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RMM stands for “remote monitoring and management” a software category that’s essential for managed service providers (MSPs) and IT professionals. A good RMM saves you time, money, and streamlines your entire IT operation with an all-in-one solution.
What are the Advantages of a Good RMM?
An RMM will save your business money because it cuts down costly help desk calls. It will alert your IT support staff of potential crises so they can be fixed before they damage the business. When used in-house, the RMM monitoring software will avert system failure and reduce the number of IT support staff that you need – especially if you have a multi-site operation.
MSPs cannot operate efficiently without RMM technology. A great RMM will enable you to grow your business by offering a more reliable service at a lower price.
Real-time monitoring and alerts
Your users shouldn’t have to wait for something to break down before the support team spots a problem. An MSP supporting the infrastructure on a remote client site will know about potential problems so that they can fix them before they grind the client’s business to a halt.
This function consigns the panic-driven Break/Fix model to the trash can. Freeing up resources from retrospective fixes will save you money and win you more customers.
IT automation and scripting
Automation takes care of many routine maintenance tasks, freeing up IT support for more complex jobs.
Automated tasks should include:
- System Restore Points
- Temp Files Deletion
- Internet History Deletion
- Reboot
- Shutdown
- Defragment (all disks)
- Run Checkdisk (all disks)
- Run Scripts
The RMM console should display patch run statuses and log all actions, so your technicians can check on the current status of all software at any time.
Reporting and analytics
An RMM doesn’t just perform monitoring tasks, it should also include extensive reporting options that allow you to set data-driven goals for your IT support activities. Reports should be available to be run on-demand or through a scheduling system. A nice extra is the option to set reports to be delivered via email, so your technicians don’t need to worry about distributing information.
Standard reports should include:
- System health at a glance
- Specific customer health
- Agent health
- System inventory audit
- Microsoft licensing
- Software inventory
- Patch and automation feedback
Device Monitoring and Management
A typical RMM tool includes two elements: the management console and an “agent,” which is installed on the client device.
The agent gives the technician access to the monitored remote equipment and scans equipment for status changes and reports back to the central monitoring console. The proactive approach of RMM agents means that the MSP’s system administrator can spot service level problems before they become issues.
The access afforded by the remote agents enables the MSP to access the equipment on client sites to fix, reconfigure and/or install and update the client software. These software inventory and configuration tasks can be performed on individual devices, or implemented en masse. All of the RMM facilities means that a supporting IT technician never needs to visit the client’s site.
PSA and RMM
Managed service providers (MSPs) can operate from anywhere and service users remotely. However, this reach is only possible thanks to RMM remote monitoring software. While RMM gets you access to client endpoints and users, you also need a platform that will track the work of your support operators and ensure that you are keeping to service level agreements. These services are provided by a category of software called “professional services automation” (PSA).
So, MSPs need two types of software in order to successfully support their clients: PSA to manage tasks and RMM to facilitate communications. There is an overlap between the support offered by PSA and RMM because technicians will refer to the PSA to gain stored information about the client endpoint that needs to be accessed and the user that made a support call.