- N-able Reportedly Exploring Sale
- Kaseya Adds New Executive to C-Suite
- Lumifi Cyber Acquires Netsurion for MDR, XDR, US SOC
- MSP Consolidation: A Look at Evergreen’s Non-Integration Model
- Lenovo and Cisco Partner to Accelerate Digital Transformation
- Study: MSPs Struggle to Keep Up With Cybersecurity Challenges
- Sonar Puts Focus on Channel with New Executive
MSSP Alert’s affiliate site ChannelE2E covers news and insights about MSP tools, the rise of AI in the service provider channel, cybersecurity topics for service providers, mergers & acquisitions, and more. Each week MSP Update will bring you the top news from ChannelE2E. Here’s a collection of our most recent MSP news, analysis and insights.
N-able Reportedly Exploring Sale
Could N-able be sold to Barracuda Networks or another software company? N-able is publicly held and also has two private equity investors, each holding one-third of the company.
N-able’s private equity investors Silver Lake and Thoma Bravo are reportedly running a sales process to exit the MSP tools platform provider.
That’s according to a Reuters report that says the company is exploring a sale “after attracting acquisition interest.” Reuters cites “people familiar with the matter” as its source.
Channel analyst firm Canalys says N-able is number three for market share among the MSP tools platform vendors, holding 11.5% of the market. It ranks behind ConnectWise and Kaseya, Canalys data from March 2024 indicates.
The N-able sales talk news comes as N-able’s two primary competitors in the MSP RMM/PSA market also appear to be exploring sales as their private equity owners reach the end of their investment timelines. Both ConnectWise and Kaseya recently announced that they have hired new CFOs, both with experience at private equity-owned and publicly held companies.
Kaseya Adds New Executive to C-Suite
Kaseya has named a new chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Does the move hint at plans for an IPO for the software provider owned by private equity company Insight Partners?
Ryan Courson will take both seats for the global cybersecurity and IT software provider effective immediately, the company announced. He's an executive with experience at both private equity funded companies and publicly held companies.
Prior to Kaseya, Courson served as CFO of several companies including Cornerstone on Demand, EagleView Technologies, and Atlas Corp. Here's more on Courson's background and what the appointment will mean for Kaseya.
Lumifi Cyber Acquires Netsurion for MDR, XDR, US SOC
Lumifi Cyber Inc. has acquired Netsurion, a managed extended detection and response (XDR) provider, for an undisclosed sum.
The move is aimed at bolstering Lumifi’s security offerings through its U.S.-based security operations center and proprietary SHIELDVision platform.
With the acquisition of Netsurion, Lumifi gains additional engineers, customer success and sales associates, technical account managers, and 400 new clients. This acquisition also supports Lumifi’s strategic goal to become a leader in the MDR space, according to the company.
MSP Consolidation: A Look at Evergreen’s Non-Integration Model
Evergreen has emerged as a prominent player in the MSP sector, strategically acquiring MSPs for nearly seven years. The company's acquisition strategy is rooted in its commitment to providing a stable, permanent home for businesses. Over the years, Evergreen has expanded its reach significantly.
"We’ve been acquiring MSPs since the end of 2017,” Sydney Hockett, vice president of M and A at Evergreen, explained to ChannelE2E. “This journey has enabled us to expand our portfolio across North America, the UK, and more recently, Australia and New Zealand as well."
This geographical expansion underscores Evergreen’s robust growth strategy and its ability to adapt and thrive in diverse markets.
Evergreen’s approach involves a decentralized operating model, allowing each MSP to retain its brand, team, and operational autonomy. This contrasts with traditional roll-up strategies, offering an alternative for MSP owners considering selling their businesses.
Lenovo and Cisco Partner to Accelerate Digital Transformation
Lenovo and Cisco are teaming up to provide AI-powered digital transformation services to enterprises.
The companies signed a memorandum of understanding that will extend networking and AI infrastructure solutions to global customers, agreeing to jointly design, engineer, and execute the plans to get their clients “from edge to cloud.”
Study: MSPs Struggle to Keep Up With Cybersecurity Challenges
Many managed service providers (MSPs) are struggling to keep up with changes in cybersecurity, according to a recent study by Sophos.
Thirty-nine percent of MSPs say keeping up with the latest cybersecurity technologies is their biggest daily challenge, the MSP Perspectives 2024 survey revealed. The biggest risk to their businesses and clients comes from a shortage of in-house cybersecurity skills while other notable risks include stolen access data and unpatched vulnerabilities.
Sonar Puts Focus on Channel with New Executive
Bad code costs organizations $2.41 trillion in the U.S. alone, and Gartner estimates that 70% of professional developers will use AI-powered coding tools by 2027 (up from less than 10% in September 2023).
Bad code is also a factor impacting cybersecurity, which has prompted the U.S. Cybersecurity Infrastructure & Security Agency to issue its Secure by Design initiative which include a set of principles implemented during the design phase of a product’s development lifecycle to dramatically reduce the number of exploitable flaws before they are introduced to the market for broad use or consumption.
The expense of bad code means that investing in high-quality software from the start, at the code level, is mission-critical. And there's a big opportunity for ISVs, software services providers and even resellers. By cleaning code as it’s developed, issues in new code get fixed (code that has been added or changed) before they become part of the legacy code and, in turn, high standards can be maintained with existing code improving over time, said Lynne Doherty, president of field operations at Sonar.
Doherty is new to the role, but not to the issues surrounding the need for clean code. Sonar announced Doherty's hire as president of field operations May 1, 2024 to accelerate revenue and strengthen partnerships, ensuring Sonar's customers are successful in their pursuit of clean code. (Sonar has also made secure-by-design principals a central part of its efforts to help code development.)
She spoke to ChannelE2E's Sharon Florentine about her new role, the shift in go-to-market strategy and the importance of a strong channel. The following conversation is lightly edited for clarity.
