Skip to main content
An icon of a telephone receiver
Sign In
Cybersecurity Center Try For Free

Discover the ConnectWise Automate RMM platform advantage

Posted:
09/23/2019
| By:
Vernon Southmayd

This blog was originally published on 12/14/2018 and updated on 09/23/2019

ConnectWise Automate® will likely be the most versatile, flexible, and powerful RMM platform you will ever find—if you give it a chance.

Remote monitoring and management (RMM) is defined by Wikipedia as the process of supervising and controlling IT systems (such as network devices, desktops, servers and mobile devices) by means of locally installed agents that can be accessed by a management service provider.

This definition, at least to me, is a “catchall” for those software applications that fall into the category of advancing remote help desk capabilities. However, it doesn’t really capture the true level of automation and efficiencies that these tools are capable of supplying. There’s really no ceiling, and ConnectWise Automate understands this. ConnectWise Automate doesn’t use the above definition as a reason to slow down innovation either.

1: ConnectWise Automate (literally) defines what it means to automate more of your repetitive process!

When it comes to automating more of your technical process, ConnectWise Automate doesn’t settle for what competitors may be currently doing. We think to the future and what elements we need to implement today to rethink how you will be doing things tomorrow. Out-of-the-box with ConnectWise Automate, you receive over 900 monitors and 400 scripts that help to cover 98% of everything an MSP will ever need. But what about the other 2%?

Every business is different and for this reason, we have built an incredibly robust scripting engine that empowers you to automate anything and queue these scripts in multiple ways depending on how you need to automate. In addition, the various types of monitors that ConnectWise Automate allows you to setup essentially allow you to monitor for any result, either inside the proprietary ConnectWise Automate database or from a running command on an endpoint. From there, they can act based on those results. The only limitation here is your own imagination. If you can figure out what you want, ConnectWise Automate can do it for you.

2: Stealth remote management

Remotely and proactively monitoring an endpoint is great. However, being able to manage that endpoint without ever interrupting the end user is a big deal. While stealth IT is something a lot of top quality RMM platforms offer, ConnectWise Automate offers it a little differently.

Whether it’s features like Backstage that allow you to access the registry and run commands behind the scenes or the several hundred proactive monitors applied to your endpoints out-of-the-box, all parts of the solution come together to make it one of the most powerful platforms on the market. In addition to the non-scripting tasks available, ConnectWise Automate’s scripting engine allows you to:

  • Manage Active Directory users with the AD plug-in
  • Manage shares, including printers for computers and mapped drives for users
  • Manage printers directly for specific user sessions on a computer
  • Execute commands directly using the back end command shell
  • Manage files, computers, or user registries remotely with remote file transfer and registry editor

These features are key when trying to communicate to the customer why you’re better than “the other guys”. You provide more uptime with the ability to be proactive and not interrupt a user’s day to resolve issues.

3: Integrations

Although ConnectWise Automate redefines the meaning of RMM for us, the platform does not stop there. We pride ourselves on having the best integrations in our industry—and that starts with having the best integrations between our own products. From running a script in ConnectWise Automate by simply changing a ticket status in ConnectWise Manage to launching a ConnectWise Control remote control session from inside ConnectWise Automate, you won’t find seamless and effective integrations like these anywhere else.

We know that one size doesn’t fit all—the same technology stack won’t work for all companies. This is why ConnectWise Automate integrates with cutting-edge solutions varying from backup to a number of security products, so you can feel empowered to make your own choices about the tools you use to run your business.

With ready-built solutions either by third-party vendors or by ConnectWise, you can increase the power of ConnectWise Automate ten-fold. Let’s use Acronis for example. The ConnectWise Automate Plugin for Acronis is so valuable because it allows our partners to manage their Acronis Backup services in a true multi-tenant manner.

This process starts with the initial deployment of the backup agents to span each client. Once the backup agent is deployed, you can then apply backup plans which align with the type of backup service you would like to provide to your customers. For example, you can backup an image locally and then replicate this image to the cloud. When a new update of the agent is released, it can be easily updated from with ConnectWise Automate. Additionally, once the backup plans are operational, you can monitor specific backup activity on a per-client basis such as: the backup success or failure, incomplete backup, and many more monitors. Overall, the plugin greatly enhances the efficiency of MSPs providing backup services with Acronis Cyber Cloud.

Explore our third-party integrations >>

You can see that it isn’t just one feature that makes ConnectWise Automate stand out from the crowd—and we’ve only just scratched the surface of this platform. ConnectWise Automate is a large-scale solution with endless possibilities.

4: Community

With ConnectWise Automate, you don’t just get an award-winning software solution, but a community of like-minded individuals—The IT Nation. ConnectWise partners have the unique opportunity to join forces with IT peers, thought leaders, and industry experts to grow and learn together. The IT Nation hosts conferences, regional user group events, and peer groups focused on networking and collaboration.

At our upcoming fall event, IT Nation Connect, we’re offering a session with JNR Networks owner James Riley on Building a Culture of Process Development and Automation. This session is focused on shifting your MSP’s internal culture to one of process development, collaboration, empowerment, deeper customer engagement and, ultimately, increased profits—and this is just one of the hundreds of informational and interactive sessions dedicated to helping your MSP grow.

From networking to sharing ideas, the IT Nation is working to push the IT industry forward as a team—and you’ll get the full experience with ConnectWise Automate. We encourage you to discover with us what it really means to have an RMM with the ConnectWise Automate advantage.