N-able: Big Demand For ‘Anything To Do With Security’ After Kaseya Ransomware Attack

‘While IT outsourcing has been around for decades, the complexity and sophistication of cyber threats that SME’s face everyday have reached record heights,’ says N-able President and CEO John Pagliuca.

Solarwinds spin-off N-able is seeing strong demand for “anything to do with security” in the wake of the Kaseya ransomware attack that compromised about 60 MSPs and 1,500 end users.

“We’re seeing MSPs take a more holistic approach across their entire SME (small to medium enterprise) estate, and we’re also seeing the SME… they’re understanding the need to invest in this layered security approach,” said N-able President and CEO John Pagliuca in the MSP technology-focused firm’s first earnings call since going public. “For us, that means we’re seeing backup and disaster recovery, continuity…our cloud-to-cloud backup offering has gotten significant traction [and] endpoint protection continues to outpace our growth.

“We have we have our traditional antivirus offering but we also have our N-able EDR (endpoint detection and response) offering, and that, I would say, is also outpacing our overall growth. It’s top of mind for the MSPs,” he added.

The Wakefield, Mass.-based company is putting security first and providing a “one stop shop” for its MSPs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by offering integrated remote monitoring and management tool and security data protection, Pagliuca said.

Pagliuca, in the vendor’s 2021 second quarter financial earnings call­–its first since spinning off of Solarwinds in July, said the conversation is changing when it comes to security.

“It’s not a shared thing or something that people can do as a side priority or focus,” he said. “It needs to be a dedicated focus.”

In the wake of the Kaseya attack on July 2 that compromised about 60 MSPs and 1,500 end users, N-able is investing in technology security and having more conversations with MSPs about the importance of protecting their clients. Initiatives include having dedicated security personnel and adopting a cybersecurity culture.

He said cybersecurity went from an inconvenience a few years ago to a focus and the forefront of everyone’s mind.

[Related: N-able CEO Pagliuca: New MSP Products, Programs On Tap As N-able Becomes A ‘Free-Standing’ Company]

“The MSP’s are leading the charge,” he said during the earnings call. “They’re looking to us to help provide the technology in an integrated platform for them to deploy this layered security approach efficiently and profitably. We need to raise the awareness for the small medium enterprise, for the MSP’s and really across the industry.”

To help those MSPs, Pagliuca said N-able has ramped up security in their RMM tool and is focusing on backup and disaster recovery, cloud backup and endpoint protection as he said the ability to recover is top of mind for both MSPs and SMEs.

“To protect our company employees, MSP partners and their customers we’ve invested in our processes and technologies as it relates to effective security management,” he said. “This includes numerous controls like multi-factor authentication (MFA), privileged access management, centralized logging, 24/ 7 remote monitoring operations, vulnerability identification and remediation employee training.”

Looking ahead, Pagliuca said N-able’s focus is to continue to “empower managed services providers to support the digital evolution of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).”

N-able reported total revenue of $85.3 million, representing 16 percent year-over-year growth, and GAAP net income of $500,000 for its second quarter, which ended June 30.