New WatchGuard CEO Joe Smolarski On His Plan To Take A Page From His Kaseya Playbook To ‘Accelerate Growth And Profitability For The MSP Community’

“The plans for 2026 are super exciting,” Smolarski said. “Be on the lookout for innovation. We have already released more product releases over the last three months than we ever have in our company's history. Much more of that is planned.

New WatchGuard CEO Joe Smolarski told CRN he is planning to take a page from his playbook as president of Kaseya to fundamentally change the economics of the cybersecurity market and in the process double the profit margins for the company’s MSPs.

In fact, Smolarski, who took over as WatchGuard CEO on Monday, said he is tripling down on MSPs with a plan to dramatically increase partner profit margins and drive down the cost of the zero trust WatchGuard platform.

“It needs to occur,” said Smolarski of the fundamental economic changes he aims to bring to the MSP cybersecurity market. “The market is ripe for it! We have the technology and the foundation to do exactly that. We believe we're going to be able to drive significant increases in margin that hopefully allow them [MSPs] to double their margin when it comes to cybersecurity offerings. That’s exactly what we are looking for!”

During his seven years at Kaseya, including three as CEO and the four years prior as COO, Smolarski helped fundamentally change the economics of the MSP market, driving down total costs of the MSP platform, while at the same time dramatically increasing margins for partners.

Smolarski said he has the support of private equity majority owner Vector Capital to make the investments necessary to drive stronger integration of the WatchGuard platform and to step up the MSP margin offensive.

Smolarski’s message to the MSP community: “Be on the lookout for WatchGuard! We have an amazing platform. It's here now! They don't need to wait. We already have tremendous assets across the board to help them protect their end customers and do so at a rate that they could improve their operating margins, improve their profits.”

What’s more, Smolarski said, there are big WatchGuard plans for 2026 that will benefit MSPs. “The plans for 2026 are super exciting,” he said. “Be on the lookout for innovation. We have already released more product releases over the last three months than we ever have in our company's history. Much more of that is planned. We're adding development resources. We're adding partner success resources, and we have an opportunity to partner together and accelerate growth for WatchGuard, but also to accelerate growth and profitability for the MSP community. That’s exactly what we're going to do!”

Smolarski, who helped drive the integration of the Kaseya MSP platform, is ready to provide the same kind of leadership to drive the WatchGuard platform forward.

“The MSP community wants it to be a fully integrated platform,” he said. “We have a great foundation for that. We have a tremendous amount of integration today, and we're going to accelerate the unification of that platform through integration. It's going to be a no brainer to turn on the next piece of security through WatchGuard in a very, very short timeframe as we double down on that particular path.”

WatchGuard, Smolarski said, is on the “brink of doing something very, very special from a platform perspective, and we should be able to accelerate that greatly. You'll see the fruits of that right here in Q4 as well as in early 2026.”

Here is an edited transcript of the conversation with Smolarski.

Why did you want to make the move from Kaseya to take the CEO job at WatchGuard?

WatchGuard has a tremendous name in the security market with enterprise grade security built specifically for MSPs. 2025 has been a banner year for WatchGuard.

Q3 was a record-breaking quarter across the board and the acceleration of innovation this year [at WatchGuard] has been tremendous!

So getting a chance to step into a company that is speeding up, not slowing down, and doing tremendous things in this market, and that is also building a unified platform to just make security simple for MSPs is a super exciting opportunity for myself. I could not be more excited!

What is your vision for the company as you take the helm?

Ultimately the opportunity is to mature the platform and provide security in a unified platform, and make it simple for MSPs to deploy, simple security for all, make it affordable so that MSPs can grow their profit margins. That is huge!

WatchGuard has four key areas, and in those four key areas we're going to continue to build upon and innovate across the board.

No. 1: Security without boundaries. Making sure that security travels with your people, devices and everywhere.

No. 2: Zero Trust built in. Never assume. Always verify. Make sure there's continuous protection built into the platform.

No. 3: AI: We have some tremendous things happening from an AI perspective. We have AI augmented security, AI that sees, learns and acts instantly to stop threats and scale protection.

No. 4: The Platform: The platform is going to be a huge part of our future, making sure that it's a no brainer to add the next piece of security, and that it's easy, it's simple, and it works well in an integrated way to drive automation and ultimately drive operating margins.

