Out in Las Vegas this week, Kaseya held their ConnectIT event, and one product announcement did catch my eye. It’s an AI Powered Recommendation Engine called Cooper that is being added to the company’s solutions. It is designed to call attention to product functionality that users are paying for but not benefitting from.
The goal — a 10 to 15 percent increase in technician efficiency by pointing out the most powerful aspects of the Kaseya kit that customers have but aren’t using.
The product is scheduled to reach the market in November.
Also notable for those tracking – Kaseya closed their acquisition of Datto. I’ve included a link to ChannelE2E’s coverage, and I want to note one item. Datto Senior VP of Business Development Rob Rae was quoted in the press release, which is generally a sign he’s sticking around. Also sticking around is CISO Ryan Weeks.
Why do we care?
The Cooper name for the product is the CEO’s dog, so you know. I’m not really sure how I feel about that.
Two reasons to care here. First, among all the announcements, this AI one is the only one I think matters. I want to see this both released and supported before I get too excited. I’ll cite LogicNow’s LogicCards as the same idea announced in 2015 that now N-Able has long abandoned as the reason why. That said, building actual intelligence into the leveraged systems will unlock some real power…. Because it will also make service delivery just a bit more commoditized. Don’t get me wrong, I both am excited about the possibility and believe it’s the direction the market is demanding. Just know that if the system tells you what to do, it moves more towards commodity.
The second reason to care – Kaseya’s leadership is writing checks to keep high-profile staff. At a very minimum, acknowledge they see value in those positions. The cynical answer would be writing a check to keep any mass exodus. An optimistic explanation is that it’s an actual investment in their missions. I’m assured of being right on the first, and only time will tell on the second.
