Datto to pour resources into software development

Vendor opens up on product roadmap after combining with Autotask

MSP software provider Datto has promised "a rapid evolution" of its product roadmap following its 2017 acquisition by Autotask.

Speaking at a partner event held in London to introduce both sets of customers to the new company, Mark Banfield (pictured), SVP and general manager of Datto's international business, revealed the firm plans to invest more into software development this year "than it has for the last three years".

"The rapid evolution of our roadmap can only be good for MSPs," Banfield told CRN's sister publication Channelnomics at the event on Thursday.

Acquired by Autotask's parent company Vista Equity Partners in December 2017, the company combines Datto's backup and disaster recovery solutions with Autotask's IT management portfolio.

Banfield maintained that the Autotask Professional Services Automation (PSA) platform "will live on" and that the company was "looking at ways to integrate both sets of products to make them attractive to MSPs".

This will include leveraging Datto's backup and disaster recovery portfolio with Autotask's end-point backup solution to create a single platform that will allows MSPs to offer "every type of backup to their customers".

Banfield later told customers that Datto would continue to focus on bringing other products to market, whether organically or through further acquisition.

He also revealed that customers will notice an improvement in support services going forward: "Datto's renowned for its world-class support, it's a major differentiator to MSPs," he claimed. "Autotask also had good support, but if you're a legacy Autotask customer, you'll start to experience those differentiated support offerings that Datto provides."

The company says it now has around 1,400 employees in nine countries, serving more than 500,000 customers worldwide.