Connecting The Dots Seeing things past it's face value

1. 

   Ryan Vestby
   July 14th, 2010 - 18:24

   We never talk about the tools we use to our customers. IT isn’t about the tools as much as it is about the process and people that use them. Our customers don’t care about what we use. They care about successful service delivery. 99% of our customers have never heard of Kaseya and dont care too.
2. 

   Jeff Tyler
   July 14th, 2010 - 21:06

   Wow…sounds like there’s a deeper problem than products for you with Kaseya. I started following you a while back, but now you seem more bent on hurting them (not helpful to anyone but you) than offering good feedback for IT guys. Also, I remember a blog post from Kaseya about their approach to enterprise market. http://blog.kaseya.com/?p=906 and it seems like that’s been true when my customers have called Kaseya directly (happened 2x) Kaseya has handed that lead straight back to me.

   BTW, I’ve seen LT and its just doesn’t compare to K2. In fact its not a fair comparison.
3. 

   kcarlson
   July 14th, 2010 - 21:44

   Hey Jeff thanks for the comment. Jeff I am really trying to get people to open their eyes, we have competition now. I had been using Kaseya since 2005 for many of these years they have been the best MSP solution and ahead of its time.. since they have gotten bigger it seems they took on their own agenda ignoring what was truly needed in the space we work in. I have many examples of this. People just need to be careful with what they are getting into. Your one of a few where customers were sent back… yes Kaseya says that you can register your customers… but does that mean I have to send in every single customer to them to prevent a sale? Come on, selling direct is not healthy… we have seen this history before. HP, Dell just to name a few.

   Now what I would really like to know is how you can say that Labtech is not a fair comparison… that I will write a blog about if you want to provide feedback.

   And for the record (a comment prior to yours) yes I did work for Kaseya at one time, it seemed like a good choice.. but just like dating you realize only after you live with them who they really are. I was determined to make Kaseya the best tool but was turned down idea after idea… in fact I found out what they really cared about MONEY, not the industry. I have engraved in my mind a comment made by seniors “That will not make us money” no maybe not but it would have made our jobs a lot easier… That is the arrogance side of Kaseya people have seen time and time again. I simply gave up and let them fire me. (not because I couldn’t sell, or produce) I was not about to work any longer with a shady company. There have been many great people come and go within Kaseya who will back me up on this.

   The opinion is entirely yours, and I respect that… however I am not going to let people think this is my own adjenda or a deeper issue.
4. 

   kcarlson
   July 14th, 2010 - 21:54

   Awesome! Glad you get it… Not many people understand the comment you made. This is purly why I choose the tools. Tools help us grow, Tools catch things that help with response time and delivery. If the tool ever becomes to much to handle that your time is wasted trying to keep it working for you then its time to move on… This is why I moved to LabTech. I unfortunatly had way to many high profile companies with internal IT departments constantly looking at the Kaseya logo at the bottom of the screens… that they questioned, of course I had a come back.. however the thought knowing they can leave any time (to buy Kaseya) was always a burden.
5. 

   Alex
   July 14th, 2010 - 22:07

   Kaseya has addressed this issue on numerous occasions. Kaseya is a platform, a toolset for IT organizations to deliver their service in the most efficient and cost effective manor possible. If you’re afraid that your customer will buy Kaseya (or any other RMM Tool) directly then what value are you actually providing? The true value that an IT organization should provide is their knowledge and expertise, that is what the client should be paying for.

   As a comparison, Walmart sells a scalpel for $5. If you need heart surgery I doubt the cardiologist is worried about you going to Walmart and buying a scalpel directly.
6. 

   kcarlson
   July 14th, 2010 - 22:20

   Not sure who you are Alex, but you sure do sound like a Kaseya employee… Not a biggie really. Addressed what issue? The TOOL comment is the most over done comment especially coming from Kaseya. Tools are tools yes I do agree, but most efficient (Seriously??), cost effective (Come on who are you kidding). The tool has seen its better days. time to move on.
7. 

   kcarlson
   July 14th, 2010 - 22:46

   As to your comparison to Wallmart:
   Yes but walmart would not sell you a scalpel to do heart surgery, you would go to a special medical supplier who only provides hospitals with the finest grade of tools.
   So in that instance I guess Kaseya is Walmart..
8. 

   Alex
   July 14th, 2010 - 22:49

   Fine, let’s just say it’s a tool and you can substitute LabTech, NAble, LPI, GFI, etc, as your platform of choice, that wasn’t my point. My point is that the value proposition for any RMM tool (again Kaseya, LabTech, fill in the blank, etc) is that it makes the person delivering services more efficient. You still have to know how to use the tool. At the end of the day if your client is looking to bring the service in house they’re going to do it and it doesn’t matter if they can buy the platform you’re using directly or not. There are 100’s of options, including established corporate management suites like Alteris, LanDesk, SMS, Tivoli, etc.

   Do you honestly believe that if your client couldn’t buy a particular product they’d keep your service. Their mentality would be, “oh crap, I can’t buy Kaseya, LabTech, etc. and there’s no other option so let me stick with outsourcing my IT.”
9. 

   kcarlson
   July 15th, 2010 - 02:58

   Thats the idea LOL… Dont try to promote that Kaseya is doing a good thing here.. anyone that is not 100% channel does not belong in the channel. End of story.
10. 

