Rumors about Kaseya owning Pulseway have triggered more chatter. To understand the chatter, we've organized the info into this quick timeline...
- 2013: Insight Venture Partners, a private equity firm, acquires Kaseya.
- 2015: Kaseya names Fred Voccola CEO.
- 2016: Somewhere around this time, sources say, Insight Venture Partners invested in MMSoft -- which is ultimately the same company as Pulseway, sources allege. But the investment was never publicly disclosed, the sources add.
- 2017: Somewhere around this time, Insight invested in IT Glue. That investment wasn't disclosed until late 2019.
When Insight Venture Partners (directly or via Kaseya) makes an undisclosed investment, the deal typically includes a non-disclosure agreement -- which means all parties at the table often have a gag order, and can't talk about or even confirm the financial relationship, sources say.
Undisclosed Investments: Good Business or Cause for Concern?
The approach has triggered some concerns in the MSP software market.
- On the one hand, Kaseya has successfully stabilized its business since 2015 and returned to growth mode. That's certainly good news for the company's MSP partners. Plus, companies like IT Glue successfully built Switzerland-like relationships with many of Kaseya's rivals in recent years. Those third-party integrations have also helped thousands of multi-platform MSPs.
- But on the other hand, Insight's investment in IT Glue (undisclosed for two years until 2019) and alleged investment in MMSoft (still unconfirmed) have raised concerns among Kaseya's rivals. Some of those rivals are quietly calling on ISVs to disclose their ownership and funding status before entering partner deals going forward. The key concern: Making sure shared customer and partner data doesn't potentially wind up in rivals' hands.
Neither Kaseya nor Pulseway have publicly commented on the alleged business relationship. Pulseway develops RMM (remote monitoring and management) software and also promotes a PSA (professional services automation) offering. Some sources suggest the Pulseway PSA tool is based on Kaseya's Vorex acquisition, though Pulseway has indicated to some partners that it built the PSA system from scratch.
