Flexera CEO: Major Investment In Global Partner Program ‘Will Make Our Technology More MSP-Friendly’

‘We’ve made a significant investment because we see an enormous opportunity in the MSP space. Our technology can help partners deliver high-margin services and create long-term, recurring revenue streams,’ says Jim Ryan, CEO of Flexera.

Technology spend and risk management vendor Flexera Thursday unveiled one of the largest investments in its history into its global partner program, signaling a strong commitment to driving MSP success.

While the exact amount was not disclosed, Jim Ryan, Flexera CEO, said the investment is “tens of millions of dollars.”

“For 20 years the vast majority of our business was done directly with large enterprises,” Ryan told CRN. “We certainly worked with partners, particularly MSPs, but the market dynamics were clear. Post-COVID, however, there’s been a noticeable shift. Data shows that 40 [percent] to 50 percent of our customers now prefer to consume technology through an MSP model, which was accelerated by changes in the workforce and the growing demand for specialized skills.”

Today about 60 percent of the Itasca, Ill-based company’s revenue is through the channel, with about $700 million in annual recurring revenue to date, according to Ryan. Over the next few years, Flexera, named to CRN’s 2024 Cloud 100 list, plans to grow its partner base by two to three times.

“We want our partners to see strong financial results and margin growth,” he said. “Our goal is to create a win-win situation where partners can use our technology to drive value for their customers while also building their own business.”

The enhanced partner program will integrate the strengths of Flexera and Snow Software, a hybrid IT asset management and FinOps vendor Flexera acquired in February, to offer partners a broader range of benefits including expanded support, accelerated MSP capabilities and expanded FinOps functionalities. The program also highlights Flexera’s Technology Intelligence Platform, which enables partners to enhance their service offerings by providing deep insight into clients’ IT ecosystems. Flexera also is introducing a partner services layer for its Flexera One platform, which enables partners to scale operations and create unique service offerings.

CRN spoke with Ryan about the program investment, the benefit to partners and what’s to come at Flexera in 2025.

What was the idea behind this investment?

The idea is simple: Follow the market. For 20 years the vast majority of our business was done directly with large enterprises. We certainly worked with partners, particularly MSPs, but the market dynamics were clear. Post-COVID, however, there’s been a noticeable shift. Data shows that 40 [percent] to 50 percent of our customers now prefer to consume technology through an MSP model, which was accelerated by changes in the workforce and the growing demand for specialized skills.

We’ve made a significant investment because we see an enormous opportunity in the MSP space. Our technology can help partners deliver high-margin services and create long-term, recurring revenue streams. For us, it’s all about the numbers, following the market to where the money is.

With such a substantial investment, how do you define success for your MSP partners? What metrics are you focusing on?

For us, the key metrics are total contract value [TCV], renewal rates and the lifetime value of a customer. MSPs typically sign three-year contracts with us, and the renewal rate is very high once that initial contract is up. So, we look at TCV across that three-year span, as well as the margin they’re generating. We also track the number of new customers they bring on board.

We want our partners to see strong financial results and margin growth. Our goal is to create a win-win situation where partners can use our technology to drive value for their customers while also building their own business.

How do you expect this partner program to impact both customer satisfaction and partner revenue generation?

Customer satisfaction is key. When we sell directly, there’s always the risk of atrophy, people leave and the program loses momentum. But with MSPs, they provide ongoing, consistent support. If a customer faces challenges, the MSP can backfill the team and keep things running smoothly. This continuity leads to higher customer satisfaction and, of course, satisfied customers are more likely to renew and expand their relationship.

For our partners, this translates to higher margins and the ability to offer more value-added services. If an MSP can help a customer save millions using our technology, they’re in a position to expand their engagement with that customer.

How does Flexera’s Technology Intelligence Platform help MSPs better serve their customers?

Our Technology Intelligence Platform is really the core of what we offer. We’ve cataloged the largest reference library of technology assets in the world, and when you combine that with data from a customer's IT estate, you get incredible insight into their spend and risk. This is where MSPs can drive real business outcomes for customers.

The platform covers three key areas: IT asset management, SaaS management and FinOps. If an MSP is using all three, it enables them to provide a comprehensive view of a customer’s entire technology landscape, identify inefficiencies and recommend cost-saving measures. This holistic approach delivers much better outcomes for customers and helps MSPs grow their business.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for your partners, and how does this new investment address that challenge?

The biggest challenge is enablement. MSPs are dealing with limited time and resources, so we need to make it easy for them to understand the value of our technology. That’s why we’ve focused on creating snackable content, short videos and training programs that partners can easily consume and use in their sales processes.

We’ve also developed specific playbooks that show partners how to demonstrate value quickly. For example, instead of trying to solve every tech challenge a customer faces, we start with one specific area, like SaaS optimization. Once we prove the value there, it opens the door to expanding into other areas of the customer’s IT estate.

Can you explain how the integration of Snow Software benefits partners?

The Snow acquisition has been incredibly exciting. Snow specializes in the midmarket and SMB sectors, while Flexera has historically worked with large enterprises. By combining our strengths, we now have a complete solution for both large and midmarket customers. Partners can tap into both markets, offering IT asset management, SaaS management, FinOps and more.

The integration has already expanded our customer base to over 5,000 IT asset management customers, and for our partners, this means more opportunities across different market segments. Whether you’re working with global enterprises or SMBs, there’s now a broader range of services you can provide to drive revenue.

Looking ahead to 2025, what can MSP partners expect from Flexera in terms of innovation and new capabilities?

We’re making substantial investments in MSP-specific capabilities for 2025. For example, MSPs need to manage multiple customers and tenants, and we’re adding features that make it easier for them to do that, like multitenancy views, bill splitting and enhanced margin analysis tools.

These investments are designed to make our technology more MSP-friendly, with the goal of giving partners the tools they need to scale their businesses effectively. We’re also doubling down on innovation in areas like AI, large language models and advanced cross-market capabilities.

Finally, what is your message to partners heading into 2025?

My message is simple: Check us out. We’ve built a platform that brings together three distinct markets, IT asset management, SaaS management and FinOps, and we’re making it easier than ever for our partners to extend across these areas. If you’re not already in all three, we can help you expand your capabilities and grow your business. The opportunities are immense, and we’re committed to helping our partners achieve success. Together, we can drive new customer wins, top-line growth and high-margin revenue.