itopia, a workspace as a service (WaaS) specialist that partners closely with Google Cloud Platform, has hired Ted Hulsy as chief revenue officer to oversee sales and marketing. Hulsy, an eFolder and SonicWall veteran, has a strong track record in the IT channel -- particularly in the MSP sector.
"Career transitions are often all about timing," Hulsy tells ChannelE2E. "itopia is really well positioned from a market and product position -- with the right partnerships."
On the one hand, the WaaS market is highly fragmented. And there's always a chance that Microsoft and Amazon Web Services will -- someday -- develop WaaS strategies that actually gain critical mass. But on the other hand, itopia has some key differentiators. The company has a long track record in the IT channel. And a close relationship with Google Cloud Platform looks promising.
itopia and Google: Mastering Microsoft in the Cloud?
Google has publicly stated that it wants to be the preferred cloud for running Microsoft Windows 10, Windows Server and SQL Server workloads. itopia is well positioned to assist that effort.
"It's a really hot, fast-growing market that represents the future," Hulsy asserts. "It's the way workloads will be run over the the next five to 10 years. We want to help MSPs master moving customers to cloud services and associated infrastructure."
That migration process isn't pleasant if partners aren't profitable, he notes. itopia solves that challenge, he asserts. "We want to be the industry standard for managing the cloud for MSPs," he says.
itopia CEO Jonathan Lieberman praises Hulsy's IT channel track record. As eFolder's VP of marketing, Hulsy grew the company's partner base from 300 to 3,000 organizations worldwide. Hulsy exited that company this year amid eFolder's shift to offices in Denver. Earlier, Hulsy directed SonicWall's marketing efforts, building a 10,000-member channel partner community, Lieberman notes.
itopia: Challenges and Opportunities
Admittedly, itopia faces multiple market challenges. For starters, there's that ongoing risk that Microsoft (working with Citrix) finally launches a winning WaaS solution on Azure. VMware has also activated a similar service in Azure. And Amazon... well, we all know their market might.
Within the MSP-oriented channel, there are multiple WaaS, desktop as a service and VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) companies to watch. Just yesterday, we received a reminder from Neverfail that the company is pushing hard in the WaaS market. And at DattoCon17 this week, CEO Austin McChord shared early thoughts about Datto Desktops, a potential VDI offering for MSPs.
Back at itopia, Hulsy has a knack for building face-to-face relationships with partners. It's a safe bet those efforts are already under way.
