ConnectWise Capital Invests In LabTech
The deal finally happened. ConnectWise Capital has invested in LabTech Software, a remote monitoring and management (RMM) software provider located in Toledo, Ohio. Official news is expected to surface in the next 24 hours or so. At first glance, it’s a relatively small deal. But I think the ConnectWise-LabTech relationship has key implications for the overall MSP software industry. Here’s why.
First, I’ll give you the straight news. Then, some of my own opinions.
The news: ConnectWise Capital is funding LabTech Software, a “unique Managed Services software application for remote monitoring, management, and automation.” Financial terms of the relationship, slated for Feb. 19 announcement, aren’t expected to be disclosed.
While ConnectWise specializes in PSA (professional services automation) software, LabTech is a relatively small competitor in the RMM (remote monitoring and management) market, where larger names like IT Control Suite, Kaseya, Level Platforms, N-able , PacketTrap and Zenith Infotech compete (just to name a few).
According to a prepared statement from LabTech CEO Matt Nachtrab:
“LabTech is the only remote monitoring, management, and automation tool developed BY a managed service provider FOR managed service providers. Our affordable, agent-based solution quickly transforms solution providers into managed service providers with the flip of a switch. Field Technicians become NOC technicians in 15 minutes because we are the only solution that emulates what technicians do in the field. We understand our Partners because we are also an MSP. We let our Partners purchase the number of agents they need to start, and add as they grow.”
Read between the lines and Nachtrab is saying few things. First, his statement parallels ConnectWise’s frequent “We are you!” mantra. And perhaps I’m reading a bit too much into it, but Nachtrab’s closing line about adding agents as you grow seems to be a counter-punch to some MSP software providers that have bulk licensing requirements.
Balancing Act
Looking ahead, ConnectWise will need to balance the LabTech deal with a range of RMM and API (application programming interface) relationships — involving IT Control Suite, Kaseya, Level Platforms, N-able, PacketTrap, Zenith Infotech and plenty of other companies.
Is that balancing act possible? In some cases, yes. Examples of healthy “coopetition” are everywhere in the software market.
- Microsoft, for instance, has its own database (SQL Server) but the software giant’s Windows Server team also maintains healthy database relationships with IBM DB2, Oracle, MySQL and many other emerging open source database providers.
- And in the MSP market, N-able balances a multi-year endpoint security relationship with Panda Security, even as N-able continues to integrate with Symantec and other third-party security products.
Using the Right Words
Both ConnectWise and LabTech are quick to say they will continue to work with a range of software partners.
During a phone call this evening, ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini confirmed the ConnectWise Capital-LabTech relationship. But Bellini was quick to mention ConnectWise’s continued commitment to RMM partners, and the broader ecosystem of 300 companies that plug into ConnectWise.
“I care about our business relationships,” said Bellini. “You can count on us to keep our APIs open and to build on our RMM partnerships. We see LabTech as an opportunity to address some emerging vertical opportunities, but that won’t impact our commitment to our RMM partners.”
LabTech’s Nachtrab offered a similar prepared statement:
“LabTech currently integrates with ConnectWise and all leading PSA solutions, and will continue to support and improve these interfaces.”
Reality Check 1: LabTech’s PSA Relationships
Now, let’s dive into some of my personal views.
I concede: It’s hard to believe a ConnectWise-funded business (LabTech) will work hard to integrate with folks like Autotask and Tigerpaw.
Autotask announced integration work with LabTech in October 2009. And Tigerpaw counts LabTech among its MSP integration partners. Will those relationships move forward now that LabTech is hitched to ConnectWise Capital? I’ve got emails into both Autotask and Tigerpaw seeking comment. If I hear anything I’ll let you know. And I’ll check back with LabTech in a few months to see whether those third-party PSA relationships are holding up.
Reality Check 2: ConnectWise’s RMM Relationships
On the flip side, I believe ConnectWise will work to maintain close relationships with a range of RMM players. Why? The answer is pretty simple: ConnectWise views its PSA platform as a business-level operating system. And operating systems require third-party applications to thrive.
If ConnectWise doesn’t maintain ongoing relationships with a range of RMM providers, it could prompt numerous folks to work even more closely with Autotask (which has a very healthy ISV and partner ecosystem of its own) or Tigerpaw. Either way, you can bet numerous RMM providers are on the line with Autotask this week, making sure their relationships are solid.
Early Partner Reaction
Still, RMM providers aren’t pressing the panic button over the ConnectWise-LabTech relationship. I’ve got notes out to multiple RMM companies. Here’s what I’ve heard so far.
Zenith Infotech VP Maurice Saluan had no immediate comment, but a second source at Zenith Infotech says it’s “business as usual” in terms of the Zenith Infotech-ConnectWise relationship.
