Datto hits partner recruitment target

Backup vendor looking to increase partner base by at least another 500 next year

Datto has hit its target of reaching 500 EMEA MSPs by the end of the year, according to EMEA managing director Andrew Stuart.

The backup and recovery vendor moved into its new UK office earlier this year as part of its European expansion and pledged to increase its partner base.

Datto currently has "over 500" partners in the region, up by 150 from last year, the firm claims.

Stuart said the target is to increase its partner base by at least another 500 next year.

Datto is today hosting its EMEA partner conference in London and is expecting around 300 of these partners to attend.

The conference sees the launch of enhancements to Datto's SIRIS 3, NAS 3 and Backupify data protection, storage and backup products.

"We want to get closer to our partners," Richards said.

"We're hiring people in local markets to ensure that partners have the same experience no matter where they are in the region or the world."

While not able to disclose specific revenue figures, Stuart claimed that Datto's revenue is currently up 50 per cent on the same time in 2015, and it is expecting to see a further 50 per cent increase over the next year.

He explained that a key focus of the partner recruitment drive is to look at resellers and VARs which have a specific focus on growing their managed services offering and increasing their recurring revenue.

"We absolutely are focusing on the MSP partner, but helping more traditional VARs and resellers become MSPs is also a strong story for us," he said.

Colin Blumenthal, CEO at Datto partner Complete IT, told CRN that Datto's 100 per cent channel strategy is key to its strong relationship with its partners, claiming that he is confident this attitude is "here to stay".

He added that while he is not concerned about increased competition from new partners, it is important that Datto maintains its high partner standards.

"For us it's about the quality of the partners that Datto are looking to recruit," he said.

"I think it's important that they maintain quality of partners and don't have partners who aren't invested in Datto and hence don't understand the technology to the full extent.

"I am a great believer that sales training and technical training are an important part of a partner programme, which they are [at Datto], and I think it's important that they maintain that."