5 Things We Learned at DattoCon Europe
A roundup of the latest product updates, integrations, partner activities and MSP reactions to DattoCon Europe in Dublin.
![Fred Voccola at DattoCon Europe 2023 Fred Voccola at DattoCon Europe 2023](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blt27f3bd2debdc2113/6523f1cabc8fb4c8c84ec7a7/Fred-Voccola-DattoCon-Europe-2023-Walking.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
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“One of the things that’s important is making sure that we keep IT Complete, complete,” said Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola. “To do that, we have to make sure that we have the right capability and it’s unrealistic for any company to develop every time for IT in security infrastructure products. The knowledge isn’t there. So, you buy the best and we continue to do it and we will continue to do so.”
Following its acquisition of Vonahi, Kaseya has added automated network penetration testing to its security suite and lowered the pricing for Vonahi solutions by 10%.
Meanwhile, the purchase of SaaS-based sales presentation system audIT aims to make it easier and quicker for users to create presentations to clients. Kaseya has expanded its MSP Enablement Suite to include the audIT automated sales presentation solution, with five free licenses for every customer.
Jordan Westcott (pictured), operations director at Devon, U.K.-based MSP Timewade, plans to put AudIT to use.
“We use myITprocess for our quarterly business reviews. It presents it in quite a wordy format, so the audIT software will be helpful. I will take that away and implement that,” he said.
Elsewhere, the integration of account receivables automation company ConnectBooster is now available to European partners, simplifying billing processes for MSPs.
Kaseya also announced plans to open up its recently announced Cyber Insurance Fast Track Program to MSPs in Europe.
It is partnering with Cysurance, which will provide up to $1.5 million in cybersecurity insurance coverage to MSPs that implement Kaseya’s IT Complete Security Suite. Besides using Cysurance’s coverage to protect their own companies, Kaseya partners can also offer it to their customers.
“We released this a couple of months ago in the U.S. first because there are regulatory issues with cyber insurance,” said Voccola. “This will be coming in the fall, in about seven weeks here in Europe.
“Not only are you, as an MSP, guaranteed that protection, but any of your customers who are doing IT and security for so long as you’re using the Kaseya security stack,” he added. “They are eligible for that same amount of coverage and that is at about 40% lower than market rate.”
Kaseya is also growing its remote IT and security management (RITSM) training program with a new professional course. The new 40-hour certification course aims to address the growing demand for tech talent. Modules cover critical MSP functions such as remote IT and security management, working in sandbox environments and customer service skills.
Datto’s VP of business development, EMEA – and Channel Futures EMEA Channel Influencer – Greg Jones (pictured), explained.
“We’re working with colleges and universities across the globe, so that we can … get ahead of the curve and help the industry overall so that when graduates and students coming into MSPs. They know that they’ve had at least 40 hours of training development. It’s not just about fixing a ticket. They understand conceptually what an MSP is. It’s not about fixing the problem in front of you. It’s looking at the business outcomes that that end user is looking to achieve,” said Jones.
DattoCon Europe is Kaseya’s first combined event since acquiring Datto 12 months ago. The event in saw Kaseya pay homage to Dublin, where it was headquartered for its first 18 years. It shared plans to more than double its headcount in Europe.
“Kaseya [is] on a march, to have a product suite of the best in class services that the industry uses. One vendor for MSPs to manage Kaseya products. [CEO Fred [Voccola] was excellent and spoke well to the audience, [a] clear message where they are going and admitted mistakes had been made, said Austen Clark (pictured), director of Aberdeenshire, Scotland-based MSPs Clark Integrated Technologies.
However, one theme that emerged from attendees was the content was predominantly geared toward selling Kaseya solutions. There was little in the way of community sessions.
“It was quite steered toward selling Kaseya products on each of the sessions,” said Timewade’s Westcott. “I’m a ConnectWise partner as well, and its events are similar, but there are more peers on stage, people that have run an IT company, people that I’ve got the scars. There’s a lot more of that going on.”
“There was a change to community focus, less partner engagement in sessions and learning,” said Clark. “The majority (all) were Kaseya services-focused. They had a lot of content to share, which was useful. The consensus of feedback was a reduction in community on show. We were talked ‘to’ – questions and feedback were taken during one to one feedback sessions.
“The majority of sessions were Kaseya product. Little to no community voices or opinions on show. Where Datto was all about community, Kaseya has a clear goal of sales, reducing cost, owning all services.”
Other product updates within IT Complete 2.0 include:
· Datto Endpoint Backup for Servers, a highly anticipated solution giving MSPs the option to protect servers directly to the secure Datto Cloud – no local appliance or IT hands required – while still including all the advanced features Datto BCDR users have come to expect.
· Microsoft 365 Management in Datto RMM, a new feature combining user management and device management. Technicians can now diagnose and solve the most common user issues across all their M365 tenants directly in RMM.
· The relaunched Datto Networking Appliance (DNA), a high-performance network router for “always on” internet connections thanks to fully integrated 4G LTE failover.
Other product updates within IT Complete 2.0 include:
· Datto Endpoint Backup for Servers, a highly anticipated solution giving MSPs the option to protect servers directly to the secure Datto Cloud – no local appliance or IT hands required – while still including all the advanced features Datto BCDR users have come to expect.
· Microsoft 365 Management in Datto RMM, a new feature combining user management and device management. Technicians can now diagnose and solve the most common user issues across all their M365 tenants directly in RMM.
· The relaunched Datto Networking Appliance (DNA), a high-performance network router for “always on” internet connections thanks to fully integrated 4G LTE failover.
KASEYA DATTOCON EUROPE — Kaseya has unpacked its recent acquisitions, product updates and latest partner activities. The vendor unveiled the updates to MSPs at Kaseya DattoCon Europe this week in Dublin, Ireland.
Kaseya recently launched the latest version of its MSP software management platform, IT Complete 2.0. This was the company’s first opportunity to showcase its features to its European MSP customers. Kaseya has added another 350 integrations, including all Datto products.
On stage, CEO Fred Voccola confirmed Kaseya will continue to keep both its VSN and Datto RMM products “for the foreseeable future.”
The software vendor is also leveraging its recent acquisitions as part of the platform, in the form of Vonahi, audIT and ConnectBooster. It seems likely there will be more acquisitions to follow, too. Voccola asked directly for MSPs to let the company know of any gaps in the Kaseya portfolio – and they would go out and buy the “best.”
See the sideshow above to discover the latest product updates, announcements, and MSP reaction to DattoCon Europe.
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