Autotask Prepping Online Store
Autotask continues to build out its online communities, and plans to launch an online store where VARs and managed service providers will be able to license the company’s software, according to Len DiCostanzo, senior VP of professional services at Autotask.
I met with DiCostanzo and Autotask Director of Business Development Brian Sherman in Framingham, Mass., today, where the MSPAlliance is kicking off its latest Managed Services Summit. Here’s a bit more about what DiCostanzo and Sherman had to say.
Sherman, the former top editor at Business Solutions Magazine, joined Autotask roughly nine months ago to help drive the company’s strategic partnerships. DiCostanzo, a former solutions provider who has specialized in recurring revenue since about 1997, joined Autotask in mid-January to help polish and expand the company’s professional services organization.
Customers Driving Partner Strategy
Rather than working in a vacuum, Sherman has been participating in Autotask’s private online customer community. That interaction has helped him to identify partnerships that customers want Autotask to pursue.
Aside from the traditional MSP platform providers (Kaseya, N-able, Level Platforms, Dell/Silverback, etc.), Sherman has been focused on such partners as Intuit QuickBooks, ensuring that Autotask tightly integrates with solution providers’ accounting systems. Autotask also is exploring potential integration with such remote administration specialists as Bomgar and LogMeIn.
Sherman is navigating the Managed Services Summit, armed with a spreadsheet highlighting existing and potential partners.
Professional Services
Meanwhile, DiCostanzo is working to both streamline and enhance Autotask’s professional services offerings, he says. DiCostanzo briefly mentioned a forthcoming online store, where customers will be able to easily license Autotask solutions without having to reach out to a dedicated sales rep. It sounds like a 2008 initiative, but I’ll have to ping him again for further details.
DiCostanzo is also promoting the increased use of video communications within Autotask, and longer-term sees it as an ideal training tool for Autotask customers. DiCostanzo has already established video links with employees and offices in Australia, the United Kingdom and Brazil, among other areas.
Separately and quite significantly, Autotask is developing a certification program to help Autotask customers train other customers on the platform.
During my high-level meeting with Sherman and DiCostanzo, we didn’t dive down into delivery dates or specific features/functions for each of the above-noted efforts.
But I’ll be sure to grab DiCostanzo’s ear again in early June, when he and I will be attending the Kaseya User Conference in Las Vegas.
