OpenText MSP Strategy with Mike DePalma (EP 836)
Mike DePalma reveals how OpenText is shaking up the MSP channel with flexible contracts, powerful cybersecurity bundles, and a focus on making life easier for partners. Learn why MSPs are flocking to OpenText for support, security, and a vendor that truly understands their business.
Uncle Marv sits down with Mike DePalma, Vice President of Business Development at OpenText, at IT Nation Secure in Orlando. Mike shares his unique journey from Datto and Kaseya to OpenText, highlighting the company’s recent acquisitions and their impact on the MSP channel. He explains how OpenText’s cybersecurity stack—including Webroot, Zix, Carbonite, and Pillar—offers MSPs a single pane of glass for security and Microsoft licensing.
Mike emphasizes OpenText’s commitment to flexible contracts, premium support, and the ability to offer free trials for every client. He discusses the importance of business efficiency and unique value propositions for MSPs, and how OpenText’s new EDR offering is changing the game. The conversation also covers the challenges of portal utilization, the benefits of vertical-specific bundles, and the evolving MSP landscape under private equity influence.
=== Companies, Products, and Books Mentioned
- OpenText – https://www.opentext.com/
- Datto – https://www.datto.com/
- Kaseya – https://www.kaseya.com/
- AppRiver – https://cybersecurity.opentext.com/legacy/appriver/
- Webroot – https://www.webroot.com/us/en
- Zix – zix.com
- Carbonite – carbonite.com
- ConnectWise – https://www.connectwise.com/
- Ninja – ninjarmm.com
- PAX8 – https://www.pax8.com/en-us/
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VP of Business Development
Michael DePalma is a seasoned channel leader and VP of Business Development at OpenText Cybersecurity, where he focuses on helping MSPs build profitable, security-first service offerings. With more than a decade in the MSP ecosystem, he previously held senior go-to-market and enablement roles at Kaseya and Datto, giving him deep firsthand experience with the challenges service providers face around security, Microsoft 365, and recurring revenue.
He’s known in the channel for a partner-first mindset: simplifying procurement, removing unnecessary contracts, and prioritizing enablement and education over hard selling. Whether he’s talking about SecureCloud, AI-driven security, or modern partner programs, Michael brings a practical, business-oriented perspective that resonates with MSPs trying to scale in a noisy vendor landscape.
