N-able Mike Cullen

Cullen shared clues about that MDM engagement — involving thousands of nodes — during a sit-down with MSPmentor last week at IT Nation, the annual MSP and VAR conference hosted by ConnectWise. The MDM win — involving some details that have yet to be disclosed — is particularly impressive since N-able is essentially beta testing its management software for Google Android and Apple iOS tablets and smartphones.

But this is more than an MDM story. It's also about N-able getting its ducks in a row. While CEO Gavin Garbutt focuses on long-term strategy and Cullen zeros in on sales, COO and President JP Jauvin oversees business processes and day-to-day operations. Jauvin has been on the job for roughly two years — an addition that helped N-able to improve the quality of its software launches and overall execution.

2012 Momentum

One result: N-able's MSPs are scaling their businesses. The company now has roughly 45 “super elite” MSPs, each of which has at least 2,500 customer nodes under management, I believe. Among the major areas of growth: South Africa, where N-able now has about 70 to 80 partners, notes Cullen.

“When I look back on 2012 it has been a huge year for us in terms of international expansion,” said Cullen. “We're noticing a tremendous recovery in North America. Everyone is booming and short on staff. Everyone would be hiring if they could find the talent.”

Let's put those quotes in context: Within the MSP market, Cullen tends to be a balanced voice — avoiding empty hype but also steering clear of doom and gloom. Translation: His upbeat words suggest N-able and its partners truly are performing well, though it's tough to say for sure since the company does not disclose financial results.

Next Moves

Looking ahead, N-able expects to deliver deeper and deeper integration with ConnectWise and Autotask, while also making an MDM push. Cullen also recommends MSPs stick with the basics: Patch management, anti-virus and backup are three core offerings for many successful MSPs. The big point of differentiation going foward: Cullen is pushing N-able's own development team and MSPs to focus more and more on automation.

While some folks worry about basic MSP services becoming commoditized, Cullen offers this twist: “Monitoring is going to become more important; not less.”

The reasons, he says:

During several points in our conversation, Cullen pulls back the curtain a bit more on N-able's long-term strategy. But like the road warrior he is, the curtain closes and the interview ends with Cullen heading off to his next meeting — on yet another continent.