Datto Acquires Managed Networking Firm Open Mesh

Datto is expanding its MSP-friendly product line through the acquisition of Portland, Ore.-based networking provider Open Mesh on Tuesday. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Datto senior product marketing manager Scott West says Open Mesh’s cloud-based networking solutions, will be complementary to Datto’s offerings, which are distributed exclusively through its MSP partners.

“Out the door, our CEO [Austin McChord] has made the claim that this is probably the most MSP-centric networking that exists,” West tells Talkin’ Cloud in an interview.

The addition of Open Mesh brings more networking capabilities, including Ethernet switching and access point technologies, to Datto’s networking product portfolio, including its Datto Networking Appliance. With the Open Mesh acquisition, Datto has launched Datto Networking, a complete portfolio of networking solutions.

“[Our MSP partners} work with a number of physical servers and virtual servers, and they’re in a lot of SaaS applications and cloud servers that are out there. Most of our MSP partners also sell networking technology to combine and connect all of those servers and those systems together,” West says. “We’ve been in conversations with our partners for a while and they have been asking us to provide more capabilities and give them the opportunity to add more value to what they deliver in the marketplace. As we looked at our product line we were missing that connectivity piece which is really networking.”

When looking at the networking market prior to the acquisition of Open Mesh, West says that Datto didn’t see many options that were designed specifically for MSPs. Most networking solutions are designed for the enterprise user which can require significant investment for an MSP to get certified.

“In many cases the MSP is not a large service provider themselves,” West says. “They may have a technician, they may have 15-20 for some of the larger ones, but they’re very sensitive to how they’re able to deliver services, and any way that they can optimize products that they deliver and not have to go onsite if possible or waste time and energy and money in managing and deploying systems, that’s a good fit.”

Founded in 2007, Open Mesh currently manages more than 90,000 networks. The company’s entire team will join Datto as a subsidiary company, and will continue operating in Portland. West says that the percentage of joint partners between Datto and Open Mesh is fairly low. 

“The difference is that now they’re owned by Datto and obviously they get a lot of support from us as a company, but we also have the ability to take their product line and fold it into Datto and create a whole new set of products that Datto can deliver to our partners,” West says.

In a statement, Open Mesh founder Michael Burmeister-Brown said that the company wasn’t looking to be acquired but found a perfect fit with Datto; “When we met the team at Datto, we discovered a company with shared DNA. The common vision, culture and commitment to IT service providers is uncanny. Datto is disruptive, innovative and extremely customer focused. While we weren’t looking to be acquired, we’ve found a natural home within Datto that positions our partners, our customers and Open Mesh for continued growth and success.”

The acquisition comes at a time of growth for Datto, which had a 30 percent increase in MSP partner growth in 2016, and saw partners and resellers signing on from all parts of the world.

“The company has been growing considerably, a lot of that we owe to relationships with our channel partners,” he says.

“The plan is to continue to add new capabilities to help our MSP partners to continue to add value and make money on top of networking services.”