Acronis EMEA VP: Vendor will target larger MSPs and emphasise partnerships in 2024

The Swiss-Singaporean vendor is shifting focus on large MSPs and prioritising partnerships under new expansion strategy in 2024

Data protection and cybersecurity vendor Acronis wants to grow with larger MSPs after setting its sights on the segment in 2023.

Chatting to CRN, Ronan McCurtin, VP EMEA at the Swiss vendor, says Acronis has a lot to offer larger service providers with its platform approach.

The company has been divided into teams focused on key initiatives globally, he explains, adding that the vendor underwent a major recruitment push for larger service providers last year.

Acronis takes a platform approach, integrating with other vendors to provide partners choice while enabling efficiency through one platform.

This allows service providers to deliver their preferred technologies efficiently, he says.

In 2023, the vendor hit 20,000 service providers using its platform.

Historically, Acronis has always been more focused on mid-market providers.

McCurtin explains Acronis has had a long-term strategy to expand its service provider portfolio - including targeting larger service providers.

"We waited until our technology matured and we had the right people to engage larger MSPs requiring more complex conversations.

"Larger MSPs often want a layered security approach rather than relying on one vendor, as well as integrations for billing and other systems," he says.

This year Acronis added 200 new integrations to allow partners to leverage other technologies beyond Acronis.

This enables broader conversations with larger MSPs about meeting their diverse needs.

"The needs of partners do vary, even among small or large partners. But we customise our support. Early on we committed that every partner gets an account manager, which is challenging with 20,000 partners," he explains.

Around 10,000 partners, around half of Acronis' client base, have a contracted commitment.

"We have onboarding teams, academies, and more to meet their requirements.

"Larger partners tend to be more complex, with more sophisticated security needs and customers.

"They require efficiencies at scale and integrations for billing, APIs, etc. It's very difficult manually across huge customer bases, so they need automated technology.

"Smaller partners can often get by with less monitoring and automation, doing more manually.

"But automating everything is key for large partners. Our platform lets partners customise protection plans per customer needs."

"So the difference is larger partners require more efficiency, integrations and automation to manage huge estates," he says.

"But we tailor our support and technology to each partner's needs, regardless of size."

A messaging shift

Acronis is shifting its messaging to focus on partnership, rather than leading with technology. It aims to help service providers be as efficient as possible in managing growing workloads and complexity, he adds.

"At MSP events, it's easy to just talk about your technology, but we're changing that to focus more on partnership. We have amazing people and a real partnership mentality at Acronis," McCurtin stresses.

"Our technology will let you down sometimes, that's inevitable. But it's how we respond as human beings that's key.

"Our approach to partnership is the same for all customers, regardless of size.

"We don't talk about it enough, but through our academy, partner portal and other initiatives, we do a lot to support partners.

He argues that feedback so far has shown partners see Acronis as an ally.

"They are the heroes, doing every job while trusting us to deliver solutions their end users need. A hero needs a sword, and we aim to be that sword for service providers.

"But it must be a two-way partnership where we understand their business and help them grow."

This year Acronis became more partner-focused, delivering portals, training and programmes to help them expand.

"We want them to have fun too - we had 1,000 attendees at our recent MSP event. The channel needs more of that human element, not just technology. Every partner and customer is important to us, regardless of size," he explains.

Structural changes

Acronis also changed its structure in 2023 to be more vertically focused, dividing the company to focus on key initiatives.

"Implementing a new organisational structure this year was challenging. After 80 per cent growth the past two years, we've slowed to a still-strong 50 per cent this year amid market pressures like the war in Ukraine and economic factors," McCurtin says.

"For fast-growing companies, scaling from $1m to $2m in revenue is harder than going from $1 to $2.

"Sustaining high growth as you expand is difficult. Our biggest challenge is driving growth despite external headwinds.

"We likely need a different approach than the startup mentality that fuelled our early days.

"As we evolve to a $1bn company, ensuring every partner receives quality service and maintaining compliance requires more controls.

"So we're changing to support scaling our business. That's not easy - it means seriously examining our roles to ensure they align with new goals.

"What got us here won't necessarily get us where we want to go in the future.

"Growing pains take new perspectives. But by asking tough questions, we can transform to sustain success."

Looking ahead to the year to come, he expresses cautious optimism for 2024.

"While planning for growth, we acknowledge the unpredictability of external factors. EMEA remains a priority region, aiming to sustain its status as the top revenue contributor.

"With underlying data growth, our reliance on protecting data positions us for consistent revenue increase."