ChannelE2E is navigating RSA Conference 2017 today and Wednesday. So what are we hearing in the halls -- and in private meetings? Here's the latest from NinjaMSP, One Identity and SonicWall. But keep checking back every hour or so for channel partner-centric updates. More interviews on the way.
One Identity: Life After Dell
One Identity, the identity and access management (IAM) business that Dell sold in 2016, is making numerous technology and partner moves. On the developer front, the team is set to expand about 15 percent. And as an independent company, One Identity can control its own destiny on the partner front -- deciding which IT services to offer, and where partners can fill voids. The simple answer: One Identity is getting serious about the channel. Partners generate roughly 10 percent of company revenues today, with a longer-term goal of 40 percent channel revenues...
One Identity's management team has been together for roughly a decade. The team's near-term goals include:
- Extending from traditional software models to cloud- and on-premises subscription services.
- Developing Docker images that allow MSPs, partners and customers to easily deploy and manage One Identity in Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
- Watch for developments int the Azure ecosystem, in particular. One Identity is building solutions atop Azure, and leveraging open APIs so that partners and customers can extend the platform.
- Also, keep an eye on One Identity's work with Dell Boomi, the cloud integration platform. Leveraging Boomi, partners can quickly connect identity management services to third-party SaaS applications.
So what's next? Keep an eye on Shaw's worldwide travels -- which include MSP-centric meetings set for Europe within the next few weeks.
NinjaMSP: Serving 1,000 MSPs -- and Growing
John Reumann
Sources: CEO Salvatore Sferlazza; VP of Business Development and Marketing John Reumann.
NinjaMSP's momentum continues to accelerate. Roughly 1,000 MSPs now run the company's cloud-based RMM (remote monitoring and management) platform, up from about a year ago. The key to fast adoption: Ease of deployment and overall customer experience. NinjaMSP's team includes Dell and PacketTrap veterans, many of whom have strong reputations in the MSP market.
NinjaMSP has raised about $4 million to $5 million in seed and early Series A funding. But another funding round likely is NOT on the way. Why? Because NinjaMSP is nearly break-even on the financial front, and the company believes it can self-fund for growth over the long haul.
In addition to a range of MSP software integrations, keep an eye on NinjaMSP's growing base of international distributors. Also, could more security partnerships be on the horizon? Hmmm... Perhaps that's why the company surfaced at RSA Conference...
SonicWall: MSPs, Master MSPs and MSSPs (Oh My)
Sources: CEO Bill Conner, and VP Worldwide Sales Steve Pataky.
After Dell sold SonicWall to private equity investors, channel partners came knocking. Roughly 8,500 partners registered for SonicWall's new partner program during its first 90 days. And roughly 18 percent of those partners are net-new to the SonicWall program.
Also, deal registration has skyrocketed -- up 58 percent in North America. Those partners essentially gain more product margin and deal protection for registering their customer wins. And there's no risk of losing the deal to SonicWall's direct sales team. Why? As an independent company, SonicWall no longer sells direct.
So what's next? SonicWall has always had a strong -- but unformalized -- following in the MSP sector. Now, imagine a partner program that addressed not only MSPs -- but Master MSPs as well as MSSPs (managed security services providers).
First, a refresher course: Master MSPs typically host and/or deliver various managed services for VARs and emerging MSPs. They were a hot trend about a decade ago but somewhat fizzled out for a range of reasons. Now they're back.
The reason? Most MSPs don't have the staff, financing and technical know-how to stand up their own, full-blown MSSP practices. Nor can they afford to build their own SOCs (security operations centers). SonicWall believes so-called Master MSPs will fill those voids. I tend to agree.
In some ways, the Master MSPs will be two-tier distributors, managing and delivering SonicWall-oriented services to the MSPs. It sounds like SonicWall's formalized MSP partner program will take shape later this year...
Oh, and SonicWall delivered plenty of news at RSA Conference. I'm just a bit distracted by the long-term MSP strategy at the moment and may loop back with a news recap as well soon...
More Meeting Recaps
Stay tuned. On Tuesday we had additional meetings with BlackStratus, Cisco Systems, Kaspersky Lab and SolarWinds MSP. Also, here's our live blog for Day 2.