N-able CEO Gavin Garbutt’s reaction was similar. “I don’t see anything wrong with what ConnectWise is doing with LabTech,” said Garbutt. “Arnie isn’t out to declare world domination. There are more than 1.1 billion devices in small business. And less than 10 percent of them are managed.”
Garbutt and Bellini, in separate conversations, were quick to note that business deals can sometimes trigger Blue Ocean opportunities (where companies define and build new markets), rather than Red Ocean strategies (which involve bloody battles for shrinking profit pools).
I’ll strive to speak with more RMM providers in the days ahead.
Chess Match?
Ultimately, I think ConnectWise is in discovery mode. That is, ConnectWise Capital is making business moves today based on how they think the MSP software market may consolidate in three to five years. And part of that consolidation conversation involves a quiet chess match between ConnectWise… and Kaseya.
In January 2010, MSPmentor told readers about emerging coopetition between ConnectWise and Kaseya. Yes, the two companies continue to cooperate on a range of integration efforts. I don’t expect that to change — especially since thousands of MSPs run ConnectWise and Kaseya in tandem.
Still, the rise of Kaseya 2 (a new management platform with some PSA capabilities) is a potential market inflection point (at least for me…). And I think the ConnectWise Capital-LabTech deal is a potential countermeasure to that inflection point.
Long-Term View
Today, multiple RMM vendors are competing successfully in the managed services market. But multiple scenarios could unfold over the next few years…
- Scenario A: One to three RMM providers could gain dominant market share. If Kaseya somehow grabbed an absolute dominant position (while offering customers some PSA functionality), then ConnectWise will want to have countermeasures in place. That’s where LabTech enters the picture.
- Scenario B: One (or more) major technology companies — say, Microsoft, Cisco Systems or Citrix — could step in and start buying RMM software providers. Here again, ConnectWise may want some RMM expertise in order to better understand larger competitor motivations.
Regardless, “coopetition” has arrived in the MSP software market. And Arnie Bellini has vowed to make sure ConnectWise continues working closely with RMM partners, even as ConnectWise Capital funds LabTech. We’ll keep checking in with RMM providers and MSPs to see how those API relationships are working out.
Was I surprised by the ConnectWise-LabTech deal? Not really. The rumors started back in October 2009. And by December 2009, I was keeping an eye on LabTech’s back yard (Toledo, Ohio — see tip 3 here).
To Be Continued…
And remember this: Just when you think you understand the rules of the MSP game, somebody steps in to change them. By this time next week, I think somebody will open their wallet to change the rules of the MSP game yet again. In fact, I can practically guarantee it…
Trust me.
Congratulations Joe on quite a scoop! You broke this story and the press release has not even gone out yet.
Props to Joe for breaking the story.
Also, I think this is a great investment. I have been following this company for a while and they are always pushing the development envelope. Their RMM has a redirection feature and I remember the last time I tested it there was a billion commands in their script engine. (Maybe not a billion but way more than Kaseya and the other forerunners).
Andy Myers
Fractional CIO, Consultant
http://www.andymyers.net
Trinka, Andy: Thanks for your thoughts. I’ve heard from a range of MSPs today about the ConnectWise Capital-LabTech deal. Most aren’t too concerned about the specifics. Instead, they want continued assurances that ConnectWise and Kaseya will continue to interoperate.
In January 2010, Kaseya Executive VP Jim Alves said Kaseya would continue to keep its APIs and platform open. And yesterday, ConnectWise CEO Arnie Bellini told me ConnectWise would also keep its APIs open and continue working with RMM vendors.
As long as MSPs continue to demand interoperability, I think software companies will listen… …
-jp
Joe,
I was at the Newport Beach ASCII event when this story broke. It was very interesting to watch and listen to the RMM vendors express an immediate concern over their future viability in the ConnectWise ecosystem after this announcement. I heard more than one RMM vendor share their newfound reluctance to recommend ConnectWise to any of their customers for fear that ConnectWise will then steal the RMM’s own business. Instead of explaining that there are multiple options and platforms, the RMM vendors were telling me that they’d instead be steering customers strictly to Autotask (some said Autotask and TigerPaw). I agree in that I find it hard to believe that ConnectWise will continue to be an agnostic platform which plays nicely with all RMM tools. Simply put, they’re biased in a very big way now, and there’s no getting around it.
As a fellow MSP, I’m frankly REALLY excited to see ConnectWise making decisions like these. An investment like this is, I’m sure, distracting MSPs away from their core business and forcing them to rethink their vendor relationships when they previously hadn’t considered it. While I ramp up marketing and continue to leverage my solid vendor relationships, I expect that my fellow MSP owners that use ConnectWise are pouring energy away from their sales, marketing, and services and are instead spending resources to reevaluate their own strategies and relationships. This distraction means more business for us.
