Kaseya’s TruPeer programme may have only launched in EMEA last year, but already it has more than 150 MSPs signed up in the UK as they seek to gain an advantage in a rapidly evolving market.
In London at the end of October, a group of people from about 150 managed service providers (MSPs) from across the country came together with Kaseya for its latest TruPeer event, taking part in a variety of sessions designed to help them grow their business.
That representatives from 150 MSPs turned up, given that TruPeer only launched in EMEA last year, is a testament to the strength of the programme, says Greg Jones, senior VP of MSP enablement, EMEA and North America at Kaseya.
“TruPeer is a programme that empowers our partners to grow their business operationally and in terms of maturity,” he says. “It helps them with everything in their MSP operations including service delivery, sales, marketing, back office, finance and how they show value to the market.
“It helps them evolve their businesses, and we support them to grow, mature, and adapt and pivot to market changes.”
TruPeer is part of Kaseya’s wider TruMethods programme, which was first established 15 years ago. It is only in the past six years that the peer support element was wrapped around TruMethods, Greg explains. It was first launched in North America, before coming over to EMEA in 2024.
Greg says that TruPeer has been shown to work around the world over the years. “We’ve had thousands of MSPs go through the programme,” he says.
In the UK, TruPeer events such as the one in London happen quarterly, with two days of meetings in person, giving executives strategies to improve their business, as well as opportunities to network and share best practice, along a pre-day that centres on sales and marketing.
Walking the walk
TruPeer is geared to helping MSPs to improve their business, Greg emphasises. “It’s not written by a vendor to sell more products,” he says. “It’s vendor agnostic, meaning you don’t need to buy Kaseya products and services. It was originally formulated by our founder, but since then the programme has evolved across thousands of MSPs from across the globe, including best practise as well as the challenges. It’s not written from a vendor perspective in terms of, ‘Hey, we think you should do this’. We’ve seen it in action and the ups, downs, trials and tribulations they face. Everybody who works on TruPeer has either owned an MSP, been a senior executive or worked at a high level in MSP. We’ve all walked the walk.
“It offers MSPs that stability and comfort within their business. Being an MSP or a business owner can feel lonely or isolated at times. You’re making big decisions on your own, and sometimes it’s a stab in the dark, whereas TruPeer makes our members more enlightened to what is possible and helps them to achieve that.”
It is about peer learning – and that can’t be taught in a traditional classroom. “It’s being around like-minded individuals,” adds Greg. “This is not a revenue stream for Kaseya, that is not the purpose of this programme. It is to empower and help MSPs grow and scale. There are many MSPs we don’t allow onto the programme, such as lifestyle businesses. There is nothing wrong with them, but they’re not for the programme because it is about pushing to the next level, challenging the status quo, achieving what is possible in terms of numbers, metrics, profitability and productivity.”
Greg adds that MSPS are put into ‘pods’ – typically grouping seven to 10 MSPs together that are roughly the same size in terms of turnover and geographical location. “The best way to describe it is the incubator space for growth,” says Greg. “It’s like getting a board of directors for your MSP business without getting a board of directors. You can sense check ideas with them and ask for advice.
“But we see it going beyond the meetings. Although we meet each quarter, we meet three times a year in person, and once virtually. However, many of our pods meet in person for the virtual meeting because they like each other’s company and they feel they get more out of it in person.”
TruMethod
As mentioned, TruPeer fits with TruMethod. “TruMethod is the framework and provides the methodology,” says Greg. “It’s a framework for all the functional areas within the business, such as sales, marketing, back office, how services are delivered, how project management is delivered.
“It gives MSPs the playbook to do everything – they are standard operating procedures that are flexible and adaptable to each MSP; fundamentally, it is the best practise to be world-class. When we say world-class, it doesn’t mean being largest MSP or having the most employees, it means being in the top 10% of MSPs in terms of profitability and productivity.
“With the peer learning element, it means everybody in the programme is doing it together.”
Changing market
Giving MSPs the tools to grow is important as there is a wealth of opportunities in the market currently, Greg adds. “The market is very positive now,” he says. “We’re seeing SMB tech spend outperform enterprise spend for the first time, which is colossal. That’s a huge opportunity for MSPs to capitalise on.”
But Greg warns that MSPs need to adapt and pivot their offerings to the market. “The number one reason that we’re seeing an SMB leave an MSP is not because of poor service, it’s because the MSP does not provide the tools, technology or service that that business requires to function or to get to their goals,” he says.
“MSPs need to make sure that they’re at the forefront of this technology revolution to make sure they stay relevant for their customers.”
Greg adds that MSPs also need to appreciate that buyers are changing too. “We’re seeing a huge shift in terms of the younger generation coming into C-level positions, and they have a different expectation of technology,” he says. “They’re digital natives and an instant gratification generation that want things now. Whereas we would wait for technology back in the day, to them, it’s unacceptable. We’ve seen that with other verticals and industries. Think of Amazon: Amazon was great when it launched as you’d get delivery within a week. Then it evolved and you have Amazon Prime where you get next day delivery. However, we’ve moved on again; there’s Amazon Prime Now, which is delivery within one hour. It just shows how markets are changing and expectations with it.”
Evolution
Kaseya too is evolving. “Rania Succar, our new CEO, is laser-focused on the evolution of Kaseya and its products and services, and we have more audacious roadmaps, certainly around AI,” says Greg. “In Dublin in June, we announced an additional £100 million in investment, an additional 200 heads into engineering to keep ahead of the curve.”
Greg says Kaseya is building a platform for all its products and services. “That’s the world we’re moving to, but they’re best in breed at the right price point. Again, we are all about making MSPs more efficient and profitable. When we bring something to market like our Kaseya365 offering, we undercut the market. That wasn’t so that MSPs could discount their price and go out and dominate the market. That was
to give MSPs the opportunity of being more profitable.”
Greg adds that there is more to come from TruPeer in EMEA. “We are the largest peer group and it will evolve more to provide enablement, training, education and development to help partners grow and scale their business,” he says. “Ultimately, we’re in this together with MSPs and they are everything to us as they are our go-to-market strategy. Without them, we’re nothing as an organisation.”
