Kaseya CEO on Datto Acquisition: ‘Everything Will Be Fine’

Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola has further attempted to allay MSP concerns about its acquisition of rival Datto.

Kaseya announced the $6.2 billion acquisition was earlier this month. Some MSPs have questioned whether the amount of M&A activity in the channel will stifle innovation and diversity.

In response, Voccola told Channel Futures: “Human beings: you me, everyone, we don’t like change. And when change comes, there’s always fear, doubt and uncertainty. So, rule No. 1 [is] to eliminate fear, doubt and uncertainty with overcommunication.

Kaseya’s Fred Voccola

“I don’t blame these folks one freaking bit because we’d probably be doing the same thing,” he added.

The Kaseya CEO also called out the firm’s competitors for stirring the pot among MSPs.

“All 200-plus of our competitors are out there trying to sell fear, doubt and uncertainty. They want to take advantage, and I don’t blame them. I don’t think it’s unethical. I don’t think it’s bad. It’s what they’re supposed to be doing. I think they should be doing it. Frankly, I think they should be doing more of it.”

Voccola also laughed off the suggestion that large deals such as these will limit choice for MSPs.

“Pick any area of technology we play in, take backup. There are 50 backup providers. Microsoft competes in every single area that we play in … We have to make sure that each product is more integrated. It’s better, it’s cheaper, and it’s easier to work with. That’s our job.”

Investment a ‘No-Brainer’

Voccola said Kaseya’s track record when it comes to acquiring companies should reassure MSPs.

“We’ve done 12 acquisitions since I’ve been here,” he said. “Every single time we’ve done the exact same thing. We’ve kept the brand. We’ve kept what made the company we’ve acquired great. We’ve kept the entire team. We’ve never done mass layoffs. We’ve never shut down offices. We’ve never discontinued technology. We’ve always either doubled – if not tripled – the investment in tech. That’s a huge thing; that’s part of our strategy.”

Post-acquisition, Kaseya will have two sets of most solutions, including PSAs, RMMs and backup. But Voccola is adamant that the company will continue to support all products.

“We’re not going to discontinue products,” he said. “We’re not going to force migrations of products. We’re going to integrate all of them into IT Complete, just like we’ve done with everything else that we bought.”

The CEO said he has been questioned on the financial sense of taking this path, but said it is a better investment than alienating MSP customers.

“For a business doing $2 billion in revenue, give or take, that’s nothing. It’s a lot less expensive than pissing off 5,000-6,000 customers by forcing them into a different life. It’s a no-brainer.”

‘Everything Will Be Fine’

Voccola has had to be circumspect when discussing some details of the acquisition, which hasn’t closed yet. But he did say that irrespective of the acquisition of Datto, “you will see a substantial increase in the footprint of Kaseya in the UK as well as in the European Union.”

He said: “Look to the past. This is what we’ve done. Everything will be fine. We didn’t buy a company to destroy what makes it great. We paid $6.2 billion — that’s a lot of money. We did that because we want to reinforce and continue to invest, and we will.”