Lastly, I’m excited for this decision because, as an Autotask user with full freedom of choice, I can now compete head to head with ConnectWise companies even better than I could before. As ConnectWise companies surely standardize more and more on a defined suite of tools, I will have a better ability to know how to market and sell directly against them. I can, for instance, explain the benefits of my fully cloud-based Autotask+Kaseya platform over my competitor’s premise-based ConnectWise+LabTec solution. I’ll now more confidently explain to my customer that I won’t be distracted by my own IT issues and I’ll be able to give my customer the attention they deserve. My competition, on the other hand, has premise-based solutions to manage, and I’ll know more and more ways to poke holes in my competition as ConnectWise continues to pressure their users into a corner.
In a nutshell, I know better than ever how to compete with a ConnectWise customer and I am able to fully leverage my freedom of choice with Autotask, now. And I am excited about this.
To Autotask: please don’t ever do something like this. I love your freedom and being agnostic.
Travis Austin
Travis:
Hello. I have no problem competing with you, but please get the facts straight:
1) ConnectWise integrates to more RMM and MSP tools than any other PSA solution and we will continue to expand those choices. We are committed to choice.
2) ConnectWise has 3 methods/clients to run ConnectWise. Browser, .NET and mobile. Again we are about choice. All of our clients operate on port 80 or SSL….and our iPhone client is available in 2 weeks. Choice, choice, choice.
3) ConnectWise does offer our solution onsite or in our Cloud. Again we are about choice. Autotask offers hosted only, TigerPaw offers on premise only. ConnectWise offers both.
So anyone who has concerns about ConnectWise’s strategy should know that we will ALWAYS have open APIs and will expand the choices for our Partners.
Kaseya is a great integration partner with ConnectWise and we will continue to work closely with them to squeeze out the most integration between our two products. We have even given Kaseya methods to use to enhance their APIs…which help both ConnectWise and Autotask. We think it is great to do whatever can be done to strengthen the IT Nation.
In case you were unaware, your hosted Kaseya solution will be offered by Kaseya directly in a few months. I think it is great that Kaseya is offering their own solution in a hosted platform.
Arnie Bellini
CEO, ConnectWise
I may be an optimist but I hope that ConnectWise Capital can help more FUBU (for us by us)companies get their products to the next level. One thing I’ve always liked about the CW story is the way it began as an internal tool. CW has shown a tremendous amount of temerity and resolve by transitioning from a solution provider to a leader in helping others providers improve their businesses.
I work with a lot of great companies. Many of them have some phenomenal ideas and tools they use internally to improve the status quo. Hopefully they can be motivated by deals like this to make their own investment in time and money to see some of these ideas to fruition instead of just shelving them.
I don’t expect any altruism from CW but I do like the notion that they are helping start ups! Looking forward to seeing what’s next.
Josh Peterson
the Taylor Business Group
Good news indeed. RTDS (myrealdata.com) has been working with LabTech for NOC accreditation for over a year. The LabTech platform is working extremely well. RTDS can host the platform for MSP’s providing full service 24×7 NOC support. Jim
The reps at the ASCII conference will have little influence over the direction of their employers. All of the players will continue to pursue greater market share by supporting integration with other platforms.
Further, and IMHO, a sales pitch for managed services comprised of RMM tool details and whether or not your PSA is on-premise or hosted is one that any seasoned sales exec would welcome as competition.
Again, just my very humble opinion.
Andy Myers
Fractional CIO, Consultant
http://www.andymyers.net
I agree. It is all about choice. The companies that play well together in the ecosystem will win.
Level Platforms has offered and will continue to offer the deepest integration possible with the leading PSA products. Currently we offer the most comprehensive two-way integration available with Autotask, ConnectWise, Microsoft CRM, Solutions 360 and TigerPaw.
We fully support Partners that choose any of these excellent products to ensure that they achieve the maximum benefits possible from our significant investments in interoperability and ease-of–use. For example to hear one of our Partners discuss our deep ConnectWise integration visit http://www.connectwise.com/lpi
Choice is a core principle of our business.
1. We are 100% committed to the open ecosystem and currently maintain certified best practices management policies for more than 400 products from over 100 vendors based on our belief that MSPs need to create a customized offerings that best support their target customers and technology directions. Notably this includes a full range of system, security, network, printer, UC/VoIP and SaaS/cloud applications with new integration releases weekly. Based on this vendor commitment we will soon be delivering a number of potentially game changing joint capabilities and product offerings with major vendors.
