Freemium N-able Effort Links MSPs With Mid-Market Customers

N-able Technologies CEO Gavin Garbutt (pictured) appears addicted to a freemium software strategy. And there are indications that the freemium effort is catching on with end-customers and managed services providers. The latest N-able move involves free Windows password management software that could generate qualified sales leads for mid-market MSPs. Here are the details.

You can get a quick definition of freemium business models here. And we’ve offered our views on freemium managed services here.

N-able jumped on the freemium bandwagon in October 2009 when Garbutt announced a free endpoint security strategy in partnership with Panda Security.

Now, N-able is back with another offer: Free Windows password management software to IT administrators worldwide. Specifically, N-able has announced the “free availability of PWDManager, a new enterprise-class Windows password management tool designed to give IT administrators a time-saving, hassle-free approach to managing all IT account passwords from a single centralized console.”

Sales Leads for MSPs?

Sure, the free password manager is designed for corporate IT managers. But take a closer look and you’ll discover the managed services hook here: It sounds like N-able plans to build a database of mid-market IT administrators who sign up and download the free tool. Then, N-able will comb through that database and direct qualified leads to its mid-market MSP partners.

According to an N-able spokeswoman, “So far it’s proven to be very successful.  [N-able has] had 1,000+ downloads to date from IT Admins (the program has been up for a few weeks) and [N-able] sales is working hard to qualify those players who would be good targets, prospects.”

I’ll be curious to learn if those mid-market IT managers open their arms to meeting requests and sales pitches from N-able’s MSPs.

Meanwhile, Garbutt ranks among the loudest Freemium proponents in the managed services market. But he certainly isn’t alone. Spiceworks, for one, offers a free, ad-driven managed services platform that claims to have 1 million users. And the new Kaseya 2 platform apparently includes a freemium strategy. Plus, I hear it’s safe to expect more freemium chatter from another MSP-centric company within a few weeks.

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