Kaseya Connect IT: Vendor buys Graphus to expand MSP suite
The acquisition of Graphus, revealed at Kaseya's Connect IT event, adds email security and anti-phishing technology to the company's management platform for MSPs.
Kaseya has expanded its integrated management platform for MSPs with the acquisition of email security vendor Graphus.
Company executives discussed the company's integration strategy with its latest acquisition at the Kaseya IT Connect event, which runs online through Aug. 27. The virtual conference agenda covers a range of business and technical topics including cybersecurity, MSP operations and the company's IT Complete MSP platform.
Fred Voccola
The first day of Kaseya IT Connect aimed to outline the current business environment and how Kaseya's technology fits into that setting. Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola said service providers are dealing with an entirely different world amid the pandemic and one that won't quickly revert to past practices.
"We are living in the new normal, and that is a slap in the face," he said. "The world is not going back any time soon to what it was like in January or February of 2020. That's hard to hear. As a human being, we like predictability. Change is difficult."
Greater IT dependence
One result of the pandemic is a greater reliance on technology among SMBs. Citing Kaseya research, Voccola said a fourth-quarter 2019 survey found less than 20% of SMBs felt they depended on IT for business survival. A second-quarter 2020 poll, however, discovered that nearly 90% of SMBs said they couldn't survive without IT. Voccola noted the rise in telemedicine in medical practices and online ordering among restaurants as examples.
Overall, technology spending as a percentage of SMB revenue has increased since the pandemic struck, Voccola said, adding the pattern will continue into the coming years.
The world is not going back any time soon to what was like in January or February of 2020.
Fred VoccolaCEO, Kaseya
The accelerating pace of digital transformation in the SMB sector is placing higher demands on MSPs, Voccola said. Customers have more IT to manage but don't have more budget to spend because of declining revenue.
Voccola believes the answer is greater service provider efficiency, which stems from tighter integration of the software MSPs use to run their businesses. He said individual MSP technicians cover multiple functions, with no one devoted solely to network monitoring, patching or security log analysis. Integration drives improved workflows among such activities.
"Efficiency … is all about integration," Voccola said.
Graphus extends security within IT Complete
IT Complete, launched in 2016, is Kaseya's take on an integrated IT management platform for service providers. The offering encompasses such areas as remote monitoring and management, professional services automation, backup and disaster recovery, compliance, IT documentation and security.
The Graphus purchase is Kaseya's ninth acquisition in five years and extends its reach in email security and anti-phishing technology.
Speaking at Kaseya IT Connect, Kaseya chief customer marketing officer Mike Puglia said the company has used Graphus internally for several months after using various products from other vendors to address email-based cybersecurity threats over the past decade.
Voccola said Graphus has been integrated into Kaseya's ID Agent portfolio. Kaseya acquired ID Agent, a threat intelligence and identity monitoring company, in 2019.
Fred Voccola
