Kaseya’s Fred Voccola: Unorthodox, Unabashed and Unstoppable

The best way to describe Fred Voccola, CEO of Kaseya, is colorful, unorthodox, an open book and, as a resident of Miami, someone who is comfortable weathering storms of all types. When his name comes up as a channel leader and influencer, those in tech immediately think of Voccola’s role in pulling off the unthinkable — a $6.2 billion buyout of Datto. It’s a deal that will go down in history as one of the most impactful for the MSP community. “There just hasn’t been anything like that before,” said a former Kaseya executive.

The deal brought into Kaseya’s fold Datto’s loyal partner network of nearly 20,000 organizations whose leaders believed the company represented more than just backup and recovery software. They saw a true community where they could connect, grow their businesses and serve customers. It had a cult-like following symbolized by its stock symbol aptly named MSP.

During our interview, Voccola, who was running late because his building had lost power, said Datto had just finished the best quarter in its history thanks to its integration into Kaseya, which serves as multiplatform provider of IT management and security software for MSPs who primarily sell to small and medium-sized businesses. In the MSP world, there are no more important com­panies than Kaseya, with some 4,500 employees worldwide, and ConnectWise. Both are kings of providing software and tools to run an MSP business. Partners are fiercely loyal to one platform or the other because it is their lifeline.

But before we get into the challenges Voccola has faced, the positive outlook he has for the MSP channel and the influence he wields, let’s take a quick look at how he got here.

The Kid from New Jersey

Voccola describes himself as a kid from New Jersey who either grew up with a chip on his shoulder or was just out to prove those who underestimated him were wrong. Maybe there’s a bit of both in his chemistry. Before Voccola landed at Kaseya he was a business builder and seller. By all accounts he was also really good at it and established credibility among the investors, buyers and sellers of tech businesses. Kaseya has been built through numerous acquisitions to date — some large like Datto, some small like IT Glue.

He served as president of Yodle’s Brand Networks di­vision, providing digital and market automation solutions to small and medium businesses. The company was sold to Web.com in 2016. Prior to that, Voccola was president of Nolio Inc., a DevOps SaaS company. He drove 100% year-over-year growth and successfully sold the business to CA Technologies. Many may remember that computing stalwart that grew via acquisition. He was also a co-found­er of Trust Technology Corp., where he drove significant growth over a three-year span prior to the company’s sale to FGI Global. Earlier in his career, he co-founded Identify Software, substantially growing the business during his five-year tenure, then selling it to BMC Software.

Not Your Typical Corporate Executive

You get the picture by now. Case closed. Voccola knows his way around the building, buying and selling of business­es the way few in the industry do. The proof was pulling together a “who’s who” from the world of venture capital and private equity to lock down Datto and bring it into the Kaseya fold.

With that in mind, you have to wonder what the future holds for Kaseya, which is generating $1 billion in annual recurring revenue, given Voccola’s love for M&A. He is tight-lipped about that but promises …