Atera CEO: Adoption Of New MSP Platform Has Surpassed Expectations

On the heels of its launch in January, Israeli MSP software developer Atera is making a splash in the market with a disruptive pricing model, comprehensive software and a continuous deployment strategy.

The software, based on what Atera's CEO, Gil Pekelman, calls a "consumer-type user experience," is a born-in the cloud platform that includes remote monitoring and management (RMM), professional services automation (PSA) and remote control software bundled into one solution for managed service providers.

It stands apart from such providers as Kaseya and Ninja and is available with transparent pricing and scheduled monthly product updates, Pekelman said.

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"Bottom line, an MSP that is maintaining a large number of SMB customers, with a single sign on - an $89-a-month flat-rate (fee) - unlimited servers and agents and workstations, gets RMM, PSA and a remote control tool. And that is what we are about," he said.

"I have … had calls from customers that say they have calculated that they will save thousands of dollars with us and our technology," he said.

"I think here in the states it's going to be pretty disruptive, a necessary disruption," said Scott Kuhn, owner of Tacoma, Wash.-based IT Service Works, an Atera partner.

Kuhn said that the reason he recently switched to Atera from another provider is Atera's unique setup and pricing model. He believes the pricing model will attract many more MSPs such as his.

Although Kuhn said he was relatively pleased with his most recent provider, he got stuck between pricing tiers as his company began to grow. He said providers charge licensing fees on a per-device basis and many MSPs such as IT Service Works are sometimes stuck with big price jumps when they start growing.

"The next tier up was a big cost increase, and that created a big barrier for me," he said.

But Atera only charges one fee for each technician instead of charging for every device on which its solution is installed.

"That pricing model is allowing me to grow without having to worry about the cost and I'm already developing plans to do so," Kuhn said.

Pekelman said his per-technician pricing model won't hold back MSPs from the growth that the traditional per-seat pricing model provides.

So far, the allure of that pricing model seems to be paying off according to Pekelman, with hundreds of new MSP clients across the U.S. making the switch to Atera's platform and hundreds more working with the company's trial software.

"Adoption has been absolutely amazing," he said. "We are getting double-digit conversion rates from the trials and trials are growing month over month.

Pekelman added that his company is also focused on continuing to improve and is scheduling a new release every 30 days, part of the company's continuous deployment methodology. The first new release was announced Wednesday.

The new release will include PowerShell scripting task automation and configuration framework from Microsoft which will enable administrators to perform tasks on both local and remote Windows systems, as well as monthly client reports. It will also include Zapier integration, which will make it easier for MSPs to automate tasks between web apps, plus Citrix GoToAssist integration and and Check Point Firewall integration.

Kuhn said he added Atera only a month ago and hasn’t finished migrating all his clients from the platform he worked with previously, and he’s excited that his new platform is not wasting any time delivering improvements. That’s an issue he ran into with the many RMM providers he has used in the past.

"The fact that there will be updates on a regular basis, instead of waiting to hear back is a really big positive" he said. "With other products, they will talk to you about the roadmap, but trying to get any details about it or a timeline is almost impossible."

With Atera, Kuhn said he’s not only impressed with the company's responsiveness and pricing options, but was very satisfied with how complete the offering is. He explained that Atera's software "does about 85 to 90 percent of what I need without making any adjustments," an experience he is not used to.

"I have used a lot of different RMM products, everything from the major players to some of the smaller ones," he said. "But, there was always a piece or two missing; either it didn’t do what I wanted, or it was too complicated."

Kuhn said he did his homework before turning to Atera, researching the company and talking with other MSPs. As far as he can see, it will go far.

"They are going to do amazingly well," he said.