Datto in 2021 plans to launch Azure Cloud Continuity -- the company's first continuity product for applications running in the public cloud, Datto CEO Tim Weller disclosed during the company's March 11 earnings call.
Datto’s original business involved on-premises storage appliances that provide backup services to Datto’s private cloud. The business depends on MSPs as the pure go-to-market sales model into the SMB sector.
In recent years, Datto has evolved through M&A and R&D to offer remote monitoring and management (RMM), professional services automation (PSA), networking, cloud-to-cloud backup technologies, and cybersecurity for MSPs.
Related: Datto confirms DattoCon21 event dates.
Public Cloud Backup and Business Continuity
In some ways, Datto is late to public cloud backup services. Numerous data protection companies offer services across Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Still, Datto's opportunity in the Azure market remains strong. The reason: Most of the company's MSP partners got their start protecting on-premises Windows servers. Many of those same MSPs are only beginning the journey from Microsoft 365 (SaaS) opportunities to Azure (IaaS and PaaS) revenue opportunities.
The MSP journey to Azure hasn't been easy, since many MSPs don't quite understand how to monetize IaaS and PaaS systems. Numerous distributors have been assisting MSPs with their Azure business practice build-outs. And fast-growing startups such as Nerdio are helping MSPs to monetize Windows Virtual Desktops (desktop as a service) on Azure.
Related: Top 250 Public Cloud MSPs
Datto Azure Cloud Continuity: Q2 MSP Beta Test
Now, Datto is preparing to jump into the Azure market. Indeed, the company expects to beta test Azure Cloud Continuity with MSPs in Q2 2021, Weller said.
"Our solutions will be hybrid-cloud focused, so partners get a unified user experience, independent of whether their workloads are on-premises, in private clouds or in public clouds," Weller added. "This is critical in a multi-tenant deployment wherein MSPs and clients have diverse workloads in many places."
Additional R&D and business expansion efforts are under way. For instance, Datto announced the BitDam acquisition on March 10 to help MSPs address security for Microsoft 365, Google Workplace and other SaaS applications. Also, Datto acquired Gluh in mid-2020 and is now positioning that software as Datto Commerce — essentially, a sales automation system for MSPs.
Datto: MSP Partner Footprint
Datto now supports more than 17,000 MSPs, and subscription revenue grew 16 percent in Q4 of 2020 vs. Q4 of 2019, the company said during the earnings call. The data protection, cybersecurity and IT automation technology company said Q4 revenues grew 10 percent to $139 million.
Looking further down the road, the DattoCon 2021 event is scheduled for October 11-14, the company also revealed.
