Successful Go-to-Market Strategy for Cirrus Leads to Acquisition by Veeam Software Within 18 Months
Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) need to take products to market in extremely competitive and high-performing environments. To reach, attract and retain new clients, an organization’s digital go-to-market, especially their website, needs to be informative, compelling and outperform with design and functionality.
When CT4 needed a Go-to-Market strategy that included a unique and differentiated value proposition for its new SaaS product and subsidiary Cirrus, they turned to Filament.
In this case study, we will show how Filament collaborated with CT4 to develop an effective Go-to-Market launch for Cirrus and deploy engaging digital experiences that set the company up for rapid growth, culminating in the company’s acquisition by Veeam Software within 18 months.
About Cirrus (Veeam Data Cloud)
Cirrus Backup is a data protection SaaS product that delivers backup and ransomware recovery for Microsoft 365 data and Azure-hosted environments.
Developed by CT4, and powered by Veeam Software, Cirrus is a ground-breaking Backup as a Service (BaaS) software platform that enables MSPs and end users to get protected fast and recover quickly, all managed from a simple-to-use interface.
Cirrus Backup was acquired by Veeam Software in 2023 and is now called Veeam Data Cloud.
This acquisition represents Veeam’s entry into the As-a-Service market with cloud native backup and storage services.
Industry: Data Protection Market
Company Type: SaaS
Primary Offering: Backup for Microsoft 365, Backup for Microsoft Azure
Target Market: MSPs and end users globally
Vendor Channels: Veeam, Microsoft
Filament Services Engaged:
- Go-to-Market Strategy
- Web Design & Development
- SEO Services
- HubSpot Services
- Partner Marketing
The Challenge: Take a World-First SaaS Product to Market That Results in a Liquidity Event
CT4’s vision for Cirrus Backup was to make safe-guarding Microsoft 365 data simple and cost-effective.
While backup solutions for Microsoft 365 data existed in market, no other solution offered the level of simplicity, deployment efficiency and cost-effectiveness that Cirrus aspired to.
The Cirrus solution truly was a world-first in advancing what was possible for data protection when it comes to Microsoft 365 data.
The challenge the founding team faced was how to articulate this compelling value proposition, how to reflect this in the development, UX and UI of the SaaS product, launch the product to market and generate demand that can be captured.
The Engagement: How CT4 and Cirrus approached us
CT4’s leadership team had recently closed a capital raise funding round and was meeting with and doing due diligence on digital agencies in Australia to support their Cirrus Go-to-Market strategy. Veeam’s VP of Sales, Cloud Service Providers APJ referred them to Veeam’s trusted partner agency Filament, having experienced working with us and relied on over many years to support Veeam Partners and Resellers to take data protection products and services to market, effectively and efficiently.
After an initial conversation with CT4’s founder, and a series of discussions with the leadership team showed there was cultural alignment between the teams, a shared no-nonsense approach to marketing strategy and a willingness to move at the pace needed to ensure the success of the Go-to-Market.
Recognizing our significant history of taking B2B tech products and services to market and extensive experience with Veeam and Microsoft, CT4 appointed Filament to launch Cirrus by delivering a Go-to-Market strategy.
The Solution: A unique and engaging value proposition empowering a GTM with cut-through
As a unique solution that sought to sell directly to end users rather than through traditional IT specialists, Filament first needed to develop a value proposition that communicated the benefits of data protection to a non-traditional audience and then to consistently execute that messaging through all aspects of the go-to-market.
Through a series of workshops following Filament’s proven methodology, the CT4 and Filament teams jointly created a compelling value proposition. Filament then further expanded that into a key messaging document that guided campaign communications and tone of voice.
This key messaging was centred on data protection made simple for non-IT professionals, with all the functionality to put them in control of their 365 data protection. The Cirrus platform was articulated as an online Microsoft 365 backup tool that will have them up and running and backing up 365 data, affordably and within a few minutes.
Partnering with Veeam’s Channel Marketing team, the Cirrus SaaS solution was positioned as being powered by Veeam, the global leader in backup according to Gartner.
Finally, Filament led the execution of the campaign through the development of a brand-new website, launch communications, email nurture campaigns and extensive input into the Cirrus platform development. This input included early adoption of the product, user experience (UX) testing and involvement in the user interface (UI) design.
The Benefit: A clearly-differentiated value proposition reflected in a compelling website
Based on the go-to-market plan developed and executed by Filament, Cirrus was able to launch with a clearly defined and executed value proposition.
The consistent execution of key messaging ensured that Cirrus quickly established a unique and well-defined position in the market. Beyond the launch, this also enabled execution across channels and marketplaces that built on the early success and super-charged customer acquisition.
A project for designing and developing the website that reflected this value proposition was initiated with an understanding of the diverse audience segments and Ideal Client Profiles (ICPs) it aimed to attract and convert.
These included Managed Service Providers (MSPs) offering comprehensive Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) management, those providing a self-managed option for their clients, as well as direct end-user prospects and clients that wanted to engage Cirrus directly.
Working closely with the CT4 team, we crafted a strong and persuasive value proposition, identifying the reasons visitors come to the site, their origins, and their challenges.
This led to the creation of a strategic plan for the website, including an initial wireframe layout of the pages to guide our approach towards the most impactful website content.
Catering to global audiences with different pricing structures based on their region, we developed a website that enabled region-based pricing pages based on IP location of the website user.
Implementing marketing automation with HubSpot with ongoing support
We developed a comprehensive marketing strategic plan, annual budget and marketing resourcing roadmap to establish a strong foundation for the business.
A critical step of the GTM involved conducting a comprehensive due diligence process to pinpoint the most suitable CRM and marketing automation tools for the business. Our team’s expertise was instrumental in evaluating various solutions, ultimately selecting HubSpot for its robust capabilities in CRM, blog and email publishing, as well as content management and marketing automation workflows.
Following the selection of HubSpot, our support extended to the seamless setup and integration of the platform, and integration with Salesforce. We designed and implemented CRM strategies and developed efficient marketing automation workflows. This hands-on assistance facilitated a smooth transition to HubSpot, enabling the company to leverage its comprehensive features to streamline operations, enhance customer engagement, and automate marketing efforts.
Our HubSpot support services were then engaged to ensure continual optimization of the platform and its usage to maximize the benefits from the investment.
The Result: Hyper-Growth Results in Liquidity Event; Acquisition by Veeam
The result was a Go-to-Market strategy whose execution ultimately led to the liquidity event and acquisition by Veeam.
The GTM included a high-performing website that captured the strategic intent, clearly articulating a compelling value proposition and user journeys were in place to facilitate how Cirrus was attracting, nurturing and converting new clients.
The project was seamlessly executed, adhering to timelines and budgets.
This mission lives on in the Veeam Data Cloud. Danny Allan, Veeam CTO at the time of acquisition, said “450,000 customers trust Veeam to protect their business and keep it running, which has led us to become the #1 global provider of data protection and ransomware recovery. We’re now giving customers those trusted capabilities – for Microsoft 365 and for Microsoft Azure – delivered as a service. Through this new BaaS offering, customers have increased flexibility in how they wish to use Veeam to protect their business, whether in the cloud, on-premises or in a hybrid model.”
This acquisition represents a significant result for the founders and shareholders of CT4 and an outstanding validation of the Go-to-Market strategy deployed by Filament.
