Channel Icon David Powell Is Back In MSP Game With Evo Security

‘It feels great to come back to the MSP market and rekindle all the great MSP and cybersecurity relationships I have built up over many years,’ said new Evo Security CRO David Powell.

David Powell, a channel pioneer who has helped partners navigate treacherous terrain as both a top solution provider executive and vendor channel leader, is back in the MSP game as the new chief revenue officer for Evo Security.

“It feels great to come back to the MSP market and rekindle all the great MSP and cybersecurity relationships I have built up over many years,” said Powell, a 25-year channel veteran who most recently was CEO of employee productivity software provider Prodoscore. “It’s great to be back with all the people I really enjoy being around. This is a great opportunity to help MSPs address their own cybersecurity concerns and those of their customers.”

Powell, who started at the MSP identity management security standout on November 1, is at ConnectWise IT Nation this week with more than 1,000 MSPs grappling with a barrage of ransomware and cybersecurity threats.

The Evo Security CRO job, said Powell, allows him to fill a “huge void” in the MSP security market. Evo Security, in fact, is providing an identity management offering that has been tailored to the market demands of the MSP market, said Powell.

“MSPs can’t go buy enterprise tools for identity management,” said Powell. “It is not aligned to their cost model. Those tools are not built for multi-tenant environments. Evo has created identity tools for MSPs on a per-user cost basis.”

Evo Security is helping MSPs to not only prevent breaches at customer sites but also to lock down their own organizations, said Powell.

“Lots of times MSPs trade security for convenience,” he said. “Because MPSs need to make it convenient to log in and assist their clients, they often use shared credentials or don’t have multifactor enabled or password rotation. Evo is a middleware piece that allows MSPs to authenticate and then log in to all of your downstream customers. This is a way for MSPs to have both convenience and security.”

Evo Security is eliminating the shared master key that is allowing cyber-criminals to break into MSP networks and then go downstream to attack MSP customers, said Powell. “We want each person at the MSP to have authenticated credentials they are using to log in, no more shared login and shared passwords,” he said. “We want each login to be unique. Then we can define the privileges of each user.”

Powell, who has worked on the vendor side at LogicMonitor and Perch Security and as a top MSP executive at TekLinks and Corsica Technologies, said he is looking forward to helping MSPs solve the perennial identity security management problem.

“This is a great opportunity for MSPs,” said Powell. “We are not trying to displace a competing product. This is an opportunity for partners to increase their own security and the security of their clients. This is limiting MSP risk. This is bringing all the identity pieces together for MSPs. It fills an enormous gap for the MSP market.”

Powell said a very small number of MSPs currently have identity management protection. “We are offering double-digit margins for partners to sell identity management to their own customer base, but it is just as important that MSPs first get their own house in order,” he said. “We have ways to make it attractive for partners to implement Evo Security themselves. MSPs are becoming increasingly aware of the identity management risk. This is not getting better. MSPs need to shore up their own identity profile and then they need to extend it to their clients.”

Jason Wright, CEO of Avatar Computer Solutions, Houston, said Powell’s move to Evo Security brings the MSP identity management security provider “instant credibility” in the MSP market.

“Knowing David’s reputation and the success he has had at Perch and LogicMonitor, this pushes Evo Security to the top of the MSP identity management market,” said Wright. “This makes Evo stand out in the identity management vendor matrix.”

Evo Security provides a “much-needed layer of protection” for MSPs struggling to protect themselves and their clients, said Powell. “MSPs are a target right now,” he said. “What Evo is providing is one ID and one password with multifactor authentication. This locks us down.”

Wright said a lot of MSPs are likely to follow Powell to Evo Security. “David has the heartbeat of the customer and the voice of the MSP,” he said. “He understands the whole IT ecosystem, from customer to vendor to MSP.”

Wright expects Powell to bring a focus around “strong customer service and client engagement” to Evo Security

“With David going to Evo Security, you know as an MSP you are going to have direct access to the people making decisions on product development and program management,” said Wright. “I am looking forward to working with David and the Evo team to protect us and our customers.”