Technology tools should make your life easier, alleviate your workload, and give you comfort in knowing what’s going on in your client’s environment.
Fortunately, RMM platforms can do that! Unfortunately, they are complex and hardly ever ready to use “out-of-the-box”. Your RMM system requires setup, configuration, and management… all of which takes time away from working servicing clients.
In today’s fast-paced and instant environment, no MSP should be using an improperly configured or poorly managed RMM. In this post, we’ll discuss why your RMM is one of the most underutilized tools in your arsenal and how to get the most of it.
Let’s just get this out of the way now… the most important reason for optimizing your RMM is ROI.
As your business expands, so do the costs. That's why it's absolutely essential to invest in implementing, configuring, and automating your RMM system to its fullest potential.
Many MSPs fall prey to the captivating sales pitches and dazzling demos offered by RMM software providers (you all know EXACTLY what we are taking about). These presentations are designed to enchant you, making it nearly impossible to resist reaching for your checkbook. However, it's important to remember that these incredible products aren't simply plug-and-play. In fact, they can demand hundreds of hours of your time to learn, tailor, and fine-tune in order to truly cater to your unique business requirements.
So buckle up, and get ready to make the most out of your investment!
Even though there is momentum, excitement and enthusiasm at first, inevitably, you and your team return their focus to the clients and day-to-day tasks. Over time, your brand new RMM tool is neglected and then one day you realize, I’ve spent so much money on a platform my team barely uses and I don’t trust. Even worse, your team only uses a tiny fraction of the platform tools or just uses it to connect remotely to endpoints.
It's common to hear from MSP’s that they don’t trust their monitoring or patching solutions. When asked if anyone is owning the management and day-to-day tasks, generally the answer is a big no. Plus, most recognize that they have not made any improvements or efficiency changes they had originally hoped for when purchasing the product.
That’s an easy one… automation, automation, automation!
Well, I should say that there is much more, but definitely automation. The other major issue we see is not using the platform from the '50,000 foot level'.
RMM platforms are powerful tools which can cause absolute chaos if you don’t setup your monitoring correctly. It’s easy to just say, let’s monitor this and that- using these thresholds, but if you don’t think about how this will work for all endpoints, you could inadvertently cause more hassle for your team.
This is why we always recommend and ensure we look from what we call the '50,000-foot level'. When developing monitors, thresholds and automation, you want to consider how these will impact not just one endpoint, but all the endpoints. So how do you do that? It’s actually much easier than you think… just align your RMM to follow your company standards.
Yes, it’s that simple!
For example, if your standard is to ensure all servers have a minimum of 5 GB of free space, set your drive space monitoring thresholds for 5 GB. If your patch compliance minimum is 95%, ensure your patching scheme can meet that threshold. We often overlook the obvious, what do we want and WHEN to alert. Focus on only actionable alerting, informational alert does nothing to improve your client’s technology environment, nor does it provide your team with anything useful.
One of the most exciting features of RMM platforms is their promise of automation. The idea that you don’t have to pay staff to fix common issues and the problems are fixed automatically… that’s gold for MSP owners! Sadly, however, automation is also the most complicated aspect of the RMM platform. The only way to truly take full advantage of platform is to spend countless hours building, testing and deploying automation.
That’s where MSP+OS can help! We always manage, consult and administer from a higher level, making sure these platforms work across the board. A highly technical person that knows what they’re doing with RMM is hard to find and doesn’t come cheap.
Properly configuring your RMM can not only make your life easier, it can open the door for more cross-selling and business opportunities. By using the data collected from RMM agents, you can easily identify opportunities to upgrade systems that are experiencing resource problems, warranty and age issues. This is another avenue of how RMM platforms can give you a true ROI – helping you to identify systems that need upgrading, replacing or even additions.
Don’t settle for a poorly setup and configured RMM! Don’t just let the cost eat away at your budget – take action today! Not only will your bottom line thank you, but your Clients and Employees will too!
The best part is, MSP+OS has years of experience, industry knowledge and experts ready to help you take your RMM platform to the next level. Contact us today!