Zen Software
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersRochdale, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
Zen Software firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Zen Software
- Legal name
- Zen Software Limited
- Website
- https://zensoftware.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Zen Software industry classification
Industry- Product category
- IT Software Distribution
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (51321), Other Computer Related Services (541519)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Retail-Computer & Computer Software Stores (5734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Software License Resale & Optimization (Perpetual/Subscription) (BPAEAOAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- IT Procurement & Sourcing Services (Hardware/Software) (BPAEAOAG), Software/Application Support (SaaS, Enterprise Apps) (BPAAACAC)
Keywords
Where Zen Software is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rochdale
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Zen Software business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Software Distribution: Distribution of third-party software products (MDaemon, MailStore, BackupAssist, SecurityGateway, usecure) to IT resellers and MSPs with associated support and upgrade cover services
- License Sales: One-time and recurring license sales with upgrade cover and support packages
- Acquisition by Brigantia Partners: Zen Software was acquired by Brigantia Partners Limited (trading as Brigantia by Elovade), part of the Elovade Group, expanding Brigantia's capabilities in cybersecurity, data and email distribution
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | 30-day free trial available for all products |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual and multi-year licensing options |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Perpetual license options with optional upgrade cover |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Zen Software product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Zen Software is a specialist UK software distributor that licenses and supports third-party email, backup, archiving, and security products — including MDaemon (email server), MailStore (email archiving), BackupAssist (Windows backup), SecurityGateway (email filtering), and usecure (security awareness training) — to IT resellers and managed service providers who serve small and medium business customers. The company manages the full channel workflow, including automated online license ordering, license management tooling, and UK-based technical support for partners and their end customers.
Product overview
Zen Software is a specialist distributor of software for IT resellers and MSPs, offering a portfolio of complementary products for email, backup, and security. The core product lineup includes MDaemon as the email server platform (available as on-premises, cloud-hosted, and private cloud variants), MailStore for email archiving (offered as on-premises MailStore Server, multi-tenant Service Provider Edition, and fully hosted MailStore Cloud), BackupAssist for Windows backup and recovery (with MSP billing module and MultiSite Manager for centralized management), SecurityGateway for email filtering and security, and usecure for security awareness training. The products serve the SMB market through IT resellers and MSPs, with Zen Software providing distribution, technical support, and channel enablement across the UK.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- MDaemon Email Server A trusted, feature-packed email server for Windows providing email hosting, ActiveSync for mobile devices, webmail, spam filtering, antivirus integration (ClamAV, SpamAssassin), WebAuthn, and an AI assistant in Remote Administration; sold to IT resellers and MSPs for SMB customers.
- MailStore Server Email archiving software for SMBs providing efficient, secure, and compliant archiving of organisational email across Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft 365, MDaemon, Kerio, and IMAP systems; supports OAuth authentication and AD FS OpenID Connect.
- MailStore Service Provider Edition (SPE) Multi-tenant email archiving platform that enables MSPs to offer hosted archiving-as-a-service to customers using Microsoft 365, Gmail, IMAP, and other providers.
- MailStore Cloud Fully cloud-hosted email archiving solution available to small and mid-sized organisations via registered MailStore MSPs and resellers.
- BackupAssist Classic Flexible, powerful and easy-to-use Windows backup software providing system protection, file backup, cloud backup, and disaster recovery for servers and workstations; supports cloud destinations such as Amazon S3, Wasabi, iDrive E2, and Impossible Cloud.
- SecurityGateway Comprehensive email filtering and security solution for Windows that protects email systems from spam, viruses, and other threats.
- usecure Employee cybersecurity awareness platform offering user-tailored training and simulated phishing campaigns to raise employee cyber security awareness.
- Priority Technical Support (Zen Software Channel Support) UK-based priority telephone and email support for Zen's distributed software products (MDaemon, MailStore, BackupAssist, SecurityGateway, usecure), providing direct access to knowledgeable staff with no hold queues.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 2,000 IT resellers and MSPs served across the UK
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Zen Software
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Zen Software technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration19 records
AI capability2 records
Feature3 records
Zen Software partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Brigantia Partners Limited (Brigantia by Elovade)coreBrigantia Partners Limited, trading as Brigantia by Elovade, acquired Zen Software in March 2026. This acquisition expands Brigantia's capabilities in cybersecurity, data and email distribution. Zen Software will trade as Zen Software by Elovade and Brigantia gains Zen's infrastructure, vendor relationships, and partner network of 2,000+ IT resellers and MSPs across the UK.
- Elovade GroupcoreElovade Group is the parent company of Brigantia. Since Brigantia joined the Elovade Group in 2025, Brigantia has been evolving its capabilities including expanding the Product Specialist team to include Category Specialists. Zen Software's portfolio made it a natural fit for Brigantia's evolving model.