Is the goal to basically do what you did at Kaseya, which is bring the platform together and drive a lower total cost for the customer and a higher margin for partners?

I think we have a fantastic foundation to do exactly that. You know the track record at Kaseya and what we did with the millions and billions of dollars that we saved for the MSP community.

I believe we have fantastic products at WatchGuard. I believe the foundation for a tremendous platform is there. So I think we are on the brink of doing something very, very special from a platform perspective, and should be able to accelerate that greatly. And you'll see the fruits of that right here in Q4 as well as in early 2026.

So you are pledging to provide a lower total cost for the full platform and higher margins for partners?

No doubt about it. That’s the goal. The MSP community is different than the enterprise. Dollars are their dollars. It's affecting their lives and their bottom line. We know how important it is, and we are very, very passionate here at WatchGuard about doing exactly that: providing security for all, making security attainable for every partner throughout the world to give that to their end customers and end users, and to do so while they're able to grow their profit margins.

I have no doubt with the technology platform that we have built here with a tremendously efficient operation behind it, that we can drive improved margins significantly in 2026 and beyond.

Is there any way to say how much you can increase profit margins and drive the cost of the platform down in 2026?

Both should occur. It needs to occur. The market is ripe for it!

We have the technology and the foundation to do exactly that. We believe we're going to be able to drive significant increases in margin that hopefully allow them to double their margin when it comes to cybersecurity offerings. That’s exactly what we are looking for!

Have you spoken to MSPs and made that pledge to them?

We haven't publicized this yet, but we have spoken with roughly 10 of our most important partners in our inner circle. They're extremely excited about what is planned and aligned with us.

We're listening. I'm listening. I'm new to WatchGuard, and it’s super important for me to listen to our partners and align with their needs. That's exactly what we're doing.

When did you start as CEO?

I am on day number two on the job.

What was your message to WatchGuard employees and the leadership team?

The message is simple. There's so much to be proud of. We've built a fantastic name here at WatchGuard. We’re going to continue to double down on that!

Our mission doesn't change. We're going to continue to lead by delivering a unified platform that makes it easier for MSPs to protect customers and scale profitably. We have the team to do that, and we have the technology to do that, I'm extremely proud to lead this team.

What is the message to MSPs who see what you did at Kaseya and how applicable that is to your role as an MSP Champion at WatchGuard?

At Kaseya, we became the largest company servicing the MSP community. On the Kaseya side there were lots of lessons learned. Many things to repeat. Some things not to repeat. We're a different company at WatchGuard with a different focus, and certainly a very partner-first mentality, partner-success mentality, built throughout this company.

We plan to use the uniqueness of the WatchGuard approach to make sure that we do it and do it differently, while taking advantage of the reach that we have within the MSP community.

We have many different initiatives planned in terms of helping MSPs be successful and becoming more visible in the MSP community. We have a fantastic name. Not everybody knows the WatchGuard name. We’ve got to make sure that that gets out there to everybody to take advantage of the great technology and hopefully help them double their profits.

How big of an opportunity is there to grow the MSP share when you look at the competitive landscape in the MSP cybersecurity market?

WatchGuard stands out because we're built for MSPs. Many cybersecurity vendors bolt on MSP programs. We were built for MSPs from the ground up. We’re built with MSPs in mind. Our Unified Security Platform brings together everything partners need: network, endpoint, identity, and automation in a single, manageable experience that improves outcomes and profitability. Nobody else can say that!

How aggressive are you going to be as you move to grab share and change things with WatchGuard? This does not appear to be a ‘steady-as-she-goes' story?

It certainly is not.

I’m from the Northeast. I plan on going 200 miles per hour!

We have a fantastic opportunity in front of us to capitalize on. You're not going to see us sitting on our laurels. We're going to move very, very fast. There is so much for the MSPs and our partners to benefit from.

We’ve got to get out there, front and center, and capitalize on that great opportunity. We have the technology. We have the people. We're going to get it done quickly!

What surprised you most as you got your feet on the ground and looked at WatchGuard?

Having been on the job for two days the surprise is that when I had discussions with the 10 plus partners that I referenced earlier, just how committed they are, how much they love the platform, how much they recognize how we are a partner-first company that will go above and beyond to meet their needs. That passion that I've heard from our customers was not something that I saw from the outside. So that was a very, very pleasant surprise, and I could not be more proud to be a part of it!

