Atera, an IT management software company that serves MSPs and IT departments, has raised $25 million from K1 Investment Management.
Atera's cloud-based software platform spans RMM (remote monitoring and management), help desk, reporting, and operations management (i.e., professional services automation - PSA) in a single code base. The RMM software analyzes more than 40,000 data points per second -- every second of every day, Atera says.
The funding arrives at an intriguing time:
- On the one hand, the RMM software market has matured in recent years. Companies such as ConnectWise, Datto, Kaseya and SolarWinds MSP (soon to be N-able) have spent recent years expanding their reach both organically and through acquisitions.
- On the other hand, multiple market disruptors are lurking. Indeed, NinjaRMM has organically built a large MSP following; upstarts such as Syncro and Atera have gained organic momentum; and Dreamtsoft is quietly building a midmarket ITSM alternative to ServiceNow and ConnectWise Manage.
In the case of Atera, it's no longer accurate to call the software company a startup. The reason: Atera -- with offices in Israel, the Netherlands and New York -- now supports more than 6,000 customers across 75 countries.
ChannelE2E Interview: Atera CEO Gil Pekelman
So how will the software company leverage K1's investment? Atera CEO Gil Pekelman shared answers in this email interview with ChannelE2E.
ChannelE2E: Did Atera consider investments from a range of sources, and why was K1 the right company to align with?
Pekelman: K1 is a valued partner who saw that our remote-first approach would be a pivotal technology in the transformation of the dispersed workplace and believes that now is the time to invest in disruptive technology that meets this need.
ChannelE2E: Did K1 acquire a majority or minority stake in Atera?
Pekelman: K1 is a minority shareholder with Atera; however, we see them as a strong partner who will have valuable input to help bring us to the next level of growth and global expansion.
ChannelE2E: Would you consider this a Series A, Series B or other type of series funding – or does the “series” term not really apply to the K1 relationship?
Pekelman: This round of funding could be considered a Series A although we feel K1 is a collaborative, valued partner whose investment will help scale Atera’s in-house capabilities to enable business development of its customers, market transformation and growth.
ChannelE2E: What are your business priorities for the $25 million? Research and development? Staff? New offices (if so, where)? Other priorities?
The investment is focusing on three core areas: Product development, global expansion and raising greater awareness of Atera. In fact, we recently launched in France and Germany with more international expansion planned in the coming months.
All of this expansion is being driven by the shift in company operations to a remote work structure. Rather than having a few centralized offices for IT teams and MSPs to manage, firms must now support a globally dispersed workforce. Atera’s platform, with the combination of remote management and monitoring along with helpdesk, reporting, and operations management in a single intuitive cloud-based system, enables greater efficiency through streamlined IT operations.
ChannelE2E: You’re targeting IT professionals and MSPs. Does that mean you see use cases and adoption within business IT departments?
Yes, especially as more companies adopt a long-term remote workforce model. IT departments are no longer just managing an office environment and are now responsible for overseeing hundreds of remote home-offices, each with its own technology – routers, internet, networks, workstations, printers, etc. – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Atera is uniquely positioned to support and sustain this global transformation.
ChannelE2E: Do you see an opportunity for Atera’s software to be used for co-managed services – extending between MSPs and corporate IT departments?
Atera is disrupting the industry with its remote-first IT management platform, that is easy and enjoyable to use, predictive and automated. In fact, we have many cases of co-managed services where the company has an internal IT department that works together with their MSP within Atera, diving between them spheres of responsibility.
ChannelE2E: In terms of your existing customer base, is there a “target” size MSP or IT pro staff that you’re seeking to work with?
Atera works with more than 6,000 customers in 75 countries. The size of our customers ranges from the small MSPs and SMBs to larger MSPs and midmarket firms.
K1 Backs Atera: Investor Perspectives, MSP Market Size
In a prepared statement about the investment, K1 Senior VP Roy Liao said:
“Atera’s innovative approach to remote-first IT management is evidenced by its fast-paced growth with more than 6,000 customers in 75 countries. We are excited to partner with Atera as it continues to change the landscape of the MSP and IT industries, especially during unprecedented times of disruption to normal business operations. As Atera’s platform expands, it will drive greater cost and time efficiencies for IT professionals and MSPs alike.”
No doubt, Atera has momentum. But larger, entrenched MSP software rivals also continue to make moves. For instance:
- It's a safe bet NinjaRMM will continue to organically expand its software platform beyond RMM and data protection software.
- Kaseya, backed by private equity firm Insight Partners, is preparing for a potential financial event that could involve an IPO.
- SolarWinds is striving to spin-off SolarWinds MSP, and the business will be rebranded as N-able even before the spin-off occurs.
The overall health and size of the MSP software market will come into better focus when SolarWinds announces financial results on February 25, and Datto announces results on March 11.
In the meantime, Atera -- armed with K1's financial backing -- continues to expand its own MSP partner base.