- MDaemon (Alt-N Technologies)coreZen Software distributes MDaemon email server products including MDaemon Server, Cloud Hosted MDaemon, and MDaemon for MSPs (Private Cloud). MDaemon is a private, secure business mail server developed by Alt-N Technologies.
- MailStore (deepInvent)coreZen Software distributes MailStore products including MailStore Server, Service Provider Edition (SPE), and EL mailarchive. MailStore is a German email archiving solution trusted by 80,000 customers worldwide supporting Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft 365, MDaemon, and other email systems.
- BackupAssist (Cortex IT)coreZen Software distributes BackupAssist backup software including BackupAssist Classic and BackupAssist for MSPs. Developed by Australian company Cortex IT, BackupAssist is flexible, powerful and easy-to-use backup software for Windows servers.
- SecurityGatewayminorZen Software distributes SecurityGateway email filtering solution for Windows, providing comprehensive email protection.
- usecureminorZen Software distributes usecure, an employee cyber security awareness platform offering user-tailored training and simulated phishing campaigns.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Zen Software competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Pax8: Global cloud commerce platform for MSPs, aggregating SaaS, security, and infrastructure software via subscription. Competes for the same MSP-software procurement motion as Zen, but emphasizes cloud-native catalogs versus perpetual licenses.
- Exertis UK: The UK arm of Exertis (DCC Technology), a broad IT distributor across hardware, software, mobile, and AV. Larger incumbent with overlapping SMB/IT channel software distribution but a much wider product portfolio.
- Sherweb: Canadian cloud software distributor focused on MSPs selling Microsoft 365, security, and backup SaaS. Comparable buyer motion (MSPs purchasing for end-customers), though cloud-first rather than license-first like Zen.
- ALSO Group: Pan-European IT distribution and logistics group serving resellers and MSPs with software, cloud, and hardware. Comparable to Zen as a software license and cloud services distributor through the channel, though operating at continental scale.
- Ingram Micro: Global IT distribution giant covering software, cloud, and hardware through resellers and MSPs. Overlaps Zen in software license resale and cloud marketplace services but at vastly larger scale and global reach.
- SoftwareOne: Global software and cloud licensing specialist serving enterprises and channel partners across Microsoft, AWS, and security vendors. Comparable as a license resale/optimization player, though focused on enterprise rather than SMB resellers.
Direct peers
- Trust Distribution: UK value-added IT distributor specializing in SMB/reseller markets across networking, security, and infrastructure. Directly comparable to Zen in serving UK IT resellers with technical support and licensing.
- CMS Distribution: UK and Ireland IT software distributor serving the reseller and MSP channel. Closest analogue to Zen: distributes third-party security, backup, and infrastructure software to resellers with channel-enablement and licensing support — directly competing for the same UK MSP wallet.
- Westcoast: UK’s largest independent IT distributor, operating across software, cloud, and unified communications for resellers, MSPs, and retailers. Overlaps Zen in software licensing distribution for SMB-focused UK partners.
Others
- Brigantia Partners Limited: UK cybersecurity, data, and email VAD that acquired Zen Software in March 2026. Sister entity under Elovade Group sharing cybersecurity distribution for UK partners — relevant as adjacent channel-distribution peer, not a direct competitor post-acquisition.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Zen Software social profiles
Digital presenceZen Software financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Zen Software leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Zen Software funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Zen Software M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Zen Software
What does Zen Software do?
Zen Software is a specialist UK software distributor that licenses and supports third-party email, backup, archiving, and security products — including MDaemon (email server), MailStore (email archiving), BackupAssist (Windows backup), SecurityGateway (email filtering), and usecure (security awareness training) — to IT resellers and managed service providers who serve small and medium business customers. The company manages the full channel workflow, including automated online license ordering, license management tooling, and UK-based technical support for partners and their end customers.
Is Zen Software a public or private company?
Zen Software is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Zen Software founded?
Zen Software was founded in 1996. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Zen Software based?
Zen Software is headquartered in Rochdale, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Zen Software make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Software Distribution is the primary driver. The others are license Sales and acquisition by Brigantia Partners.
Who are Zen Software's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Pax8, Exertis UK, Sherweb, ALSO Group, Ingram Micro and SoftwareOne. Direct peers are Trust Distribution, CMS Distribution and Westcoast. Brigantia Partners Limited is listed as an others.
Does Zen Software have an API?
Yes. MDaemon XML API for account management, automation, and system integration, accessible through Remote Administration. The MailStore API exposes licence information including remaining upgrade cover days and unused user licences for remote monitoring platforms. Developer documentation is at github.com/mdaemon-technologies/intranet-integration.
What industry is Zen Software in?
Zen Software's product category is IT Software Distribution. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAOAC, Software License Resale & Optimization (Perpetual/Subscription), with a secondary code of BPAEAOAG, IT Procurement & Sourcing Services (Hardware/Software). Its NAICS code is 51321 and its SIC code is 7372.