Former Microsoft Channel Chief Roskill Joins Cloud ERP Provider

Four months after departing Microsoft (MSFT), former channel chief Jon Roskill now is at the helm of Acumatica, a 7-year-old, cloud-based ERP specialist focused on SMBs.

Roskill, a 20-year, high-profile Microsoft channel veteran, takes Acumatica’s top spot immediately from outgoing chief executive Yury Larichev. He said the ERP market’s potential and Acumatica’s commitment to sell exclusively through the channel attracted him to the position.

Privately held Acumatica is on a growth spurt, last year posting a 350 percent year-over-year revenue spike, doubling its channel roster to north of 270 partners and landing customers such as e-Recycling and Youngevity, according to the company.

Can Roskill position Acumatica to compete with Microsoft and other ERP heavyweights?

“I’m here and I’m ready to make some impact,” he said. “I love being an underdog and taking the bigger guys on. It’s time Acumatica made its stamp on ERP history. Bring it on.”

Roskill pegged the ERP market as a $60 billion opportunity, and said his entry into the segment comes at the right time.

“It’s a market worth $60 billion, so capturing even just 1 percent of that revenue is incredible. It’s time the stodgy, old ERP scene got a shakeup,” he said.

Larichev, who will remain on Acumatica’s board as an advisor, is expected to stay through March to ease Roskill’s transition. “I’m happy to have taken Acumatica this far,” he said. “Since I joined, Acumatica has seen tremendous growth, and this will continue under Jon’s leadership. He is the right person, at the right time, for Acumatica. I’m excited to see him take Acumatica to new heights.”

At Microsoft, Roskill most recently ran the vendor’s Worldwide Partner Group, a unit consisting of some 5,000 employees overseeing a partner network of 640,000 providers. In prior roles, he was responsible for Microsoft’s U.S. Business Operations, Strategy and Marketing, and served as general manager of the Server and Developer Tools Division.