    Alex
    July 15th, 2010 - 11:10

    Ok Kevin, if you don’t want to have a meaningful discussion that’s up to you, it’s your site. But you are wrong on this issue and it’s your personnel vendetta, not Kaseya’s strategy that is the real issue here.
11. 

    Mike
    July 16th, 2010 - 11:49

    I am a former Kaseya customer who switched to LabTech. We manage about 3k endpoints. It wasn’t only the horrible support and extremely high costs that made me switch. They also were lacking alot of features that I kept getting told were coming, always on the roadmap. Now they “finally” release K2 and it is a complete bomb. Not only do they want to charge alot more money for it but for all the new modules they built into it as well. Oh and by the way, alot of the features are still missing!! It is clear that K2 was designed in large part to support Kaseya’s focus on the end user market (or why the release of a Help Desk to compete against the HPs of the world). Now they release a new product clearly aimed at the very small end users – sorry I dont want to compete against my RMM vendor who should be giving me the competetive edge !!!!!!!!! Does Kaseya think we are all really that stupid or uninformed?? We know about their managements past and their focus on becoming a giant in the enterprise space. I am extremely comforted by the fact that LabTech is from my space and developed it in a way consistent with what I need as a MSP. I am part of a small group of about 7 MSPS – all are in the process of switching to LabTech for this very reason.

    Yes, many of us have had to compete against Kaseya – even for 25 desktop opportunities!

    Open feedback to Kaseya – we don’t want to compete against you if you want to be our vendor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    And improve your product – while LabTech may not be perfect, neither are you! And LabTech as well as the other new RMMs have closed the gap and passed you in alot of areaa.
12. 

    kcarlson
    July 16th, 2010 - 13:59

    Thanks Mike for your comments… Could have not said this better ” I dont want to compete against my RMM vendor who should be giving me the competetive edge !”
    But of course Kaseya’s arrogant, non caring response will be: But if you do good work your customer shouldn’t switch to us… (what a bunch of horse ….)

    Oh yes and Alex, you want to have a meaningful discussion? Go for it… we are all eyes. I am sure however Alex you will not say something we have already not been told by Kaseya. Your simply playing with the wrong crowd here, MSP’s are not dumb, and when Kaseya misplaces trust not once but several times.. the egg is on your face. Why dont you tell us how Kaseya’s going direct will help us MSP’s out?
13. 

    Peter Marsack
    July 16th, 2010 - 20:08

    Kevin,
    i am certainly not kaseya’s biggest fan, but doesnt labtech offer the same thing here that you are referring to that Kaseya is doing:

    http://www.labtechsoft.com/why-labtech/for-small-and-large-it-providers.html

    I agree with what you state about the channel, but fundamentally what Alex is saying is correct and supercedes the tools and technology and channels – things your clients dont care about. If you take care of your clients then it doesnt really matter. When you create that partnership, its about their business, not about the tools i use to support them.

    Now the relationship you or I have with Kaseya is a whole different story and one that can be evaluated if they want to go after our clients, but that is between me and kaseya them.

    Bottom line is I sell these solutions all day long. when done properly, i could be managing a client’s network with a toiletbrush and a tackhammer and they couldnt give two sh*ts as long as everything is running perfectly!
14. 

    Peter Marsack
    July 16th, 2010 - 20:12

    ah… ok i just saw your other post “One month into labtech”.

    now i understand the frustration and why you posted this here and on FB. you made the change and now you are voicing your opinion on why you made the change.

    this post now make more sense to me. I would say at least be fair about both products if you are going to do comparisons and review. I personally dont care about the positive or negatives of each but i see agenda in this post now that i know you are now a labtech customer.

    congrats though and i hope the conversion goes well and you are happy with the purchase. let us know how the rest turns out.
15. 

    kcarlson
    July 16th, 2010 - 22:26

    Thanks Peter for the feedback, by the way love your website very informative, and clean!!

    I would say I have made alot of fair comparisons (reading last post I even go into the negitive side of Labtech) I like to think I am fair in the pros/cons.
    People should care about the pro/cons as it effects the way you can do business.. and the only REAL adjenda here. Gosh you know how much time I spent making the stuff I did in Kaseya to see their software go down the tubes! Its sad really and I hoped I never had to change like I did. Personally I would love to read some REAL blog about all the pros and cons to each product.. I think I even have earlier blogs about the other systems…

    Kaseya and Labtech in (my opinion) are the only 2 REAL RMM’s out there. More of what I do revolve around scripts (which is why I had used Kaseya for so long, and spent time building scripts for it) Now Labtech I can do so much more I spent YEARS (yes YEARS, got lots of people on my side here) pleading and fighting with Kaseya to build into the system for your benifit and mine! Only to be shot down because it didnt make them any money.

    It saddens me to see them going after the direct market we are in.. This company should not be allowed to even associate with the Channel any longer… isnt being at Channel events contradictory to this last PR?
16. 

    kcarlson
    August 3rd, 2010 - 15:11

    Well its evident that there are allot of close minded people out there.. Drink the cool aid, and get drunk. I still encourage good competition and a close look at the tools at hand. Kaseya says alot of things, but one thing I know for sure… is that they have a faulty channel system. Moving on.
17. 

    Alex
    August 7th, 2010 - 01:07

    I agree Kevin, it’s time to move on. I also can’t stand it when everyone else is close minded except me.

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