Acronis signals increased support for MSPs after landing fresh backer

Acronis has signalled that landing a fresh backer will provide it with the funds to continue supporting the managed service community.

Global investment player EQT has taken a majority stake in Acronis, with the firm’s founders, management and existing investors all remaining with significant minority shareholders.

The EQT investment comes against a background of continued investment by Acronis in supporting managed service providers (MSPs), with the firm working with thousands globally, and it is looking to build on previous efforts.

Some of the existing steps the business has taken include the launch late last year of the MSP Academy, which focused specifically on helping MSPs with marketing and business advice.

Ezequiel Steiner, CEO of Acronis, revealed the involvement of EQT and stressed the positive consequences for partners: “Acronis enables over 20,000 service providers, protects over 750,000 businesses across 150 countries, and offers products in 26 languages.

“With data protection, cyber security and IT infrastructure becoming more complex, customers are increasingly entrusting Acronis to help them efficiently create stable and secure IT environments. This is a great momentum for growth and we are thrilled that EQT shares our vision for growth and supports our strategic expansion.

“With EQT as strong partner, we will continue Acronis’ expansion strategy and continue to deliver the very best service to Acronis’ partners and customers,” he said.

He added that there was a shared vision between Acronis and EQT around the direction the business was heading.

“The partnership between Acronis and EQT builds upon a shared growth vision, commitment to accelerating the expansion of its platform, and continued strong focus on customer service. The founders, management and existing investors will remain significant minority shareholders. The transaction is pending customary regulatory approvals and is anticipated to be in the first to second quarter of 2025,” he said.

Johannes Reichel, partner and co-head of technology within EQT’s Private Equity advisory team, said there was a clear value in working with a business that had positioned itself as an MSP specialist,.

“Acronis is a strongly positioned cyber security and data protection software platform with a clear value proposition to MSPs. EQT has followed the company’s journey for many years and continues to be impressed by its performance and innovative strength,” he said.

Phil Goodwin, research vice-president of IDC, said Acronis was operating in a market that tapped into customer need and armed MSPs with tools that appealed.

“Data protection is foundational to cyber security, and the two are increasingly tightly integrated. Acronis’ architecture of integrated data protection, cyber security and remote management in a single, customisable platform enables MSPs and corporate IT departments to establish robust cyber preparedness for their business with simplicity and reliability,” he said.