How long have you been President at Kaseya?

I was in the President's role for more than two years. I ran over half of Kaseya throughout my tenure there. So I ran almost every single function that was there at one time or another. I was the number-two guy in the firm through the tremendous hyper-growth trajectory that we went through and ran almost every single part of Kaseya at one time or another.

What is your management philosophy, which seems to me to be very aggressive?

Agreed. The thing I emphasize to everybody is: you can have results or excuses. Not both. I choose results. So we're going to focus on results. We're going to focus on results for our partners and what drives outcomes for our partners. That's what we're going to go after very, very aggressively. That’s what I've heard at Kaseya. That’s what I’ve heard here. We're going to have that partner-first mentality. That’s what it's about!

If we deliver for our partners we're going to accelerate our growth! We're going to deliver innovation. We're going to deliver profitability. And we're going to do so with a partner-first mentality!

Do you feel WatchGuard has the full zero trust platform stack at this point so that the goal now is to get MSPs to get customers to adopt the full platform?

We don't need to add other pieces right now. We have a tremendous amount of assets in our platform. We're going to continue to drive and accelerate the integration of that platform. It's already a tremendous foundation. We're going to continue building automations so that it's crystal clear how people can drive improved operating margins. We have a great opportunity that we're going to capitalize on very quickly.

So you are going to go to the development team to make sure the integration is a lot tighter with a lot more benefits for MSPs?

The MSP community wants it to be a fully integrated platform. We have a great foundation for that. We have a tremendous amount of integration today, and we're going to accelerate the unification of that platform through integration.

It's going to be a no brainer to turn on the next piece of security through WatchGuard in a very, very short timeframe as we double down on that particular path.

What is the plan in terms of hiring new people or sticking with the management team at WatchGuard?

We have a tremendous team here at all levels. I have the utmost confidence in the executive team that's in place, as well as all levels of management.

I see tremendous passion. I've got great feedback from our partners in terms of the WatchGuard team and their trust in the WatchGuard team.

So I certainly plan on doubling down on that particular path but certainly augmenting it in areas to continue to help us accelerate innovation. So you'll see that as well. But we have a good team in place that I'm going to rely upon and build upon, and excited to do so.

Is this double- or tripling-down on MSPs with a much sharper MSP focus?

One thousand percent. That is why I’m here! You’ll see that very quickly with that Northeast philosophy.

So are you essentially tripling down on MSPs?

Yes. Tripling down.

What trends do you see in the cybersecurity and MSP markets and who is ripe for the picking to take share from?

We see trends of complexity just increasing in the market. Complexity equals cost and lower profit margins. And we believe that's where we come in. We believe we have a tremendous opportunity to simplify this market and to offer a much more affordable platform with security for all. We don't want security to be unreachable for every SMB that's out there.

It's super critical to keep the bad guys out and do so at an affordable price point. There are many large competitors in this space that are absolutely, as you said, ripe for the taking. We won't name names on this. But I think many people know who they are and who’s out there. Many of them are vulnerable right now.

We believe we have a great opportunity with our platform, our products, our people, to capitalize on exactly that.

Is agility going to be key as you drive that WatchGuard MSP advantage?

We can be agile. We have the size and the culture here to be much more agile than some of the big players that are out there. A lot of those big players weren't built for MSPs. They were built for enterprise, and ultimately layer on some things to get into this market. But it's different when you're built from the ground up for the MSP market. We're going to use those differentiators to hit it out of the park.

Is the focus going to be to run the same kind of play at WatchGuard that you did at Kaseya by driving up MSP margins, while at the same time driving down the cost to the end user customer?

That was the focus [at Kaseya]. It's different when you serve the MSP community versus enterprise. When you're able to drive margin you're able to change lives. That's exactly what we did at Kaseya and that's exactly why I've taken the WatchGuard opportunity.

At Kaseya we were able to drive down costs significantly internally and pass those cost savings on to our customers and help them double their margins, which absolutely changed their lives. And when I looked at the WatchGuard opportunity, I know for a fact we have the same foundation, the same capabilities to do so in the space that we are in. I know we can do that very quickly. We're already taking steps there.

