ConnectWise CEO On A Possible Exit Strategy, Microsoft Partnership And AI’s Future

‘I’ve been trying to build a great company and whenever [a sale happens], we’re ready to go,’ ConnectWise CEO Jason Magee says.

A hyperfocus on AI, hitting a billion dollars in revenue, the possibility of being sold and still watching out for the competition gives ConnectWise CEO Jason Magee a lot of balls to juggle in the air at once.

But his main focus is maintaining the Tampa-based vendor as an operationally sound company and delivering value to MSPs.

For more than a year there’s been talk about a possible sale to a private equity firm or even taking the company public, and Magee said ConnectWise is in a “time horizon” to do either.

“I’ve been trying to build a great company and whenever [a sale happens], we're ready to go,” Magee told CRN. “In the meantime, I’m focused on building a great company, trying to listen to our partners and get better to serve their needs to make them more successful. Whether [a sale] happens in ’24, ‘25, 26, ‘29 or ’30, we’ll be ready to go.”

He also tackles ConnectWise’s partnership with Microsoft and delivering tools that are purpose-built for MSPs.

“We love our relationship with Microsoft, it’s a great relationship and we’re doing some pretty cool things together,” he said.

Magee also covers a possible sale, Kaseya365 and the hype cycle of AI. Here are five big highlights of CRN’s interview with Magee.

On Selling The Company Or Going Public

The current conditions of M&A are unpredictable at this point in time. I’ve been trying to build a great company and whenever [a sale happens], we're ready to go. In the meantime, I’m focused on building a great company, trying to listen to our partners and get better to serve their needs to make them more successful. Whether [a sale] happens in ’24, ‘25, 26, ‘29 or ’30, we’ll be ready to go.

On Hitting Revenue Milestones

We're at a certain level and I'm pulling things together so we could hit a milestone of what's a billion dollars, $1.5 billion, and go up from there. With a billion-plus company, you need different things in place and you need to put things in place to be able to get that. It has nothing to do with who would buy us next or what type of potential exit or anything like that. It's simply a revenue milestone.

On Microsoft Relationship

We look at them as a great partner. What we bring to the table, whether it’s Microsoft or other or vendors, is is it purpose built for the MSP’s business. We make, in some cases, what they do better for the business model that's in our industry. We love our relationship with Microsoft, it’s a great relationship and we’re doing some pretty cool things together.

On Kaseya365 And Its Bundled Pricing

I don’t know if it would be disruptive. I think it’ll take a little bit of time for people to evaluate and see what is there and if it appeals to them. A bundle or package is nothing new so I'm not sure if there's anything really new there. We have some really cool stuff that will come out later this year on the Asio platform. But again, bundles and packages…I’m pretty sure every vendor has a flavor of it. Look, we're obviously competition. Whether it’s a price thing or other competitive news or techniques, it generally leads to a company like ConnectWise or others to do better.

On The Hype Cycle Of AI

It’s a lot of people learning, even with us with our partners and our early adopters. We have a very active ConnectWise forum around whether it’s Sidekick, hyperautomation or RPA. We’re all learning together. There’s been great feedback and we've done several iterations and improvements and new releases along the way.