Amid continued rapid growth, Passportal is expanding from its password management roots toward secure document management. The move is part of a larger strategy to reposition the company as an overall MSP platform provider. But the strategy also introduces potential competitive overlap with IT Glue, a fast-growing provider of documentation software for MSPs.
First, the big picture. Passportal offers a password management system specifically designed for MSPs. The company has quietly -- but rapidly -- grown to about 20 employees, and headcount should reach about 30 full-timers soon. Led by CEO and former MSP Colin Knox, Passportal is now pursuing early seed funding to further scale its R&D, marketing and more. MSP software industry veteran Dan Wensley is onboard as president, driving the company's channel strategy. And CFO Mike Urquhart has been providing financial guidance.
The results so far sound impressive: Passportal now supports MSPs across roughly 32 countries, though I don't know the company's revenue or profit figures.
From SaaS App to MSP Cloud Platform
So what's next? In some ways, Passportal is seeking to follow in the footsteps of Salesforce, Box, Zoho and other SaaS applications providers. Each of those companies started with a specific, single app -- and then each company transformed into full-blown, extendible platform providers. With that type of evolution in mind, Passportal today launched the Ocular brand, which includes an expanded portfolio of services and a redesigned website.
Existing Passportal MSPs can test the new document management module directly from Passportal's online portal. The key word is "module." It's a safe bet Passportal will add multiple modules and services over time, though the company certainly is plenty busy with password and document management.
The document management module "simplifies search and secure file management for internal files, installers, contracts, user guides, etc., using drag and drop file uploading and folder tree directory management," the company says.
Passportal vs. IT Glue?
Now here's the twist: Ocular also supports knowledge base articles and standard operating procedures (SOPs), and allows channel partners to create quick-link relationships between any password credentials, articles and files, the company says. Read between the lines and Passportal could start competing in some ways against IT Glue, a very popular documentation platform for MSPs.
For its part, Passportal intends to maintain open APIs and the company continues to integrate with major MSP software providers. Passportal remains open to doing an integration with IT Glue, according to Wensley, but so far an integration hasn't materialized. We've reached out to IT Glue for their views on a potential Passportal integration. We'll update this article if/when we have additional details to share.
In addition to the Ocular platform branding, Passportal’s free self-service password reset product, formerly known as Passportal Lite, has been rebranded as Blink. Moreover, Blink now supports self-service password resets on Microsoft Active Directory domains and peer-to-peer networks of Windows computers.