We've already had a record breaking 2025. I plan to accelerate that in 2026.

You’ve dealt with private equity before. How does the Vector Capital private equity ownership play into this?

Private equity is certainly not new to me. I understand it very well. I've been in it my entire life, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it. But ultimately the Vector team is extremely supportive. They are giving us the tools, the investment and what we need to accelerate innovation, and accelerate development, accelerate finalizing the platform, and taking it from there.

We have the ability to add additional assets if we need it from an M and A perspective. We'll certainly continue to explore that. But we have a great foundation with what we have here, and right now they're providing the funding that we need to really accelerate. Accelerate on the AI front! Accelerate on the platform front! We’ve got some exciting things planned ahead.

So this is all about private equity investing more to drive the WatchGuard MSP offensive?

One thousand percent. Keep in mind, Vector has been involved in WatchGuard for decades. This isn't a new play where they've got to cut costs. They’ve been involved with WatchGuard for decades. This is a growth story at WatchGuard, and one that you're going to see grow very, very rapidly. We've already had a record breaking 2025. In 2026 we expect to see much, much more acceleration.

What is the financial ground that you are walking into as you take the helm?

I've been given a tremendous foundation here. The financials are super solid. Our growth was 25 percent-plus in Q3. We're going to continue to push super, super hard across the board.

We've been given additional funding from an innovation perspective, and we have an opportunity to do something very special here. This is nothing but a growth story and one with tremendous potential.

Any initial news on where you’re planning to add in terms of development, MSPs, etc.?

We’re focused-in on two areas. We're focusing on adding additional development resources to accelerate the platform innovation and then adding additional resources from a partner success perspective. We need to continue to partner with our customers, be there for them, and drive success. That’s exactly what we plan on doing.

What is the AI vision and investment?

This is an inflection point for business in every area, but I think certainly in our area, AI has a tremendous capability, and WatchGuard already is ahead of most of the competition when it comes to having AI built throughout the platform to really just accelerate the identification of threats, the remediation of threats, et cetera. So within the platform, WatchGuard is uniquely positioned to be a leader when it comes to AI being embedded throughout the technology stack and taking advantage of that. And then certainly we'll use it internally the way every company can and should be at this stage. It doesn't have to replace humans. It should just be augmenting humans. It should be making humans a lot more efficient. We've seen it.

We've already done a nice job here at WatchGuard implementing it in many different functions to accelerate. We need to spend our time focusing in on the value-add activities versus the mundane activities, et cetera. So that'll continue to allow us to be an efficient organization. And when we're efficient, that that allows us to lower our costs to be able to pass that along to our customers and to be super-efficient as well.

What’s the message or call to action to MSPs now that you are CEO of WatchGuard?

I am super excited! I think the message for the MSP community is to be on the lookout for WatchGuard. We have an amazing platform. It's here now! They don't need to wait. We already have tremendous assets across the board to help them protect their end customers and do so at a rate that they could improve their operating margins, improve their profits. And the plans for 2026 are super exciting.

Be on the lookout for innovation. We have already released more product releases over the last three months than we ever have in our company's history. Much more of that is planned. We're adding development resources. We're adding partner success resources, and we have an opportunity to partner together and accelerate growth for WatchGuard, but also to accelerate growth and profitability for the MSP community. That’s exactly what we're going to do!

How does it feel to get the CEO job after many years of being a Chief Operating Officer?

I’m super proud. I'm blessed. I'm thankful. I could not be more proud to be a WatchGuardian. I can’t wait to take this thing to the next level!

How did it all come together?

They [Vector Capital] came and found me. I think the successes that we had at Kaseya stood out to the MSP community. Getting a chance to take some of those successes and some of those lessons learned and do things differently and take advantage of the secret sauce that we have here at WatchGuard with its partner-first mentality makes this a marriage made in heaven. I could not be more proud to be here.

Did you know the Vector team?

I have known them from the private equity community, et cetera, I did not know them well. So they were not in my inner circle or anything like that. but I did know of them and had met them at a few different events.

Did you know WatchGuard well before you took the job?

I absolutely have known WatchGuard. In my early days I was a CIO. I was a technical resource for many years. I have always loved and respected the WatchGuard name. It is synonymous with great security and protecting organizations of all sizes. So it was an absolute pleasure to take that initial call.