Seven RMM Tools or Features Every MSP and TSP Needs

Remote monitoring and management (RMM) software forms the backbone of many MSP tech stacks. That’s because RMM software is a crucial, foundational tool for how MSPs actually do the work of being an MSP and supporting customers—such as tracking help requests, patching machines, monitoring endpoints, maintaining inventory, and more.

So what should RMM tools do for MSPs? At their core, RMM tools should help MSPs save time and serve clients more efficiently and with higher customer satisfaction. In this post, we break down seven key RMM tools or features that every MSP needs for their business.

Automation

Technicians can spend a lot of time on routine tasks, but imagine if these tasks were automated, freeing up more time for other customer needs. RMM tools should allow for a certain degree of automation for an MSP. Repeatable actions, such as some aspects of desktop and server management, scheduled reports, password generation, and agentless remote management can be automated with scripts. It’s a win/win with customers—they never experience a break in service, and your technicians can spend their hours on more complex tasks.

Patching

Speaking of automation, there is one area where automation is crucial: Patching.

Technology is getting more complicated every day, and the number of vulnerabilities in software is only growing. Organizations need to keep their systems up-to-date and fully patched, and MSPs play a huge role in managing and maintaining patches. 

A good RMM tool makes patching simple and reliable, and can even automate the process. With an RMM tool like ConnectWise Automate, MSPs can configure settings for third-party software and deploy across clients’ endpoints, ensuring that they are secure and up-to-date. For more, check out our blog post on best practices on optimizing patch management—RMMs play a huge role in maintaining this core MSP service.

Endpoint Management

More and more people are working from home, which has made endpoint management a key concern for many businesses. Today, MSPs are tasked with tracking devices across many different networks, environments, and locations. From laptops to servers, RMM software must support this “new normal” and make endpoint management for remote workforces easy and automatic. This is especially true as businesses move towards virtualization and virtual environments. That’s why, for example, we built endpoint management software with over 100 out-of-the-box commands with our product ConnectWise Automate, and why we built commands for virtualization, too.

Proactive Monitoring

Customers hate experiencing tech issues or downtime, which is why so many MSPs have shifted from reactive fixes to proactive maintenance as a model. RMMs should support this proactive approach with excellent monitoring features, catching issues before they can actually become problems for your customers. 

Core areas for monitoring include:

• Desktop 
• Server
• Network
• Infrastructure

With proactive monitoring and responses, MSPs can stop being in constant firefighting mode. With an RMM tool that provides proactive monitoring, the fires are put out when they’re tiny embers—rather than raging fires.

Asset Discovery and Inventory

As any MSP knows, you can only manage what you can see—which is why IT asset discovery is such an important RMM tool for developing and maintaining an inventory. RMM tools should come with the ability to scan networks, discover any devices, and provide a record of all assets for monitoring, patching, and more. 

Asset discovery also goes hand in hand with deploying agents, if and when needed. RMM tools for asset discovery should also be able to manage virtual machines. With automatic asset discovery and agent deployment, MSPs will be poised to securely manage their customers’ IT needs.

Ticketing Integration

Too much time spent on ticketing eats into the customer service and speedy solutions that technicians can offer your MSP’s clients. The best RMM software enables efficient, integrated ticketing. 

For example, a good RMM tool will enable customers to create tickets for issues as they arise, and then automatically deliver those tickets to the correct technician. And tickets need to be created for any kind of customer issue, whether it comes in via email, phone, chat, or a formal reporting tool. As technicians work on their tickets, another must-have RMM feature is automation—the right tool will automatically issue reminders, escalations, and notify the team as time goes on. Take, for example, ConnectWise PSA™, which puts ticketing, response, and more on your technicians’ phones. Mobile access and alerts ensure they never miss a ticket. 

Business Support

RMM tools should help with the bread and butter business of MSPs—such as patching, installing agents, maintaining an asset inventory, and more—but they should also also make the art of running an MSP business easier, too. For example, RMM tools should integrate with the full business tech stack, allowing for easy ticketing, seamless time tracking and billing, generation of contracts and estimates and more. 

By integrating with other business-critical software, RMM tools can help MSPs save time and scale up their businesses.

RMM Tools: The Backbone of MSPs

As MSPs look to grow in 2021 and beyond, having good remote monitoring and management software will be an important part of scaling up. The right RMM tools and features can free up technician time, increase customer satisfaction, and make the daily tasks of running a business smoother. With automation, patching, endpoint management, asset discovery, and integrations with ticketing and other business management tools, RMMs can help MSPs run a great business.