Barracuda Networks To Acquire Intronis, Build Out Wider Storage, Security MSP Business

Security and storage solution developer Barracuda Networks on Tuesday said it planned to acquire Intronis, a provider of data protection services through a base of nearly 2,000 MSPs.

The acquisition gives Barracuda a way to increase its presence in the MSP market while providing a new outlet for Barracuda's solutions and services, said Rod Mathews, general manager of storage and business development at Campbell, Calif.-based Barracuda Networks.

"We've participated in the MSP market for a while," Mathews told CRN. "But we needed certain things for us to really go after the MSP market. Intronis focuses on backups, while Barracuda focuses on security. We had a backup MSP business, but it didn't have all the tools and expertise to build that business. Intronis has all we need and more."

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It's an exciting acquisition for Jeffrey Peters, director of managed services at Innovative Integration, an Indianapolis-based solution provider and channel partner to both Barracuda and Intronis.

"I'm not sure what the future will bring," Peters told CRN. "But I can say, Intronis is one of the best-kept cloud backup secrets. And Barracuda has the ability to execute. So I see a bright future for both of them."

Intronis brings Barracuda a "true" cloud backup story, with technology to handle data protection for servers, applications and virtual machines, Peters said. It also brings Barracuda a great white-label capability, and easy integration with professional service automation (PSA) providers like Connectwise and LabTech, he said.

"And Barracuda brings the 'Barracuda' name," Peters said. "Barracuda has a lot of brand recognition. You can't walk through an airport without seeing the name. We're expecting great things. I can't wait to see what they have in store."

Barracuda and Intronis for now cannot say what the two have in store, Mathews said. "Barracuda expects Intronis to continue to do what it is doing today," he said. "We'll be moving some Barracuda solutions to the Intronis platform, and some Intronis solutions to the Barracuda platform. But we don't want to move too fast."

Intronis is likely to bring Barracuda's security technology to its services platform, said Intronis CEO Rick Faulk.

"There's a lot of data that suggests MSPs sell a lot of security," Faulk told CRN. "So over time we will add security to the Intronis platform."

Mathews said the two companies have a very small overlap in their MSP base. "So we'll see an opportunity to get the Intronis products into the Barracuda partner base, and the Barracuda products into the Intronis partner base," he said. "Also, Intronis is very North America-focused, while Barracuda started its MSP business in Europe."

Faulk and Mathews declined to discuss Intronis' revenue or profitability given that it is a private company, although Barracuda did mention earlier Tuesday at its quarterly financial analyst call that it expects Intronis to be dilutive by 1 cent or 2 cents per share over the next quarter or two and accretive to earnings afterwards.

Faulk said the acquisition started about five or six months ago when Intronis was trying to determine the best way to grow its business going forward.

"We hired an adviser to explore two paths for us: Find a strategic buyer, or raise more capital," he said. "They found us a strategic buyer in Barracuda."

PUBLISHED SEPT. 29, 2015