Kaseya reorganisation to improve quality and drive growth
Remote monitoring vendor trims staff
Editor's note: As part of our special editorial partnership, CRN is publishing this recent article from Channelnomics in the US.
Kaseya, a provider of IT automation and remote monitoring software, is reorganising its staff and consolidating development centers in a bid to improve product quality and expand capabilities, says chief executive Yogesh Gupta.
Approximately 50 Kaseya employees lost their jobs last week as part of the first major reorganization of the company following its acquisition in June by venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners. Gupta tells Channelnomics the layoffs were a result of the need to consolidate a number of small, disparate development offices.
Instead, Kaseya is focusing on expanding the staff and capacity of three major development centers, including two existing facilities in San Jose and Henderson, Nevada, and a new office in Boston. In July, Kaseya officially relocated its corporate headquarters to Boston.
In consolidating, Gupta believes the company will be in a better position to focus correcting shortcomings in its existing products, integrate the technologies of companies acquired over the summer, and deliver on promised enhancements that have yet to materialize.
"We don't expect to have many hiccups in supporting customer or miss a beat," he says. "As we build out our teams in these locations, we'll be much stronger."
The layoffs come as many Kaseya users question the strategic and technology direction of the company under new management. Gupta, a former CA Technologies executive, and his new management team have primarily an enterprise background, leading many managed service providers to believe Kaseya will embrace an enterprise strategy.
Gupta has maintained a commitment to continue supporting and expanding the SMB and midmarket managed service providers that make up the backbone of Kaseya's business.
The other underlying issue amplifying the uncertainty among MSPs is a history of Kaseya promising and not delivering on product enhancements, particularly in network and mobile device management. It's a problem Gupta acknowledges.
"The company has a history of over promising and under delivering," Gupta told Channelnomics. "We're working hard on delivering on those promises."
Product performance and feature shortcomings, Gupta says, is a result of the distributed development centers Kaseya has operated. The company had six development offices in far-flung time zones with less than six developers each. Challenges in coordinating activities and collaborating on development has proven to hinder progress.
Many managed service providers are worried that Kaseya will make changes that will nullify the investments they've made in the platform over the past several years. So concerned are some that they're already looking for alternative suppliers.
By focusing resources in three major development centers, Gupta expects Kaseya will not only correct product problems, but also get new products and features out to MSPs and enterprise users. The company is planning on announcing roadmap and strategy within the next week to provide partners and users with greater transparency into its vision.
"We will not do wrong by our customers," Gupta says. "It's a fundamental belief I've always had in every company I've worked for that we will do right by our customers."
For more US channel coverage from Channelnomics, visit www.channelnomics.com