Specialist
Former Senior Director, Software Engineering at Datto Inc
Agenda
- Managed service provider (MSP) technology sector trends
- Impact of secular shift to cloud on Datto and MSPs
- Datto’s product portfolio strengths and weaknesses
- Growth dynamics in backup and recovery services
- Outlook for 2019 and beyond
Questions
1.
What’s your overall view on the IT services landscape MSP space? What are 2-3 key trends we should be following, especially as it relates to backup, disaster recovery, network continuity services, etc?
2.
You’ve mentioned the SaaS-backup tool, but how should we think about how shift to the cloud impacts legacy backup more generally and is Datto in a good spot because it has a SaaS-backup solution? Can you expand on how its offering is going to be impacted?
3.
How do you think about the value proposition of a third-party backup like a Datto, even if it shifts its hardware to be cloud-based? Isn’t it the core competency of the cloud providers to have redundancy and multiple data centres? Do they not take care of the backup themselves, or are they not at least headed in that direction?
4.
You talked about like-for-like from a data capacity standpoint of a hardware solution vs more of a software solution. How do you see that impact quantitatively on Datto’s revenue?
5.
Looking at the remaining data or portfolio, if you could walk us through the products and services across networking and unified continuity and what you think are the strengths and weaknesses?
6.
On the networking equipment side, you mentioned Datto would be competing with a Ubiquiti. What is Datto’s hardware strategy? Can you expand on the business model here?
7.
If Cisco is also moving more and more toward the larger mix of software, is it a direct competitor? Could you talk about any advantage Datto might have in winning deals vs. a Cisco or Juniper or a Ubiquiti?
8.
You talked about Siris and Alto taking snapshots of the OS. Are we talking about backing up on-prem OS/desktops? As companies move more and more to cloud-based SaaS tools, do you see the relevance of these OS snapshots getting less and less?
9.
On the SaaS Protection product, for example if we’re talking about a Google Drive, is this protecting against a Google data centre going out or is this protecting against human error on the enterprise side, accidentally deleting data? What’s the value of backing up a seemingly pretty strong data centre architecture from the cloud giants?
10.
Do you have any view on Carbonite’s new offering and if tying security with webroot could help it vs Datto?
11.
Any insight into Veritas and its ability to move downmarket?
12.
More generally, how should we think about the competitive landscape in backup where Datto competes? Who do you view as the direct competitors and how should we think about its positioning more broadly?
13.
As we look at the full product suite, what is really driving Datto’s strong revenue growth and what are the potential impediments to that growth?
14.
As you look at the combined entity of Datto and Autotask, are there any assets that you think are easily separated and sold, or that make sense to divest?
15.
What levers does Datto have for cost cutting and increased efficiency? Are there any major cost centres that it can focus on or that you would focus on if you were there today?
16.
As the company continues to scale, how should we think about R&D expense, sales and marketing? Do those grow in step? Is there any leverage there? How do you look at operating margin moving forward?
17.
What brand equity does Datto have within the MSP community at this point? How much greenfield opportunity for expansion into MSPs does it have?
18.
From an R&D talent perspective, do you think Datto has the right team to continue to innovate? Is it a bottleneck being located in Connecticut vs more of a tech Mecca?
19.
What are your thoughts more broadly on the management team? Are they the right team to lead the company going forward? Any reservations that you have on their vision?
20.
If you were an investor and you were put in front of the management team or the board, what are 2-3 key questions you’d ask about their direction for the company and ability to execute?
21.
Is there anything that you think the market or the industry gets wrong about Datto? Are there any consensus views that you would question?
22.
Is there anything we haven’t covered today that you want to leave us with?
