Kaseya’s Auto-Renewal Changes Bring Glimmer of Hope to Partners Amid Turmoil
Our MSP 501 and NextGen 101ers weighed in on the recent switch, largely conveying relief and peace of mind.
August 15, 2022
“I am glad to see that Kaseya’s growth fueled by acquisitions has not deafened them from listening to their customers /partners. It is a problem that many companies that grow too fast have.
“It is important that not only Kaysea continue to be humble and listen but that they foster the same culture of partner first for the organizations that they acquire.”
“The recent modifications to Kaseya’s auto-renewal process should bring significant peace of mind to Kaseya customers. With the rapid consolidation of software companies in the MSP industry, Kaseya is now becoming both a significant portion of the tool set that helps drive our success, [and] a major line item in our accounts payable.
“Having a key partner that listens to its clients and adjusts its terms like this shows that Kaseya is genuinely interested in the success of its clients and the MSP industry as a whole. How Fred [Voccola] and his team recognized this need and took action is almost more important than the details of the policy change.”
“In reading the policy, it appears to be a step in the right direction. It is not clear, however, if the policy applies to direct customers only, or to channel partners as well. Note that the policy mentions updates in the end-user license agreement, but not their partner/reseller agreements.
“This change in policy could be a step in the right direction for Kaseya and an effective way to build/rebuild the trust relationship with the channel. Clarification would be helpful.”
“I am not a fan of auto-renewals, in general. But, as long as [it] is done properly, then I think it is OK.
“[In my opinion], in that 90 days, there should be [at least] three emails and at least two to three phone calls (and that really needs to be more than a voicemail, but an actual conversation). My problem is when things auto-renew with little to no communication – that is where it really gets into bogus territory for me.
[Regarding the part of the letter that states, “Customers may opt out of our auto-renewal process during the term of their agreement simply by contacting their Kaseya account manager.”:
“I really like [this portion] – that is big as well. Let me opt out (and make it clear that I can) and now I am good.”
“MSPs traditionally use a lot of the same contract and renewal policies that we complain about our vendors using. If it’s good for our clients, it’s good for us.”
“The changes to Kaseya’s renewal policies will feel like a breath of fresh air to many MSPs. Whether warranted or not, some RMM providers are known to be a bit slippery with their contracts and renewals.
“Proper and ample notice prior to contract renewals along with guaranteeing low pricing will help to quell fears within the MSP space. Hopefully this will spark a trend among other providers.”
“MSPs have to take more responsibility for understanding the agreements they sign, but vendors still have to be fair, upfront and honest.
“Kaseya seems like they are ready to work on their side of the equation but MSPs must still have to be aware of any agreement they enter into.”
“This is great news to hear from Kaseya. As we all know, when management of a large organization implements policies, they can’t see every angle or issue in advance. There has been a lot of industry discussion about their auto-renew policies and pricing structures.
“It is good to hear that the Kaseya management listened to their customer base and made some positive changes to address the concerns from MSPs. I think this is a step in the right direction and will help strengthen Kaseya’s relationships with its MSP clients.”
“Kaseya’s new auto-renewal policy is a step in the right direction. In the past, their previous policy stopped me from signing a new agreement for one of their products. We’ve had conversations in my previous peer group, where a peer missed the deadline to cancel and had a legal action brought against them by Kaseya. Kaseya became a banned company in their organization.
“MSPs are looking for companies that will partner, be transparent, and are willing to work with the partner so that they can be successful.”
“In the wake of so much merger and acquisition activity, this was a great decision by Kaseya to help MSPs take the necessary time to decide about contract renewal terms.”
“In the wake of so much merger and acquisition activity, this was a great decision by Kaseya to help MSPs take the necessary time to decide about contract renewal terms.”
Kaseya recently splashed a letter up on its homepage outlining changes to its auto-renewal policy. The announcement resulted in several raised eyebrows, but this time, it’s more of a positive arc.
Mostly.
In the letter, Kaseya president and chief customer officer C.J. Wimley stated that all auto-renew agreements will renew at the same number of months as the previous agreement. Kaseya is making this change directly in response to feedback from several MSP customers about their auto-renewal process.
We asked our MSP 501 and NextGen 101 winners to weigh in on the change. Considering the nail biting that has occurred since the acquisition of Datto was announced, we were curious … is this a good thing?
See the slideshow above to see what our partners had to say about the auto-renewal policy changes.
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