Could GFI Acquisition Turn HoundDog Into The Big Dog?
Doug Wilson, former CEO of HoundDog, paused for a moment as he introduced himself as “from GFI MAX” during our call last week about the impending announcement that GFI Software was acquiring HoundDog, a managed services remote monitoring and management platform vendor. But Wilson, now GM of GFI MAX, the product formerly known as HoundDog, quickly switched gears, talking enthusiastically about the merger, which he feels benefits both of the vendors and their respective channels.
“I think this will be good news for our partners,” Wilson told me during our call. “We were a growing company – — doubling year-over-year actually – — and we were delivering good value, but we are still relatively small. Now, as part of a much larger organization that has strong ties to the channel, more resources, and strong complementary technologies, we can deliver more value.” The companies announced the acquisition to their channel partners via webinars on Monday, July 27, with additional outreach planned.
HoundDog, which was launched in 2003, will retain its full staff and headquarters in Dundee, Scotland. As for the HoundDog product, it will be rebranded as GFI MAX. According to Walter Scott, CEO of GFI, that offering will then be enhanced over the next few months through the integration of existing GFI products, such as GFI EventsManager, its log management product, and GFI LANguard, its network security scanner and vulnerability management software.
“The channel will see a couple things happen with this product,” says Scott. “We will continue to offer value at a lower price point [yes, they are dropping the price of the HoundDog product], we will continue along their company’s path of ease of business [HoundDog is offered on a monthly basis with no contract], but we will use our resources to distribute this product on a much greater scale.”
Top of mind for both vendors are their channel relationships. Scott stressed that GFI is dedicated to the channel model, and Wilson says maintaining its channel presence was a key concern for HoundDog. “We do not tie our customers into long-term contracts; instead we are literally month-to-month, so our customers stay because they want to. We take great pride in this and we want our channel relationship to remain that way,” says Wilson. “We feel that as GFI MAX reaches farther into North America, IT providers will like what we have to offer. And we do hope to shake up the space a bit. We are No. 1 in the United Kingdom, so we bring plenty of experience to the table, and now our reach is larger because of GFI.”
For existing GFI partners, the acquisition will help ease of entry into the services marketplace. “We are focusing on the idea that there is a better way to run your IT business than selling hours, so we want to heighten their awareness of the profit to be made with long-term contracts built around services, and GFI MAX offers a simple, low-cost way to enter that market,” says Scott. He adds that when talking with current HoundDog channel partners about the acquisition, the clear message he received was their satisfaction with the HoundDog product, and their desire to see more features integrated, which is exactly what will happen.
The acquisition of HoundDog, which has about 20 employees, will put GFI over the 250-employee mark. About half of its staff is housed at the corporate headquarters in Malta, where the company was launched. GFI Software offers network security, content security, and messaging software for SMBs through more than 10,000 partners worldwide.
“I think this will be good news for our partners,” Wilson told me during our call. “We were a growing company – — doubling year-over-year actually – — and we were delivering good value, but we are still relatively small. Now, as part of a much larger organization that has strong ties to the channel, more resources, and strong complementary technologies, we can deliver more value.” The companies announced the acquisition to their channel partners via webinars on Monday, July 27, with additional outreach planned.
HoundDog, which was launched in 2003, will retain its full staff and headquarters in Dundee, Scotland. As for the HoundDog product, it will be rebranded as GFI MAX. According to Walter Scott, CEO of GFI, that offering will then be enhanced over the next few months through the integration of existing GFI products, such as GFI EventsManager, its log management product, and GFI LANguard, its network security scanner and vulnerability management software.
“The channel will see a couple things happen with this product,” says Scott. “We will continue to offer value at a lower price point [yes, they are dropping the price of the HoundDog product], we will continue along their company’s path of ease of business [HoundDog is offered on a monthly basis with no contract], but we will use our resources to distribute this product on a much greater scale.”
Top of mind for both vendors are their channel relationships. Scott stressed that GFI is dedicated to the channel model, and Wilson says maintaining its channel presence was a key concern for HoundDog. “We do not tie our customers into long-term contracts; instead we are literally month-to-month, so our customers stay because they want to. We take great pride in this and we want our channel relationship to remain that way,” says Wilson. “We feel that as GFI MAX reaches farther into North America, IT providers will like what we have to offer. And we do hope to shake up the space a bit. We are No. 1 in the United Kingdom, so we bring plenty of experience to the table, and now our reach is larger because of GFI.”
For existing GFI partners, the acquisition will help ease of entry into the services marketplace. “We are focusing on the idea that there is a better way to run your IT business than selling hours, so we want to heighten their awareness of the profit to be made with long-term contracts built around services, and GFI MAX offers a simple, low-cost way to enter that market,” says Scott. He adds that when talking with current HoundDog channel partners about the acquisition, the clear message he received was their satisfaction with the HoundDog product, and their desire to see more features integrated, which is exactly what will happen.
The acquisition of HoundDog, which has about 20 employees, will put GFI over the 250-employee mark. About half of its staff is housed at the corporate headquarters in Malta, where the company was launched. GFI Software offers network security, content security, and messaging software for SMBs through more than 10,000 partners worldwide.
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