Anchor: Quest Software, PacketTrap Veterans Target Box, Dropbox

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First, a reality check. Anchor certainly isn’t alone in the market. In addition to names like Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft SkyDrive, there are emerging options like LogMeIn Cubby. And there are whispers in the hall (loud whispers, in fact) that LogMeIn is preparing some major MSP-oriented moves for 2013 (more on that later).

Why is Anchor targeting such a crowded market? Simply put, the management team — including Kapoor and Tapia — sees some key market voids. Chief among them:

Anchor company is angel funded and has raised $3.5 million so far. There are 17 team members, and Anchor plans to be break-even by mid-2013. In addition to growing revenues quickly, the company’s management maintains a conservative burn rate to make sure the march to profitability is a realistic near-term goal.

Costs for Anchor start at about $5 per user per month and prices drop as sales volumes rise. MSPs can charge any price they want to the end-customer, and they can also test models like per user or per storage amount.

As Anchor prepares to launch its own SaaS platform, the company also expects to nail down SaaS-oriented pricing in the next few weeks.

According to a prepared statement issued  Nov. 5, “The Anchor platform includes a centrally-administered dashboard, comprehensive usage reports, and granular user-access controls. Anchor promises to deliver the interface clients want, and the returns MSPs desire.”

MSPmentor will be watching closely to see how Anchor delivers on that vision.