Dell Buyout of AppAssure: Kaseya MSPs Raise Questions

When Dell announced plans to buy AppAssure on Feb. 24, many managed services providers (MSPs) stood up and took notice. In fact, the Dell-AppAssure deal has triggered plenty of chatter out on Kaseya forums, where MSPs are trying to figure out if the Kaseya-AppAssure software integration is now at risk.

AppAssure develops backup and application recovery software, with an emphasis on VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V environments. Back in December 2010, AppAssure integrated its Replay4 backup and disaster recovery software with Kaseya’s IT automation and managed services platform.

But by October 2011, Kaseya informed customers that it was no longer reselling the AppAssure product line. (I believe Kaseya shifted its focus to the company’s own remote backup software module.)

Dell, AppAssure and Kaseya MSPs

Fast forward to the present, and a few MSPs that run Kaseya and AppAssure in tandem are scratching their heads over Dell’s buyout of AppAssure. In response, Kaseya Community Leader Brendan Cosgrove posted the following comment on February 24:

MSPmentor has reached out to Dell for comment about the potential AppAssure strategy across the channel and managed services providers. We’ve also asked for Dell’s views on AppAssure integrations with MSP-centric software, including remote monitoring and management (RMM) software. When MSPmentor receives a Dell response we will post an update to this blog.

AppAssure Momentum

Dell’s interest in AppAssure is easily explained. Indeed, AppAssure said revenues grew 194 percent from 2010 to 2011, and the company has delivered 19 consecutive quarters of revenue growth. In a prepared statement, Dell said it intends to retain AppAssure’s approximately 230 employees and will continue to invest in additional engineering and sales capability to grow this business. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.