MSP platform player Inforcer looks for further European growth

The Inforcer platform targeting managed services providers (MSPs) and Microsoft partners to configure products and services from that vendor has indicated it is in expansion mode after securing a round of funding.

The firm raised $35m in a Series B funding round and is looking to use the investment to fuel growth with channel partners targeting small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers.

Led by Jamie Daum, Will Connor and Richard Thompson, Inforcer enables MSPs and Microsoft Partners to implement, configure and manage Microsoft products, including security, across their SME customer base. The platform also enables MSPs to deploy backup and restore, as well as manage Microsoft 365 policies across customers of all sizes.

The firm’s pitch states that it sits between Microsoft and MSPs and is able to help the partner community speed up adoption of AI and security among SME users. Funding has come not only because of the technology but because of the focus ultimately being on the SME market, which is seen as the growth engine for most major economies.

“The world is turning its head to Microsoft as the answer to AI and security adoption in enterprise. Inforcer is helping bring these enterprise-grade technologies to the SME,” said Jamie Daum, Inforcer co-founder and CEO.

“Leading MSPs are taking advantage of Microsoft’s best-of-breed security and AI solutions – technologies that many SMEs are already paying for in their existing licensing but, due to large set up and management overheads, are simply underutilised. We have a unique opportunity, through our MSP partners, to truly accelerate security and AI adoption across the SME landscape, helping drive better global economic and security outcomes.”

The business launched three years ago and has already built a network of MSPs across the US, EMEA and APAC. The firm has established offices in the UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Australia and the US.

Inforcer has been luring talent with strong MSP backgrounds, hiring Matthé Smit as chief product officer, who has a CV including time at Autotask, Datto and Kaseya; along with co-founder of Datto RMM, Christian Nagele, who joined as chief strategy officer.

Gary Melvin, security division lead at Irish channel player Nostra, said that there were advantages helping users manage their licensing and adding security into the mix.

“Introducing customers to Business Premium and providing them with the most valuable licensing is only the first step. The other is to make sure those licenses stay configured and up to date,” he said.

Evgenia Plotnikova, general partner at Dawn Capital, which led the latest funding round, will join Inforcer’s board. She said: “Inforcer is rapidly capturing an enormous opportunity space. It is not surprising that the customers are evangelical about the product – it is built by MSPs, for MSPs.

“Inforcer helps MSPs scale as businesses and differentiate through becoming specialised security providers – something no vendor has done before. Critically, Inforcer has the potential to help MSPs capitalise on a tectonic technology platform shift by becoming true strategic AI partners to their end customers – small businesses.”