Computicate, a Dutch company, today launched a SaaS-based PSA (professional services automation) platform in the United States. It's the latest in a growing list of aspiring PSA alternatives to Autotask, ConnectWise and other MSP-oriented business management systems.
Instead of trying to be all things to all MSPs, Computicate is targeting MSPs with up to 35 employees, according to CEO Martijn van der Schaaf. According to a prepared statement:
"While there are a number of other Professional Service Automation (PSA) tools available in the market today, most tend to be very feature-rich, complex and expensive. This makes them unattractive, and often not an option at all for smaller to mid-sized MSPs (up to 35 employees), the group Computicate tailors to."
Computicate, which launched as a SaaS platform in Europe in 2015, has integrations in place with...
- RMM (remote monitoring and management) platforms like Ninja RMM, Panarama9, MaxFocus (now owned by SolarWinds MSP) and Kaseya VSA.
- Financial and accounting systems like Sage, Xero, Freshbooks, Soho, Kashoo and Exact.
Additional integrations on the way, according to Computicate, include: Microsoft CSP TIER1 and TIER2; N-able N-central and MaxBackup (now owned by SolarWinds MSP); Stripe (credit card billing); and PayPal Business.
Computicate, originally from the Netherlands, has opened a Miami office to drive the U.S. push. The company is currently recruiting a U.S. country manager and associated sales reps, van der Schaaf told ChannelE2E.
Growing MSP Software, RMM, PSA Competition?
In recent years, the MSP-oriented software industry for SMB management has consolidated around several major names -- including Autotask, ConnectWise, Continuum, Kaseya and SolarWinds MSP, among others. Each of those companies has indicated that they're in growth mode -- though it's difficult to pin down actual revenue and profit figures since they're all privately held companies.
Amid the market consolidation, multiple potential "disrupters" have popped up. Many of them are focused on rapid time-to-deployment and rapid time-to-value for MSPs. In addition to Computicate, we're tracking:
- Atera, which has built a PSA-RMM platform that's cloud based and catching on, according to sources in the security industry.
- Auvik Networks has been enhancing its network-centric RMM this year.
- Uplevel Systems, which just raised $1.2 million, is building an on-remises monitoring appliance for MSPs.
- NinjaMSP, led by former Dell PacketTrap leaders, has been expanding its RMM capabilities.
The options don't end there. We've been tracking roughly 20 PSA and 20 RMM offerings designed for enterprise, midmarket and SMB management. We'll keep watching for more upstarts, and the potential market implications.
