Jeff Nulsen on product branding
From From Breach to Brand Trust: Jeff Nulsen on Rebuilding and Scaling with AI · · Margins and Mandates Podcast
“We branded our data protection product as Cove and deliberately chose a calming tone versus the typical FUD approach — we weren't trying to drive fear, we were trying to drive the belief that N-able and Cove are the places to go to get comfort.”
On , Jeff Nulsen, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer at N-ABLE INC, spoke about product branding during From Breach to Brand Trust: Jeff Nulsen on Rebuilding and Scaling with AI on Margins and Mandates Podcast.
About Jeff Nulsen
Jeff Nulsen, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at N-able, has discussed the company's growth and rebranding following its spinout from SolarWinds in 2021. He stated that the company grew from approximately $300 million to $500 million during that period. Nulsen noted that the spinout occurred after the December 2020 SolarWinds cyber attack, which he described as a nation-state breach of SolarWinds software, not of N-able's software, but which affected N-able by association. He said the company prioritized product and infrastructure security during the spinout. Nulsen described events as a key marketing pivot for rebuilding brand trust, and said the company branded its data protection product as Cove with a calming tone rather than using fear-based messaging. He also stated that N-able debated a point-solution versus platform strategy, advocating for acquiring point solutions and using the platform narrative for cross-selling. In 2025, Nulsen promoted N-able's Empower 2025 conference in Berlin, highlighting content tracks on automation, M&A, growth, sales, disaster recovery, and cyber defense, and said he would host a panel on future MSP industry trends. During a LinkedIn Live discussion on the 2025 MSP Horizons Report, Nulsen stated that 90% of MSPs are actively considering M&A as a growth strategy, and that 49% of surveyed MSPs expect more than 20% growth in managed services revenue. He said MSPs should avoid commoditization by focusing on best-of-breed technology stacks and differentiating through verticalization and specialization. Nulsen also noted that less than 10% of MSPs are selling AI as a service, though many use it internally, and that the percentage of MSPs moving into the co-managed space rose to 37% from 17% the previous year.