Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Gradient MSP is spreading some love by introducing a new open ecosystem platform, Synthesize. Gradient says this is the IT channel’s first open vendor integration program and platform built to optimize the MSP business model.   

Available now to channel vendors and MSPs worldwide, the collaboration program and intelligent platform address two of the industry’s biggest challenges and opportunities by: introducing a “frictionless ecosystem”; and reconciling everything-as-a-service as part of the automated billable monthly recurring revenue cycle.

Profitable Vendor and MSP Partnerships

Gradient says Synthesize will make partnerships among channel vendors, PSAs and MSPs more prosperous and profitable. 

Gradient MSP’s Dave Goldie

“At the macro level, we see a $250 billion industry,” Dave Goldie, VP, channel, Gradient MSP, told Channel Futures. “There are many subset communities, but the two main subsets of the channel are MSP and vendors. And there is some imbalance there — the majority of the money in the channel sits with the vendors. So our mission is to help MSPs. A lot of these shops are small businesses, but they also serve small businesses. I believe that small businesses make the world a better place. They hold up the economy, and they create, foster and grow community. So, essentially, this integration program – Synthesize – is how we’re showing the love to MSPs. Overall, our mission is to make sure that the whole industry makes more money.”

There is no cost to join and integrate into Gradient’s new open API program and platform. That means vendors, PSAs and channel partners can say goodbye to the process of one-to-one integration efforts and PSA revenue-sharing models. This process has historically thrown a wrench into productivity and chipped away at profitability. To date, more than eight of the leading PSAs have aligned with Gradient MSP to help technology vendors and MSPs modernize the integration cycle and bring greater business efficiency to and through the channel.

Gradient MSP’s Colin Knox

“This platform, at its root, is an integration program that opens up the ecosystem,” Colin Knox, founder and CEO, Gradient MSP, told Channel Futures. “When it comes to business automation and billing reconciliation and such, the reason that we’ve had to step into this category is because it’s something that should have already been solved.” 

Making Integrations Seamless

As more and more PSA platforms have come on the market, it becomes a very costly endeavor for any channel vendor to be building integrations with all of them. According to Knox, in many cases, they can’t get access to those APIs because of competitor hurdles. So there’s a risk to them allowing that integration to flow through in the way that it should. 

“As a result, we’ve come in and built all of these integrations with a bunch of PSAs to solve the issue for MSPs,” Knox continues. “And we’ve been having conversations with channel vendors about how we can involve them, and that’s how we can automate this now for MSPs.”

Addressing any security concerns around the open API platform, Gradient MSP notes all its systems are all held securely and privately. They also include many certifications, including SOC 2 Type 2 certified compliant, HIPAA compliant and GDPR compliant, with more in the works.

Gradient MSP’s Andrea Ayala

“The main message with the Synthesize program is that it’s for creating partnerships with vendors in the channel,” said Andrea Ayala, director of technology alliances, Gradient MSP. “It goes beyond just setting up your integration and forgetting it; it’s creating joint marketing plans, and driving leads for each other. We truly are creating this open ecosystem program for any vendor that wants to join, no matter their revenue size, no matter how many partners you have. We’re still going to do the same amount of work that we would do with a vendor who has 20 partners versus those who have hundreds.”

Simplifying the Technical Integration and Recurring Revenue Model

Integrating with Gradient MSP’s Synthesize and Billable solutions gives channel partners access to all the top PSAs in the MSP industry, the company said. It also removes the guesswork out of what to use and brings greater visibility and accountability to the business for the entire channel.

Gradient MSP claims to take the guesswork out of integration maintenance. It does so by automatically updating the API when new integrations or updates to existing PSA products become available. This saves the vendor, the PSA and the MSP R&D cost on support, maintenance and management.

The vendor community is undeniably getting more competitive. MSPs working with Gradient MSP and using Synthesize and Billable will never have to worry about losing access to APIs or support for existing integrations, the company said.