Datto “accelerating innovation” with latest updates

Datto is ramping up its investment in its product line to put itself in a position where it can better respond to requests from its MSP customers.

The vendor this week rolled out a host of new products and updates, following its announcement at its annual global user conference, Dattocon, in June that it planned to accelerate the delivery of new features across its portfolio.

Speaking to Microscope at the firm’s European customer event in Barcelona this week, Datto’s SVP of engineering, Adam Stewart, said the 20 updates across its Unified Continuity, Business Management, Networking and File Backup and Sync product lines reflect its investment in data intelligence, the user experience, mobility and greater integration.

He added that the more frequent updates mean less disruption than regular major updates, and more rapid feedback from MSPs. “It gives partners a better rate of change they can absorb. The less amount of change we can force upon them the better off we both are,” he said.

The latest updates include the availability of Datto Networking Managed Power with the MP10 WiFi-connected smart plug, a cloud-managed device that enables MSPs to remotely monitor and manage power for their clients’ devices.

Also announced was larger capacity all-flash Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) hardware, and a new pricing model for SaaS Protection cloud backup, as well as efficiency improvements to Workplace, Endpoint Backup, Autotask professional services automation PSA and Datto’s remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool.

Ian van Reenen, Datto’s VP of engineering, endpoint products, said: “We currently can go toe-to-toe with best RMM products out there, we’re running with the big dogs. But we’re not happy with that, and our next target – we call it the road to 2020 – we’re talking about being the single, leading RMM tool for MSPs in the market. That’s our mission.”

Stewart said Dattos’ increased pace of innovation was a differentiator for the company in a crowded market.

“We are focused obsessively on the MSP, and most MSPs are small businesses serving other small businesses and we know they are often spread thin, so we want to make things as easy as possible for them,” he said.

Regarding updates to the PSA, Tim Weller, who is currently heading up the company following CEO Austin McChord’s departure last week, told Microscope: “The balancing act is that you don’t want to change customers’ underlying business software too often, but you have to keep up with the market and technology, and the pace of that development has clearly accelerated. So, we took a decision upon the merger to put Autotask [PSA]as a product, into a four-times-a-year cycle, so it’s much faster for us to respond to MSPs.”