A new integrated tool stack launched during Kaseya Connect in April, not from Kaseya but from a brand-new competitor.
MSP founder Yaron Baitch announced IgnitHQ and its MSP operating platform, also known as IgnitHQ. The enterprise pilot went live on May 19.
Baitch said his IgnitHQ platform was designed as a unified data model with no middleware or bolt-on integrations. It can handle MSP ticketing, CRM, billings, contracts, compliance, human resources and other processes based on what he calls “a single source of truth.”
Baitch said he already has MSPs signed up as paying customers after they evaluated the product before its official launch, including Spring Lake Park, MN-based Sunset Technologies.
Baitch has spent more than 20 years in the MSP world. He owns and manages MSP Digital Practice Inc. (DPI) and co-founded AuthAir, which LogMeIn acquired in 2016. He said he developed the IgnitHQ platform himself after years of frustration over vendor tools spliced together through acquisitions and integrations.
“I wanted a single database, a single source of truth,” he said. “So I took it into my own hands and started to build it. I started with a single database and a single structure. Everything is unified. Then I took that and built native AI into it so it’s not a bolt-on. It’s a full suite. It's PSA, RMM, financial system, contracts, documentation, anything you can imagine within the platform.”
IgnitHQ has more than 30 native modules built on a single unified data model. Every module shares one database and one client record. No integration between modules is necessary, Baitch said.
A big piece of IgnitHQ is Duke, its native AI assistant. Duke operates against the unified data model, executing a single query against one data model. It performs functions such as proactive alerting, natural language operations and QBR automation. Technicians can ask questions such as "Show me all Windows 10 devices at healthcare clients with expiring HIPAA certifications this quarter" and Duke will answer.
Baitch said he went to Kaseya Connect in Las Vegas this month as an attendee but deemed it the right place to launch a platform in direct competition with Kaseya.
“We’re taking the momentum of a conference like Kaseya Connect and saying ‘Hey, we have something here that's publicly launching, it's available to the world come and see us,’” he said. “That's really our goal.”
Unified MSP Stack from the Start
Omdia principal analyst Jessica Davis said the bootstrapped newcomer may face more competition from smaller PSA/RMM vendors chasing the same set of MSPs than from the larger vendors.
“[IgnitHQ has] a similar architectural concept to what Kaseya is trying to move to -- a unified data layer as the single source of truth for PSA, RMM and financial data,” Davis said. “But IgnitHQ is building it that way from the start instead of acquiring a bunch of companies and then re-engineering the foundational layer.
“The proof will be in how many MSPs IgnitHQ can recruit. There are a number of smaller PSA/RMM vendors out there vying for the same accounts. Smaller PSA/RMM vendors are also hoping they can convert MSPs from the larger platforms like ConnectWise and Kaseya, and there's some disenchantment with those larger platforms and the slowness of innovation.”
IgnitHQ has three pricing models – Starter for up to 500 managed end points and 10 technicians, Professional with no limit on managed clients or technicians and Enterprise for MSP groups and rollups. Starter pricing is $499 per month and Professional is $999 per month. Enterprise pricing varies according to the size of the organization.
“They are going with flat-rate pricing right now that IgnitHQ says is designed to level the playing field for small MSPs,” Davis said. “And the ceiling on that pricing could be attractive to larger MSPs.”