Aharon Chernin understands that IT services providers often seek the same technology tools as large enterprises to run their businesses.
In fact, the founder and CEO of robotic process automation (RPA) platform Rewst said the creators of such tools often first establish themselves with these enterprise customers and then eventually try to go to market to MSPs simply by changing their prices. But it’s not that simple.
“An MSP’s needs are dramatically different than an enterprise,” Chernin emphasized. “Enterprises, for example, aren’t managing hundreds of customers. Enterprises aren’t on month-to-month contracts. Enterprise products use a different tech stack than an MSP uses.”
This distinction is where companies like Rewst come in with a focus on the unique challenges MSPs face. Rewst earlier this month announced a $31 million Series B funding round led by Meritech Capital, joining existing investors OpenView, TDF Ventures, and Florida Funders. Rewst expects to use the money to boost the value it offers to MSPs by growing its product, education, and robotic operations center (ROC) teams.
The company’s purpose-built platform is designed for seamless integration and multitenancy, enabling IT services providers to manage numerous clients efficiently. This approach represents a significant departure from generic RPA tools, instead offering tailored, effective solutions for MSPs, Chernin said.
Evolving the ROC: A Core Pillar of Support
Aharon Chernin
The ROC is a cornerstone of Rewst’s offering, providing invaluable support to MSPs. The ROC team can help each service provider in constructing, maintaining, and fixing bugs in the automations.
The team is unique in that “100% of our ROC engineers worked at an MSP at some point, so you’re not talking to an industry outsider who doesn’t understand your business,” Chernin said. This experience equips them to offer practical, relevant advice, ensuring MSPs receive guidance from professionals who understand their unique challenges.
If, for example, a service provider is building its first automation and gets stuck, the team involved can enter a private Discord channel with the Rewst ROC, ask a specific technical question and get just as specific a response from the ROC that will help the company move forward with the automation, Chernin said.
With the recent funding, Rewst announced plans to double the ROC team from its existing 15 members. This expansion is not just about numbers; it’s a commitment to directly enhance MSP support, Chernin explained. “You’ll get more in the marketplace that you can install, and you’ll get faster response times in your Discord channels.”
Fostering Innovation Through Collaboration
Cultivating a community-driven innovation environment also is a key strategy for Rewst, where MSPs play a pivotal role in shaping the platform’s evolution.
Chernin said he passionately believes in this collaborative approach through shared knowledge and support, and takes inspiration from the channel itself. “The MSP market is so cool. In reality, they’re all competing with each other, but they’re all friends and they’re all lifting each other up into success.”
A prime example of this interaction can be seen in the private Discord channels, where MSPs can ask technical questions and receive prompt, expert advice not only from the ROC team but also experienced peers, Chernin said. Rewst has roughly 1,100 people across several topic channels in its Discord, where people are helping each other build automations and work through automation problems together, he said.
“If an MSP asks a technical automation question, they may get a response from another MSP in the community before our ROC even is able to jump in.”
Expanding Horizons: Rewst’s Forward-Looking Strategy
Following the Series B funding, Rewst plans to significantly enhance its platform. A key focus will be on developing more integrations and simplifying the process of building automations, making the platform even more user-friendly for MSPs.
Additionally, efforts will be directed towards a platform extension Rewst announced in November: the App Platform, a low-code application builder for designing apps that enable end users to interact with Rewst-generated workflows, forms, and data. App Platform drives additional efficiency, consistency, and visibility gains, thereby helping MSPs differentiate themselves through engaging front-end experiences.
A way it could work is customers can build an automation to list all PSA tickets, and the same automation could be used to list all tickets as the back-end processing. Then, App Platform would allow you to display all tickets in your web browser and browse through them in a paginated fashion, Chernin said.
Much of this is driven by customers, he added.
“Rewst is an automation platform that you can build anything on, and folks tend to use it in ways that are different than we had ever imagined. When MSPs started using it in an app-like fashion, we thought we should probably productize it. We’re striving to make MSPs happy.”
Embracing the Future with Automation
Since its founding in 2020, Rewst has grown to boast a total of 700 customers – and growing – and $59 million in funding secured.
So much of that growth has come in the last 18 months, and Chernin credited it to the transformative impact of automation in the MSP landscape. “As far as running software businesses, I don’t think I’ll ever go into any market other than MSP.”
The future appears bright for Rewst as well, since the company’s platform offers companies what they’re looking for: A way to move from away from a reactive stance, Chernin said.
“Everyone is maxed out, and it’s hard to prioritize proactive work because you’re reacting all day long. But nearly all of our customers have gone through the internalization that they’re going to have to invest a little effort to save a ton of effort later on.
“Automation takes time, but not automating takes more time.”
Image: iStock
