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Datto Enhances Unified Datto/Autotask Partner Program

Datto, Inc. a leading provider of total data protection solutions, has completed the unification of the Datto and Autotask partner programs. The two companies merged in 2017. The company also announced a number of enhancements to the shared program.

Samantha Ciaccia, Partner Marketing Manager,Datto

In a blog posted earlier this year, Samantha Ciaccia, partner marketing manager, reported that Datto’s Global Select Vendor Program, a resource center of recommended complementary vendors, specifically identified to improve MSP business operations and productivity in a variety of areas, was expanded to include 14 complementary vendors with a global reach.

Datto’s MarketNow program, which was launched in June 2017 to support all of Datto’s global partners with a sales enablement and marketing automation platform, has been enhanced with new content and campaigns. The company has expanded its MDF program to offer more support for partners seeking to acquire new clients and expand end-user awareness. In addition, Datto has expanded a referral program that rewards partners for successfully introducing the company to a new MSP partner.

Legacy Programs Unified

“The biggest piece of this announcement is the unification of our legacy partner programs,” Ciaccia told CMR. “When Datto and Autotask merged in 2017, we had two award-winning partner programs running in parallel, the legacy Datto Partner Program for all Datto partners and the legacy Autotask Partner Program for Autotask Workplace and Autotask Endpoint Backup partners. We migrated our Autotask partners into the Datto program, creating one universal, global partner program for all of our sell-through partners.”

The unification of the two programs required the transfer of Autotask resellers that weren’t already Datto partners into the Datto system. The benefit to the Autotask partners is that all of them “now have access to the Datto Partner Portal, our centralized management tool for all things Datto,” said Ciaccia. “This is where partners stay up to date on company news, product updates, and more. Through the portal, partners have access to MarketNow and the Community Forum, where partners can engage with each other and Datto employees.”

In addition, all partners now have access to the Datto Academy, where all training courses are offered free to partners. “It was very important to us that all Datto partners have access to the same resources and tools,” she added.

Datto’s Referral Program, which was rolled out in 2018, was expanded in response to the overall success of the initiative. Created to “thank” partners for referring other partners, the program offers a $1,000 reward for each successful referral. “We’ve seen a 700% ROI on this program because our partners are actively promoting Datto to other MSPs. We have an amazingly loyal partner base who constantly share the benefits of partnering with Datto. In 2019, we’ve expanded the program with a bigger budget and we’re expecting the volume of referrals to increase.”

Datto has boosted its MDF program to support its now larger partner ecosystem “because the ROI is there for our the partners,” said Ciaccia. With a dedicated team in place to oversee MDF investments and help execute events and activities, “we’re seeing our partners grow.”

Participation in local events continues to be one of the more common activities for which partners request MDF support. “In our experience, events yield the highest ROI,” said Ciaccia. Datto gets MDF requests for partners sponsorship of local chamber of commerce events, participation at trade shows for specific markets, or partner-hosted events such as lunch-and-learns. The company is eager to consider innovative concepts too, such as a Back-Up And Beer event where one partner paired data-storage messaging with a tour of a local brewery.

“We like getting creative,” said Ciaccia. More important, “We stick to what’s working, and that’s events.”

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