ScalePad, the MSP software provider formerly known as Warranty Master, has received private equity funding from Integrity Growth Partners (IGP). Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed, though ScalePad remains "independent and founder-led," the company says.
ScalePad's SaaS-based platform allows MSPs to automate asset lifecycle management across hardware, software, and warranty services. The company services roughly 8,500 MSPs (managed IT services providers) worldwide.
ScalePad's founders and executive team have extensive experience in the MSP sector. Co-founder Chris Day previously launched, built and sold IT Glue (acquired by Kaseya). And CEO Dan Wensley helped to pioneer MSP business and cybersecurity models during previous posts at Level Platforms (now owned by Barracuda) and Passportal (acquired by SolarWinds and now owned by N-able).
ScalePad and MSP Software Industry Funding: Perspectives and Developments
In a prepared statement about the ScalePad investment, IGP Founder and Managing Partner Doyl Burkett said:
“We are thrilled to lead the first investment in ScalePad and to partner with the amazing ScalePad team. Founders and management teams who are experts in their space and have identified opportunities to better improve processes in their own industry bring to market a unique perspective that directly benefits their customers. The ScalePad team truly understands the pain points of today's MSPs, and we see tremendous opportunity with this team as they continue to execute on their impressive vision.”
Based in Los Angeles, Integrity Growth Partners typically invests in "lower middle market software and tech-enabled services businesses led by exceptional management teams," the private equity firm says.
The global managed IT services market is growing about 8 percent per year, according to MarketsAndMarkets research. But many MSP technology providers are generating strong double-digit growth rates. Amid the industry's continued growth, funding in and around the MSP software market remains strong. Indeed, funding announcements in 2021 and 2020 have involved Atera, Liongard and SuperOps.ai, among many others.
ScalePad CEO Dan Wensley: The ChannelE2E Interview
Seeking more information about the private equity funding, ChannelE2E reached out to ScalePad CEO Dan Wensley for his perspectives. Here's a transcript of the e-mail based conversation.
ChannelE2E: How did ScalePad connect with IGP, and why was IGP the “right” financial partner for ScalePad?
Wensley: We connected with IGP thanks to their interest in our industry but mostly, thanks to our partners who openly shared with IGP the value our platform was delivering to them. My first call with the IGP team started like many others with them saying; “We have heard good things about your company and technology from MSPs.” The further we got to know IGP and the team and more we found mutual values, and alignment of the value of our marketplace and the opportunity ahead for both ScalePad and our partners.
What made IGP the right financial partner for us was their thesis on partnering, investing and how they support their portfolio companies. That combined with their knowledge and comprehension of both SaaS businesses and the IT Services market will further deliver incremental value and resources for us. The IGP team demonstrated this value during the entire process and we look forward to their continued participation. It was the right deal with the right people.
ChannelE2E: How many employees, roughly, does ScalePad have?
Wensley: ScalePad currently has just under 70 Rocketeers (employees). Prior to our funding we had 15 open positions, which will now be increasing significantly here in the very near term.
ChannelE2E: Amid the recent company rebrand (from Warranty Master), it feels like ScalePad has expanded beyond Warranty management to complete Asset Lifecycle management – including risk management. Can you describe some of the newer use cases MSPs have found for ScalePad?
Wensley: Initially designed to be a simple tool to automate lookups of OEM warranty data, ScalePad’s application has come a long way and is currently used by thousands of MSPs in dozens of ways. Primarily, ScalePad helps MSPs drive standardization and modernization of their clients’ environments by helping MSPs easily identify and prioritize asset risks & opportunities within their clients’ assets. It utilizes insightful reports to communicate asset status to customers in a way that helps them see the value in making important IT investments and drives them to take action to improve their environment.
The intuitive platform automates many menial and tedious tasks, such as looking up asset expiry dates and verifying the status of assets. This helps MSPs reduce work, increase efficiency and pave the road towards standardizing and modernizing their clients’ environment.
In addition, ScalePad offers additional protection to both client and MSP via extended warranties. This is an opportunity for MSPs to increase revenue while decreasing technician’s workload while protecting and better servicing their customers.
New integrations continue to expand ScalePad’s capabilities and functionality — for example, a new integration with Microsoft Endpoint Manager, released to beta last week, is ideal for MSPs operating in co-managed IT environments by providing them with a single-pane view of assets across multiple Microsoft 365 tenants.
ChannelE2E: What are your first priorities for the investment dollars?
Wensley: Increased value for partners was our priority prior to funding and was the driver to consider funding in the first place. While we were a financially healthy business and experiencing growth we wanted and knew we could do more that could be accelerated by an investment. The funding will be placed in three core and foundational areas of ScalePad:
- People (rocketeers);
- Product; and
- Partners.
We will continue to invest in the best People who are dedicated to building and supporting the best Product to support and ensure the success of our Partners.
