Autotask: Salesforce.com Meets Facebook?
During a quick phone chat Monday, Autotask Chief Marketing Officer Bob Vogel (pictured) caught my ear with the following statement: Autotask thinks of itself as the Salesforce.com and Facebook of managed services and IT services automation. It’s a lofty statement. And I realize Autotask faces intense competition. But Vogel’s statement got me thinking. Here’s why.
First, all the usual disclaimers: I am not saying Autotask dominates its market. MSPs are fortunate because intense competition between Autotask, ConnectWise, Tigerpaw Software and other players drives continued innovation.
Drawing Some Parallels
Now, to Vogel’s statement. Think about these two points:
- Salesforce.com has emerged as the poster child for Software as a Service (SaaS). Sure, Salesforce.com is proprietary and centralized. But customers value the fast set-up and predictable billing, and third-party software developers are writing applications that extend or integrate with Salesforce.com. (Check out the AppExchange for details.)
- On the flip side, FaceBook ranks among the most dominant social media brands. Love it or hate it, just about everyone you know is on FaceBook — building (or destroying) their personal brands.
Similar Strategy, Different Markets
Now, let’s jump back to Autotask. While many MSP software providers offer on-premise and hosted options, Autotask bet the farm (and its data center) on SaaS. The company is all SaaS, all the time — the Salesforce.com model.
Now, shift to Autotask Community, the company’s social network for customers. The community allows VARs and MSPs to communicate and collaborate. As we’ve pointed out, custom code development and code sharing are increasingly common within the Autotask Community. It’s as if the spirit of open source collaboration (without the open source licensing model) has spilled over into Autotask’s community.
Narrow and Deep
Am I saying Autotask can be as large as Salesforce.com and Facebook? Absolutely not. But by combining SaaS with social networking, Autotask goes narrow and deep in the IT services automation market.
To be sure, Autotask rivals have online communities and SaaS strategies. But Vogel was the first guy to put a complex strategy in simple terms to me: For MSPs, Autotask thinks of itself as mashup of Salesforce.com and Facebook.
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Just because you use social networking functions and provide community capabilities does not mean you’re just like Facebook. If this were so everyone that offers community functions is just like Facebook – which isn’t anywhere close to reality.
So many platforms do a great job of storing data but really treat marketing like the red-headed step child of their offerings. Autotask is great at tracking existing clients/projects but it seems lacking in assisting IT shops acquire new business. I know of one established shop that recently switched from AutoTask to Infusionsoft just last month because they have their existing clients under control but need more of them!
Ian: Think bigger picture rather than specific product features. Bob was making a big picture point and he made it well.
Wes: Can you disclose who you represent? The MSP that switched platforms? Infusionsoft? I just want to make sure readers understand your own market position as you describe the recent MSP migration.
Joe –
Interesting post. The amount of collaboration going on in the MSP space really is remarkable. Vendor communities, peer groups and MSP Mentor all have interesting and productive conversations going on.
I once worked with a guy who said one of his goals was to make sure our business was “fully buzzword compliant”. It’s natural for businesses to run towards the trends that help enhance their market image. It’s smart business.
No matter which way the wind blows, the idea of community will always be a foundational component of ConnectWise. It’s in our DNA. Arnie and David grew up in the space and the success of the IT Services community is their mission. Our Partner Summit, user group meetings and ConnectWise TV provide forums for our partners to share ideas with each other and us. Our online user forums are incredibly active and tell us what we need to know and, on occasion, have to hear.
It’s great that we work in a market where community is more than an idea. It makes all of us better.
Santo Cannone
ConnectWise
Joe is correct in his interpretation of my answer to his original question about what makes Autotask unique and where we are headed with our software.
As the only PSA Solution that was built from the ground up “in the cloud” long before such a term existed, the culture of our company (and the DNA of our “code” as well as our people”) is all about networks, networking, and seamless collaboration… anywhere, anytime, and for everyone. It’s not just about creating small exclusive peer groups, “old boy networks” and cliques. It’s about an open architecture that supports anyone in our industry working with anyone with real time data flowing freely among induviduals and applications.
How are we doing this? Our software now includes new technologies that are specifically designed to allow any service provider to create and manage their own private “IT service ecosystem” — consisting of the customers they work for, their subcontractors, partners, vendors, and of course internal staff. And the means to find new partners, vendors, customers, and yes, even friends.
Bob V.
Autotask Corporation
Bob, Santo: Good to see both Autotask and ConnectWise offering perspectives. I know you compete fiercely. And you don’t always see eye to eye when it comes to market claims. (How’s that for a diplomatic statement…)
But in the end, customers (VARs/MSPs/service providers) do win as you continue to compete on innovation. Regardless of market niche, the best software companies always delivered their best products/solutions when they faced fierce competition.
I hope your two companies continue the healthy battle for years to come.
Hey Joe – Absolutely correct. Competition is good. The managed services community benefits.
Bob – I’ll make sure to say hello to the old boys for you. 🙂
Joe:
It’s all good! ConnectWise is excited to have competition. When we were the only Professional Service solution on the market it was not as much fun. Now that Autotask and TigerPaw have focused their products away from generic solutions and toward the IT Industry it is good for all of us. Competition makes us all stronger.
Community is really what I personally get excited about. ConnectWise has a 3 million dollar budget this year to bolster and strengthen the IT community with education. For instance I have just finished a worldwide tour of ConnectWise User groups to provide free education and create a true ConnectWise IT community. We have a number of TV shows coming out on ConnectWise TV to educate and entertain the IT community. I really hope ConnectWise and our competition focus beyond the software and to the true success of the clients we server. I know at ConnectWise we take it seriously and hope our competition is sincere in their commitment to community…it will help us all.
Arnie Bellini,
CEO,CPA,MBA
ConnectWise
Arnie, I really like the closing part of your commentary. One of the things we’ve learned as we’ve built VirtualAdministrator is that utimately the true measurement of our success will be in the success of those we serve.
When you can have that kind of message permeate from every source, that’s a benefit to the MSP. If they hear from you that your focus is on them, and they hear the same thing from us, it’s a natural extension for them to carry that philosophy one step further and realize that their success is in the success of their clients’ businesses. If they can really demonstrate this, they will grow.
And when they grow, so do we.
Thanks, all, for your ongoing commitment to the community that we serve and that serves us.
Rich
And apparently, online business communities need to keep the lights on during the weekend hours, too. Back with more blog entries Monday. Or sooner … hint: An MSP software provider has made an acquisition. CEO interview to follow soon.