2. Level Platforms has been providing On Premise and Cloud options since 2007. Most of the major Master MSPs including Ingram Micro Seismic, Do It Smarter and ATS offer their services based on Level Platforms hosted product.
3. Although I’m not sure it is relevant our FUBU credentials are impeccable. We began business as an MSP in 1999 with services offered in five cities across Canada. Frustrated by the absence of effective tools and encouraged by the emergence of standards-based technologies facilitating agentless RMM, we switched 100% to software for MSPs in 2003 winning most of the major global Microsoft Awards along the way.
4. We are 100% committed to supporting MSPs. We never sell direct and refer all end user enquiries to our partners. Not only do we never compete with our Partners, all our product investment priorities and design decisions are based on the needs of MSPs, not end user IT departments.
This is a very large market that is in its early stages. While our 3000 MSPs comprise one of the largest global RMM platform communities, it represents only 1% of the 300,000 solution providers serving 30,000,000 SMBs. There is room for everyone.
I don’t think any organization in this industry can be considered more committed to choice than Level Platforms. We have a very comprehensive monitoring policy for Zenith’s BUDR, which by all reports is far superior to anything in the market, and Arnie and I have already discussed ways in which we could potentially work with LabTech. Whether MSPs use ConnectWise or any other great PSA products we are committed to offering the most comprehensive integration possible.
So yes, it is all about choice, and through choice ensuring that MSPs can serve their chosen markets today, and in an exciting but uncertain tomorrow.
Peter Sandiford
http://www.levelplatforms.com
Is LabTech channel only? I read on a linkedin post http://cli.gs/A43sAt by Lance Reynolds at Level Platforms that they were not.
“We are exclusive to the channell, whereas Labtech is developed for an IT administrator to manage 1 network, we are developed for an IT service provider to manage multiple networks.” – Lance Reynolds
—-
Eugene
http://www.mspchannelforum.com
We have a rather large investment in Connectwise (20+ seats) and just hope Connectwise doesn’t take its eye off the ball. There is still a large portions of CW that has marginal functionality and needs additional investment and attention.
For full disclosure we have used Autotask and are a Zenith customer.
Terry Rossi
PICS
ConnectWise and LabTech remain Autonomous
The entire management team at LabTech and previous equity owners remain as the leadership and owners after the investment. This will help prevent Terry’s concern because ConnectWise and LabTech remain an autonomous entity.
Owners or Other PSA Tools will not be Disadvantaged
I realize that there are many PSA tools with their own strengths that will attract different partners. The ConnectWise investment will likely triple the size of development staff over the next 6-12 months. The additional staff will allow me to devote more development resources to interfaces with other PSA tools. At first look, most may think investment in LabTech will disadvantage current partners or technical firms considering LabTech that use another PSA tools, but in the end it makes LabTech much stronger and a much better alternative in the marketplace regardless of the PSA tool you choose.
Sincerely,
Matt Nachtrab
CEO, LabTech Software
To answer Eugene’s post, LabTech is channel only and will always be channel only. In other words, we do not sell directly to end users. We are in the process of setting up a reseller program that will be used by the channel to acquire and resell LabTech to companies that choose to manage their IT internally. More news will follow as we launch the reseller program.
Thank you,
Matt
We welcome Connectwise Capital’s initiative as it opens new opportunities for products like ours – QoS-IT, a PSA solution developed on Microsoft CRM as a platform.
As a new player providing IT Services Management solutions, we need to compete with veterans like Connecwise, Autotask amp; Tigerpaw. We have been able to do so by adopting the Microsoft xRM approach to how business applications should be written amp; delivered.
xRM is a platform that business applications are sitting on it (on premises or cloud applications). They coexist in CRM amp; Outlook via a seamless integration between CRM amp; Outlook. All applications have the same look amp; feel using the platform’s UI, Customization, SDK amp; security. Process driven applications (like incident resolution process) are built on Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and integration between the different applications is done via Windows Communication Foundation (CF).
It took our programmers less than 2 working days to integrate Lab Tech as an application linked with QoS-IT and MS CRM. A workflow using Lab Tech’s .NET API and Microsoft’s Workflow Foundation retrieves the device’s list of each customer stored in the Lab Tech Control Center and creates HW Device records in CRM, matching the LabTech’s Locations. Each record stores the device specifications and its linked to the relevant CRM Account. With integration between Outlook amp; CRM, HW Devices are viewed in Outlook, providing fast access to Lab Tech’s web application from within Outlook.
… and you don’t have to purchase the complete QoS-IT application, you can download Lab Tech Sync for MS CRM Client for Outlook for $25 only, same as we offer on our web, Sync for N-able, Kaseya, LPI and GFI MAX.
Ged Ellis
QoS-IT Managing Director