Autotask's Big Year: New Owner, New UI, New CFO, New RMM Platform

The last 12 months have been busy ones for Autotask, one of the biggest vendors in professional services automation (PSA) technology for managed service providers (MSPs) and IT service providers. Now, as the company prepares for its annual conference, we wanted to take a look at all the changes for the company and its customers over the last year, plus check in with one of Autotask’s top executives about what’s coming.

With that in mind, I recently caught up with Len DiCostanzo, senior vice president of community and business development to find out what his focus has been. And further down in this article, I’ll also wrap up some of the top headlines from Autotask over the last 12 months. But first, my conversation with Len.

Autotask initiatives

DiCostanzo told me about several initiatives going on at the company, including building the groundwork for the company’s international footprint and a series of training sessions that have been traveling to take education to MSPs.

“Our mission is to get closer to our customer,” DiCostanzo told me. That’s why training sessions have traveled to Chicago; Irvine, California; and Dallas, among many other cities, through the month of May. More information is available here.

International presence

And Autotask now has over 100 people in its UK office, DiConstanzo said. The company also has a presence in several other cities and countries including Syndey, Munich and South Africa.

All this behind-the-scenes work is part of the company’s commitment to being close to its customers in an industry where competitors frequently share information with each other to help one another succeed, DiCostanzo said. He sees it in his role as a community leader.

And that’s certainly been my experience, too. I just have to look at the peer groups in the managed services and IT service provider business space. I’m always impressed and inspired by the fact that so many MSPs share best practices with each other. The sense of community among MSPs really stands out in sharp contrast in a competitive world.

Autotask momentum: 2014 and 2015

That said, Autotask remains a top player in the MSP market. Here’s a look at some of the news coming out of this PSA vendor over the last year.

At last year’s Autotask Community Live Conference the company previewed a new User Interface that provided deeper and richer views, navigation and business intelligence. And this year the company released that UI. We could tell you about it all day, but a picture is worth a thousand words, we’ve heard, so here’s a closer look at the new Autotask UI with screenshots.

Acquisitions

Last year Autotask’s conference also was the backdrop for an announcement about new ownership for the company. Vista Equity Partners acquired the PSA vendor, providing an exit and pay day for the company’s founders. Following the deal’s announcement, Autotask CEO Mark Cattini told MSPmentor that customers could expect an accelerated product roadmap and more innovation.

CentraStage

In September Autotask announced plans to acquire CentraStage, a remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform company based in the UK. Autotask promised a joint product roadmap and integration between the PSA and RMM platforms, and MSPmentor spoke with Cattini about the plans.  The company released its first iteration of its endpoint management and RMM platform for MSPs in December 2014.

A new CFO

Finally, Autotask announced the departure of CFO Vince Zumbo in January and the naming of his replacement, Elmer Lai. Prior to Autotask, Lai most recently served as VP and chief accounting officer at at HubSpot, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) marketing and sales platform company. He had also served as a senior financial advisor to several tech companies including Sonus Networks (SONS), Airvana (AIRV) and Razorfish/i-Cube (RAZF). All of these are publicly held companies.

Does Lai’s experience with publicly held companies foreshadow anything for Autotask? That’s unclear. Certainly private equity firms are always looking for an exit strategy, but Vista Equity Partners only acquired Autotask less than a year ago.

We’ll be on the ground in Miami for Autotask Community Live, May 17 to 19 asking these questions and more. What do you want to know about from Autotask’s executives? Let me know in the comments below.