- N-able is reportedly considering a sale
- Kaseya Adds New C-Level Executive
- Lumifi Cyber Acquires Netsurion for MDR, XDR and US SOC
- MSP Integration: Overview of Evergreen's Non-Integrated Model
- Lenovo and Cisco Partner to Accelerate Digital Transformation
- Survey: MSPs struggle to meet cybersecurity challenges
- Sonar to focus on channels with new executives
A companion site to MSSP Alert, ChannelE2E covers news and insights on MSP tools, the rise of AI in the service provider channel, cybersecurity topics for service providers, mergers and acquisitions, and more. Every week, MSP Update brings you the top stories from ChannelE2E, curating the latest MSP news, analysis, and insights.
N-able is reportedly considering a sale
Could N-able be sold to Barracuda Networks or another software company? N-able is a publicly traded company and also has two private equity investors, each of which owns a third of the company.
N-able's private equity investors, Silver Lake and Thoma Bravo, are reportedly undergoing a sale process to exit the MSP tools platform provider.
The company is considering a sale “after attracting acquisition interest,” according to a Reuters report, citing “people familiar with the matter” as its source.
According to channel analytics firm Canalys, N-able ranks third among MSP tools platform vendors with 11.5% market share. The company ranks behind ConnectWise and Kaseya, according to Canalys data for March 2024.
News of N-able's sale talks comes as N-able's two largest competitors in the MSP RMM/PSA market are also believed to be considering sales as their private equity owners near the end of their investment deadlines: ConnectWise and Kaseya both recently announced the hiring of new CFOs with experience at private equity-owned and publicly traded companies.
Read the full story here.
Kaseya Adds New C-Level Executive
Kaseya has appointed a new chief operating officer and chief financial officer — a move that could signal IPO plans for the software provider, which is owned by private equity firm Insight Partners?
The company announced that Ryan Cawthon, an executive with experience working for both private equity-backed and public companies, will assume both roles at the global cybersecurity and IT software provider, effective immediately.
Prior to joining Kaseya, Courson served as CFO at several companies, including Cornerstone on Demand, EagleView Technologies and Atlas Corp. More on Courson's background and what this appointment means for Kaseya below.
Read the full story here.
Lumifi Cyber Acquires Netsurion for MDR, XDR and US SOC
Lumifi Cyber Inc. has acquired Netsurion, a managed extended detection and response (XDR) provider, for an undisclosed amount.
The move is aimed at strengthening Lumifi's security services through its US-based Security Operations Center and proprietary SHIELDVision platform.
With the acquisition of Netsurion, Lumifi will gain additional engineers, customer success and sales associates, technical account managers, and 400 new clients. The company said the acquisition also supports Lumifi's strategic goal of becoming a leader in the MDR space.
Read the full story here.
MSP Integration: Overview of Evergreen's Non-Integrated Model
Evergreen has emerged as a leading player in the MSP sector and has been strategically acquiring MSPs for nearly seven years. The company's acquisition strategy is based on a commitment to providing businesses with a stable, permanent home. Over the years, Evergreen has significantly expanded its reach.
“We have been acquiring MSPs since late 2017,” Sydney Hockett, Evergreen's vice president of M&A, explained to ChannelE2E. “This effort has allowed us to expand our portfolio into North America, the UK, and more recently, Australia and New Zealand.”
This geographic expansion highlights Evergreen's robust growth strategy and ability to adapt and thrive in diverse markets.
Evergreen's approach embraces a decentralized operating model, allowing each MSP to maintain autonomy over their brand, team and operations – in contrast to traditional roll-up strategies, providing an alternative for MSP owners looking to sell their business.
Read the full story here.
Lenovo and Cisco Partner to Accelerate Digital Transformation
Lenovo and Cisco are partnering to provide businesses with AI-powered digital transformation services.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to provide network and AI infrastructure solutions to customers globally, and agreed to jointly design, engineer and execute plans to take customers “from edge to cloud.”
Read the full story here.
Survey: MSPs struggle to meet cybersecurity challenges
According to a recent survey by Sophos, many managed service providers (MSPs) are struggling to keep up with changes in cybersecurity.
39% of MSPs say keeping up with the latest cybersecurity technologies is their biggest daily challenge, found the MSP Perspectives 2024 survey. The biggest risk to businesses and customers comes from a lack of in-house cybersecurity skills, with other notable risks including theft of access data and unpatched vulnerabilities.
Read the full story here.
Sonar to focus on channels with new executives
Bad code costs organizations $2.41 trillion in the US alone, and Gartner predicts that 70% of professional developers will use AI-powered coding tools by 2027 (up from less than 10% in September 2023).
Malicious code is also a factor affecting cybersecurity, and the U.S. Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency has issued the “Secure by Design” initiative, which includes a set of principles to be implemented during the design phase of the product development lifecycle, aiming to significantly reduce the number of potentially exploitable flaws before a product is introduced to the market for widespread use or consumption.
Given the cost of bad code, investing in quality software at the code level from the start is crucial, and it also represents a huge opportunity for ISVs, software service providers, and even resellers. Cleaning up code during development ensures that new code issues (code that has been added or changed) are fixed before they become part of the legacy code, thereby improving existing code over time and maintaining high standards, says Lynne Doherty, president of field operations at Sonar.
While this is Doherty's first time in the role, he's no stranger to the issues surrounding the need for clean code. Sonar announced that he will hire Doherty as president of field operations, effective May 1, 2024, to accelerate revenue, strengthen partnerships and ensure Sonar customers are successful in their pursuit of clean code. (Sonar has also put security-by-design principles at the center of its efforts to help develop code.)
She spoke with ChannelE2E's Sharon Florentine about her new role, shifting go-to-market strategies, and the importance of a strong channel. The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
Read the full story here.
