SolarWinds Help Desk, N-able MSP Software: Killer Combo?

Now that SolarWinds (SWI) owns N-able Technologies, what software synergies will emerge between the combined companies? SolarWinds CEO Kevin Thompson and N-able GM JP Jauvin offered plenty of clues today during a call with MSPmentor. Among the alreas they discussed: SolarWinds Web Help Desk potentially integrating with N-able’s remote monitoring and management (RMM) software for managed services providers (MSPs). But that’s not all.

Thompson and N-able GM JP Jauvin addressed MSPmentor’s seven top questions about the SolarWinds/N-able business deal earlier today. In addition they offered the following insights…

On How Long SolarWinds Studied the MSP Software Market: Thompson said SolarWinds has tracked the market for roughly six years, waiting for it to gain critical mass with a clear leader. Over the last six months SMB consumption rates and MSP growth rates suggested that the market had reached a maturity level where it made sense for SolarWinds to participate. Moreover, SolarWinds was convinced N-able was the market leader.

On N-able’s Market Share: During our discussion, we did not get into N-able market share figures. But SolarWinds has previously stated that N-able grew about 50 percent to roughly $24 million last year.

On N-able’s Cloud Focus: Thompson hinted that N-able could become a cloud distributor of sorts — as MSPs ultimately offer more and more cloud-oriented capabilities to end-customers. As compute resources move remote and bandwidth becomes more plentiful, N-able and SolarWinds will have the abiloty to integrate more and more technology for customers to consume. “Tell us what you need, we’ll combine our efforts to offer a solution much more quickly than N-able could on its own,” said Thompson.

On the Immediate Upside for N-able’s MSPs: “We’ll gain access to a deep and broad portfolio of technology we didn’t have,” said Jauvin. “And we’ll have more of a global geographic reach to extend our sales and services worldwide.”

Also, the SolarWinds/N-able combo is not an end-game move, said Jauvin. Instead, it’s an important milestone that marks the next step in N-able’s evolution.

On Pricing and Payments, Cloud vs. On-premises for MSPs: Thompson and Jauvin mentioned multiple times that they would not force existing N-able MSPs to change their consumption or payment models. But newly onboard MSPs will be subscription-based either on-premises or in the cloud.

On Longer-term Product Integration Between SolarWinds an N-able: That work can start now that the buyout is official. Among the  potential near-term opportunities: Promoting SolarWinds’ Web Help Desk software to MSPs, Thompson hinted.  Without going into specific products, Jauvin said SolarWinds gives N-able “accesss to a whole stable of products we could not develop on our own.”

On N-able’s Rivals in the RMM Market: “Our competitors are scared,” said Thompson. “They are all trying to postion [the SolarWinds/N-able deal] as a bad thing. They are running scared and we will use our global brand and the N-able brand to push hard and fast. We hav an ability to invest that nobody can match.” Added Jauvin: “I would not want to be an N-able competitor today. We have the potential to leave our competitors in the dust.”

On Whether SolarWinds Considered Buying Other RMM Software Companies Before Buying N-abl: “Without telling you who we specifically looked at, I can say we looked at most of the players that N-able competes with,” said Thompson. “We canvassed the landscape.”

Ultimately, SolarWinds zeroed in on N-able.