SaaS Startup IT Glue Is Turning MSPs From Customers Into Channel Partners After 200-Percent 'Hypergrowth'

Software-as-a-service startup IT Glue is expanding outside of selling solely to managed service providers after experiencing "hypergrowth" in 2016 where it increased its MSP customer base from 700 to more than 2,200.

"We are introducing a sell-through product this year, so we're opening up an opportunity for MSPs to sell the value that great documentation brings to their clients," said David Goldie, vice president of sales for IT Glue, in an interview with CRN. "So our MyGlue [SaaS product] is going to be IT Glue for everybody … 2016 was about hypergrowth internally and externally. This year it's about increasing value for the MSP community."

The Vancouver-based startup, which began as an MSP in 2013, provides a SaaS platform that helps businesses manage their internal processes and documentation with features such as device tracking and password management.

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Jason Etheridge, President of Logic Speak, a Rosewell, Ga.-based MSP, said IT Glue's decision to now sell through MSPs is a "win-win" situation that will drive net new sales with his customers.

"Customers want this. Our clients who are financial planning companies, engineering firms, legal firms – they all have the same need to more easily document their processes," said Etheridge.

"[IT Glue's] desire to invest in MSPs with a platform that we can use to make our businesses better, standardize our processes more, document everything we need to do – and then provide us a platform we can monetize and start to add to our offerings in cloud services, managed services, hosting is amazing," said Etheridge. "Now we can add MyGlue to that list as well where clients can track any sort of data they want to track … this is a win-win for everybody."

The MyGlue platform is designed for small and midsized enterprises to help document information and processes more efficiently. Customers can create standard operating procedures, organize and centralize passwords and track assets in an easy-to-user interface.

"It's very user-friendly that makes documentation turn from something that sucks into something that's awesome," said Goldie.

He said IT Glue "absolutely" plans to form some type of partner program in the future to better enable and incentivize MSPs to sell the solution.

The Canadian company also has its sights sets on global expansion. The majority of its MSPs are based in North America and IT Glue is opening a new office in the U.K. alongside the recent hired of industry veteran Phil Sansom as Managing Director of EMEA.

Sansom was previously the channel development director for Datto's EMEA region. He will be responsible for driving growth in the U.K. for the company. "IT Glue is emerging as one of the most respected vendors in the space, and I see tremendous opportunities to grow our business within the region," said Sansom, in a statement.

Goldie said his company now has its sights on expanding into Australia.

The company was able to grow its MSP base from 700 to more than 2,200 in 12 months because of the platform's ability to make companies run more efficiently and effectively, said Goldie.

"We're hearing all across the channel that companies are getting an opportunity to add more clients without adding more staff. That's something we're really proud of," said Goldie. "At every event, I hear the same thing, 'How do I get people to document?' We've got a great and fun way to do that in a way that engineers love."