3 PSA Alternatives to ConnectWise, Autotask, Tigerpaw

Managed services providers (MSPs) in need of professional services automation (PSA) software alternatives to ConnectWise, Autotask and Tigerpaw Software may be in luck.

Over the past few weeks, several channel-friendly PSA vendors have reached out to MSPmentor after we introduced a new PSA player into the mix.

Vorex

Vorex may sound the most familiar to readers. That’s because MSPmentor made the company’s story public about a month ago. The Dallas-based company has been selling PSA solutions since 2007, but it had never worked its way into the MSP space.

According to Vorex CEO Michael Salem, his company is on a new path this year. He told MSPmentor in an interview that working with MSPs will be a company priority in 2014.

“We have the infrastructure for it,” he said. “The goal is by mid-year we’ll be moving forward, and we’ll be in serious talks with several reliable MSPs in the market.

While Vorex PSA may not be available for MSPs at this time, it could be a possibility down the road for MSPs looking for an alternative PSA tool in the market. 

Karisoft

Similar to ConnectWise, Karisoft started out as an IT solutions company and quickly recognized its need for a PSA tool, Karisoft President Al Karimi told MSPmentor. In response, he hired a few programmers in 1999 to build internal PSA software for his company.

Karimi then made the decision to rework the product as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) application to make it available to others, dubbing it IT Pro Dashboard. At the time, he didn’t push the solution too hard because he was still primarily focused on his IT company, Karimi said.

Gradually, though, Karimi said the company integrated various features and modules into the product, which is when he gave the solution an extra shove into the market.

“It is like a secret, an unknown thing in the market,” he said. “Those who are using it are very happy with it.”

Karimi said his company’s product is a PSA tool without the bells and whistles of a larger PSA product. He added that there are users leveraging IT Pro Dashboard who have migrated from ConnectWise, Autotask and Tigerpaw.

Computication

Computication, a Holland-based MSP, brought its PSA software solution, Computicate, to market a couple of weeks ago, after years of developing and expanding the product, Computication CEO Martijn van der Schaaf told MSPmentor at Kaseya Connect.

For now, the company is marketing primarily overseas, since other PSA software vendors have been dominating the market in the United States. He did note, however, the company is also open to interested MSPs in the United States.

Computicate integrates with many familiar remote monitoring and management (RMM) systems, including Kaseya, GFI Max and N-able.

Schaaf said there’s only one MSP leveraging the product at the moment, but he’s hoping to close deals with about 20 to 30 MSPs by the end of the year.

Follow CJ Arlotta on Twitter @cjarlotta for further updates on the story above.