Syncro recently announced its new Extended Monitoring and Management (XMM) solution at Kaseya Connect. Channel Insider spoke with Syncro CEO Michael George to learn more about why Syncro views this as a new category in the market and how he views shifting channel dynamics.
XMM combines traditional PSA/RMM with M365 cloud management
The new offering from Syncro combines PSA and RMM functionalities into a unified platform, also enabling MSPs to manage M365 cloud environments with a single solution. George says the platform creates a new category of solutions available to MSPs as demand for M365 and cloud-based capabilities across productivity and security continues to grow.
George says this solution addresses the demand in the channel for a new way to leverage traditional technology and meet new needs.
“Everybody knows what an RMM is, and everybody knows about PSAs, but now there is a growing demand for management around M365 cloud environments,” George said.
The XMM platform folds in various components of M365, including Entra ID, so MSPs can more effectively manage their clients’ endpoints. Syncro primarily supports partners servicing SMBs, who, George points out, overwhelmingly use Microsoft solutions throughout their tech stacks.
“MSPs will see this announcement and go ‘aha,’ I get this,” George said. “Partners know the problems that exist, and understand the problems they’ve had with management, and now they will see a solution.”
“Microsoft and Syncro share a deep commitment to the MSP community,” said Jose Gomez Cueto, general manager, Small and Medium Business (SMB) at Microsoft, in a press statement. “The Syncro XMM integration with Microsoft 365 will help MSPs serving SMBs to easily manage and secure customers with a unified, multi-tenant platform, and streamline their operations.”
How Syncro disrupts the legacy PSA market with a born-in-the-cloud approach
Syncro is a relative newcomer to a long-established market, with industry titans such as ConnectWise and Kaseya having historically dominated market share and influence in the channel.
For George, the competition is actually an opportunity to build an interoperable ecosystem that allows MSPs to utilize tools they prefer and provide features not previously available to them.
“We are going to be working in concert with these companies because MSPs are using some of these tools, and we don’t lock out partners who want to continue utilizing them,” George said. “And they’re going to have to interoperate with us, too.”
The fact that George views the market this way is perhaps unsurprising, given the XMM platform was announced at Kaseya’s biggest event of the year.
Automation beyond simple AI tooling: where George sees the channel going
Beyond Syncro’s own tooling and market positioning, George also keeps his eye on the broader market around him to better understand what MSPs need in the current tech landscape. For him, legacy companies are addressing partner profitability the wrong way.
“Companies are in a race to the bottom, but who ultimately cares? It’s just tooling costs, and any parnter knows the real costs impacting MSPs are in labor costs,” George said. “You make way more of a difference for an MSP’s bottom line by addressing operating expenses and making their teams more efficient.”
George sees this efficiency increase as a direct result of proper AI implementation throughout an MSP’s processes. Many providers are seeing success by leveraging new forms of generative and agentic AI to reduce the time their technicians spend on simplistic, manual tasks, freeing those individuals up for more strategic work or mitigating the impact that a challenging labor market has on a provider’s business.
George also highlighted the ways AI technology has enabled threat actors to increase and expand the attack landscape. To combat this, George said he always recommends leveraging AI to beat AI.
“If you don’t fight fire with fire, then you’re going to lose,” George said.
George says Syncro will continue to develop its XMM solution throughout the year, with additional features and tool integrations being added consistently.
In February, we spoke with Syncro’s new chairman of the board about where the company looked to succeed in the market. Revisit that conversation to see how Syncro is already taking action on that long-term strategy.