Millions of organisations worldwide outsource the running of their IT operations to a specialist company – a managed service provider (MSP) that handles all the challenges of keeping systems up-and-running and performing well. But to deliver that service, MSPs need a whole host of different software tools. That’s the preserve of companies such as the New York-based start-up SuperOps.ai, which is today announcing a $12.4 million Series B funding round.
Forbes first featured SuperOps.ai almost two years ago, as it unveiled its first fundraising. This latest round takes the total amount of money raised by the company to just shy of $30 million. “We had been planning to wait a little longer [to raise more money], but our investors have been urging us to really double down on expansion in the US,” says Arvind Parthiban, co-founder and CEO of the business. “This extra support is going to help us with our go-to-market activities.”
Certainly, time is short. The company operates in a competitive area of the market with a broad range of businesses eager to support a global MSP industry estimated to be worth $280 billion a year. Well-known and established competitors include the likes of Kaseya, ConnectWise, NinjaOne, Syncro and Atera – and consolidation now appears to be gathering pace, with Kaseya acquiring Datto last year.
However, Parthiban is convinced there is a gap in the market for a company able to provide a suite of tools for MSPs through a single platform designed from scratch. These include professional services automation tools to manage service desks and similar functions as well as remote monitoring and management, project management and IT documentation. He also points out that SuperOps.ai is a cloud-native business whereas most of its rivals started out in a world where organisations still depended on on-premises systems.
“When we explored the space, we realised that while technology as a whole had leaped forward, technology for MSPs had remained stagnant,” Parthiban says. “Most of the tools were built for the on-premise era, and are still unwieldy, too bloated, and difficult to manage. Many of the incumbent legacy players also acquired adjacent tools and stitched them together, and that has resulted in solutions that are not efficient or easy to use.”
SuperOps.ai’s rivals, naturally, reject those criticisms, but Parthiban’s company has been picking up MSP contracts pretty rapidly. Customer numbers are up 300% on a year ago, with revenues up 500%, reflecting a growing number of larger MSPs signing up to use its tools.
Nevertheless, the pressure is on the company to develop its product set quickly, particularly as MSPs themselves look to provide a broader range of services to clients. Alongside today’s funding announcement, SuperOps.ai is unveiling the latest addition to its tool set, a network monitoring capability. It is also investing heavily in a team based in New Zealand that is dedicated to developing new artificial intelligence competencies.
The aim is to build a one-stop-shop. Many MSPs, Parthiban insists, are fed up with having to buy different tools from different providers in order to meet all their different needs. The race to build a single platform able to offer everything that MSPs need is therefore hotting up. Partnerships with specialists in areas including cybersecurity, payments and data back-up can help SuperOps.ai to keep pace, Parthiban adds.
The company’s investors are backing it to succeed. The latest funding round is led by Addition and March Capital, with participation from Matrix Partners.
At Addition, partner Todd Arfman is convinced that the company can help drive change in a highly fragmented industry where thousands of small and medium-sized MSPs lack the scale and strength to invest in their own capabilities. “SuperOps.ai is revolutionising how MSPs run and grow their operations and is ushering them into the future,” he argues. Ravi Rajamony, a vice president at March Capital, is similarly upbeat. “We believe they are well-positioned to drive innovation in the underserved MSP market,” he says.
Clearly, the US will be a significant battleground. SuperOps.ai points to its recent appointment of a new channel head for the country as a signal of intent. Juan Fernandez, who built and sold his own MSP business, will lead the company’s on-the-ground presence in the market.
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