , he is not contemplating Kaseya 365 because of the heavy lift of switching his current stack . “ That ’ s a painful consideration ,” says Cruciana . “ It gives me chills just thinking about it .”
Does Putting All Your Eggs In One Basket Create The Risk Of Getting Fried ?
There ’ s always been a debate over best of breed vs . going all in with one vendor . Juern highlights the risk of vendor lock-in , saying , “ If you ’ re using everything under one umbrella and there ’ s something going wrong with this one product , you ’ re kind of stuck . That ’ s not good for the end client , and it ’ s also not good for you as the provider .”
Still , he acknowledges , getting better pricing and more cohesive management for a vendor bundle can be “ super advantageous .”
Security issues , though , could pose a bigger risk than vendor lock-in since a breach in an MSP ’ s RMM , for instance , potentially gives hackers the keys to all their customers .
“ If there ’ s a big vulnerability with Kaseya , then it affects all the clients , and then if there ’ s key integrations , it could affect it more ,” says Huynh . But he says it ’ s less about having all your eggs in one basket than setting up your security controls properly , which every MSP should be doing .
A vulnerability in the software is “ probably the biggest fear of any MSP ,” says Smith , but adds that no vendor is immune . He is taking steps to mitigate that possibility with an additional non-Kaseya security product .
While Cruciana calls the ecosystem risk “ tremendous ,” he believes Kaseya has the resources and security maturity “ to understand how big of a target that puts on their back and to respond appropriately to that target .” He adds , “ I think they have the right people in a lot of the right seats on that bus to understand what the risk is for what they ’ re doing — especially if all of a sudden , everyone ’ s using all of their products .”
Will It Live Up To Expectations ?
Overall , Huynh is optimistic . “ The direction is very , very good , and I think we ’ re going to see this type of direction from Kaseya products with a lot more things , so I ’ m liking what I see so far .”
Indeed , in an interview with MSP Success at Connect , Voccola said Kaseya 365 is the foundation for what comes next .
Smith , who has been in the MSP business 15-plus years , has used products from several different companies . “ They all have their pluses and minuses ,” he notes , “ but we ’ d be hard pressed to say , ‘ OK , we ’ re going to get rid of Kaseya and go piecemeal everything together .’ There ’ s no way you could come in at this cost .”
So will Kaseya 365 shake , rattle , and roll the IT channel or be a one-hit wonder ? Only time will tell .
Show Me The Money !
When CEO Fred Voccola introduced Kaseya 365 to Connect Global conference attendees in April , he suggested a few ways MSPs could use their savings : drop customer prices as a competitive advantage , invest in the business , pocket your profits . We asked the newly signed up what their plans are .
Huynh says Business Data Services was previously selling some of the Kaseya 365 solutions as add-ons , so now he ’ s rewriting their contracts “ into a bigger , stronger package that meets the market ’ s needs ” with an easier-to-understand service offering and simpler invoices . He ’ s also raising prices . “ The idea is we ’ re going to raise prices and get extra profit for us so that we can invest in the company even more ,” says Huynh , “ whether that ’ s personnel , new services , or something that benefits the client .”
Ultimately , he expects to see a 5 % increase in net profit .
For Smith , Kaseya 365 did lower costs and put more money in his pocket , but he says “ I don ’ t think I ’ ll double my profits on this .” He plans to reinvest in the business and his marketing efforts — something he had on the roadmap anyway but now the savings makes it easier . In addition , while he doesn ’ t plan to lower prices across the board , he shares that “ we just had a renewal come up in the QBR , and this guy ’ s fighting me back and forth on some things . He wanted to lower his contract , and we were able to put something together that I couldn ’ t have done two months ago . So yes , it did help seal a deal .”
Disher , too , says they could undercut the competition pricewise , but that ’ s not the plan for their company , which has an employee stock ownership program ( ESOP ).
Says Disher , “ The plan is to let it go to the bottom line and increase the profitability of the company at this juncture . It doesn ’ t mean that next month we won ’ t make a different decision , but right now , it ’ s just more going to the bottom line ... being able to set more aside for the employees .”
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