After Series B funding, Nerdio focuses on Azure desktop virtualization value

Nerdio, a Microsoft partner specialized in virtual desktop technology announced $117 million in Series B funding from growth equity firm Updata Partners. In connection with the announcement, MSCloudNews spoke with Nerdio Chief Revenue Officer Joseph Landes about the company’s technology and go-to market strategy.

Entrepreneurs Vadim Vladimirskiy, Stuart Gabel, and Niall Keegan co-founded Chicago-based “streaming IT” startup Adar in 2005. Vladimirsky and Landes spun off Nerdio in early 2020. The company took on Series A funding of $8 million in February 2020.

The company now offers two products: Nerdio Manager for MSP and Nerdio Manager for Enterprise. Landes explained:

When we started our product originally, we started with the MSP product. Vadim Vladimirsky [productized parts of Adar technology] into Nerdio Manager for MSP. Lots of customers are interested in Azure Virtual Desktop. [As a result, the] second product was developed ground up for enterprises. Both products are serving different audiences with good uptake.

Uptake of virtual desktops broadened with the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the broader shift to remote and hybrid work already taking place before the events of 2020. Nerdio’s approach to the market involves productizing Azure technology with the intent of optimizing price to value for customers, delivering more efficiently on licenses. For instance, the company’s enterprise product is priced $3 per user per month, with auto-scaling capabilities. “[We are] saving customers up to 80 percent on compute, and storage customers are [covering the costs of their Microsoft license usage within a week of usage within a month]," says Landes. "We think that that is a good value proposition for customers.”