ConnectWise’s Jason Magee: ‘Competitors Make You Better If You Do The Right Things’

‘It gives [us] the ability to look at our stuff a bit more, see where we need to make investments and improvements and then we bring it to market. Competitors make you better if you do the right things,’ says ConnectWise CEO Jason Magee.

When it comes to the competition, Jason Magee wants to see everyone succeed. Whether it’s competition that’s been around, new competitors in the space or former ConnectWise execs taking on new ventures, Magee said he’s always watching out but that competition is healthy for the industry.

“My view on the world is new entrants make the partner better,” Magee, CEO of Tampa-based software vendor ConnectWise, told CRN. “It gives [us] the ability to look at our stuff a bit more, see where we need to make investments and improvements and then we bring it to market. Competitors make you better if you do the right things.”

And there’s been a lot of movement in the industry, which can lead to more competition.

Competitor N-able, a public company, may be seeking to go private with Barracuda being a potential suiter.

ConnectWise founder Arnie Bellini officially reentered the channel after his five-year noncompete agreement with ConnectWise ran out earlier this year.

And Syncro tapped Michael George, formerly with ConnectWise, as CEO of the company.

“Whether it's Michael or Arnie or David Bellini and former ConnectWise executives and colleagues, we've got people all over the place,” Magee said. “I look at it as by whichever means you wound up at ConnectWise and then moved on, for whatever reason or purpose, we’re out in full force.”

CRN spoke with Magee further about competition, a potential sale and partner concerns. Check the conversation out below.

We always discuss the big three, ConnectWise, N-able and Kaseya, but what are your thoughts on some of the newer or smaller companies really making a splash?

ConnectWise was in that spot once upon a time. My view on the world is new entrants make the partner better. It gives [us] the ability to look at our stuff a bit more, see where we need to make investments and improvements and then we bring it to market. Competitors make you better if you do the right things.

Michael George, who has ConnectWise roots, is now the CEO of Syncro, a competitor of yours. What’s your take on that?

Whether it's Michael or Arnie or David Bellini and former ConnectWise executives and colleagues, we've got people all over the place. I look at it as by whichever means you wound up at ConnectWise and then moved on, for whatever reason or purpose, we’re out in full force.

Arnie Bellini officially reentered the channel earlier this year after his five-year noncompete ended. Were you worried you would be faced with another competitor?

Did I have concerns? Probably no more than the other competitors I have for. It's not that I paid it more weight or attention, I've always got to be watching out. Whether it's competitors, former ConnectWise executives or Arnie Bellini, I wish everyone the best and want to see everyone succeed and deliver on whatever motivates in their passions.

I reported recently that N-able may go private via acquisition. Reportedly Barracuda is interested in acquiring the company. What are your thoughts on that?

I mean look, people continually want to see how they could get in the space. I think it's a great testament to the industry when you have a company out there that's public and other parties, in this case Barracuda, that’s already in the space and want to do big things. A move like that for whoever would throw someone into the forefront of sorts and give them a bigger opportunity. The more stuff like that that goes on puts a spotlight on the industry and I think that's good.

You’ve told me for a while now that ConnectWise is in a ‘time horizon’ to be acquired or to go public. Are you still in that time horizon? Are you nearing the end of it?

I wish I had better answers for anybody on this. When the time is right, we'll go make something happen.

Is a sale of ConnectWise something you want to accomplish in 2024?

You're going to think that it’s a non-answer but it's how I have operated from day one. I've been trying to build a great company and whenever [a sale happens], we're ready to go. In the meantime, I'm focused on building a great company, trying to listen to our partners and get better to serve their needs to make them more successful. Whether [a sale] happens in ’24, ‘25, 26, ‘29 or ’30, we'll be ready to go.

ConnectWise had a lot of change over in the C-suite. You just brought on a new CFO. Why the big changeover?

The main thing is sometimes people move on for what they believe are bigger and better things for themselves and for us. I’m looking to take the company to a certain height or revenue and so on and I'm trying to mass the team that will take us on the next leg of the journey. You asked about us being acquired but we're always looking to acquire too.

Are you looking at acquiring any companies in the next six months?

We’ve got a healthy pipeline, but I think we all do. It's just so hard, it's not like your traditional sales cycle. Outside of getting over 3,000 colleagues to try to do everything I want them to do, predicting M&A closings is probably the next hardest thing for me.

Do you have a preference for ConnectWise? Private or go public?

I've never done the one so it's hard for me to say whether I would like it or not, there's probably pros and cons of both. I've never been a public company CEO so I only know what I know and I'm comfortable at it. I'm not saying I wouldn't be comfortable with the other thing. At some point you get to a certain size and scale but your options of how you exit and help your colleagues and investors monetize…maybe it’s a public offering. But yeah, I haven't really thought which one I’d prefer.

This is a question I got from a partner. What is ConnectWise doing to accommodate your larger MSP base who keep growing through acquisition?

Asio is a big part of what we’re doing, it’s the full purpose-built platform for MSPs to simplify their lives and bring everything together. It's the one place for them to operate their business, whether it's front of house or back of house. It’s the interface between them and their customers and other parties, and it scales.

Another partner I talked to mentioned IT Nation Grow, the event focused on M&A. The partner said ConnectWise teaches MSPs how to grow through acquisition but then doesn’t have tools to support that. What’s your response to that?

The program itself is a tool for them. You come in, learn, see if you’re on the sell side or buy side and what needs to happen in order to have a successful acquisition or to be successfully acquired. We surround people with peers and experts and we bring in leaders, some outside of the industry and some within the industry, that are very active in M&A that people could learn from. That's a big tool itself. If you look at going through the journey of entry to exit and you're doing it for the first time, it's pretty invaluable if you have people who have been there and done that and are able to tell you what needs to be done. It short-changes your learning curve a little bit, so that's a pretty big tool.

Last partner question. Is ConnectWise considering FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) certification so MSPs can further serve government agencies?

We're not going to specifically say that but we have many things in the pipeline that we're considering and working through right now. When you look at whether it's FedRAMP and other stuff, it's never as easy as you would think. It's complicated, in some cases, trying to find the right people to know exactly what needs to be done. So we're chatting with a lot of experts on things like that right now.