Remote Monitoring in the Cloud
Cloud-based remote monitoring and management enables more effective use of resources, facilitates profitable cross- and up-selling and builds strong customer relationships. Critically, it enables clear differentiation with vastly reduced investment in resources or staff training, hence delivering a rapid return, according to Phil Bousfield, vice-president of product engineering at GFI Software.
Value added resellers and member service providers are increasingly turning to remote monitoring and management (RMM) technologies in a bid to improve managed service delivery and achieve differentiation. Yet recent research reveals that traditional on-premise RMM solutions are proving too time consuming and expensive to implement, as well as incurring significant ongoing costs and thus fundamentally constraining both the quality of service delivery and return on investment.
However, just as cloud computing is transforming the cost of ownership of software applications, VARs and MSPs adopting cloud-based RMM achieve rapid implementation with fixed cost and minimal training requirements. Leveraging this model, resellers can immediately offer customers a range of highly flexible service offerings based on proactive maintenance and in depth reporting.
Cloud-based RMM enables more effective use of resources, facilitates profitable cross- and up-selling and builds strong customer relationships. Critically, it enables clear differentiation with vastly reduced investment in resources or staff training, hence delivering a rapid return.
Service desire
RMM technologies deliver proven benefits in greater system up-time, reducing the cost of support and enabling organisations to evolve beyond the traditional break/fix model to a far more proactive managed service. For VARs and MSPs the technology is compelling, offering the chance to deliver far more effective service to customers while also reducing overheads and improving productivity.
According to recent research conducted by GFI, MSPs and VARs cite server monitoring, LAN and Windows monitoring, patch management and remote support as the most valued features of RMM. The top reasons for adopting remote monitoring are to offer faster fix response times and deliver preventative maintenance.
With full, real time visibility of customer systems, VARs and MSPs can also undertake valuable cross and up selling, leveraging in-depth performance reports to demonstrate to customers the need for additional storage and server requirements.
Yet while the technology is theoretically compelling, the results have been, to date, somewhat underwhelming. This research revealed that almost half of IT support companies and MSPs believe the initial investment in RMM software is too high and 42 percent say the return on investment never meets their expectations.
Complex model
The primary problem faced by organisations attempting to implement RMM technology is the complex nature of traditional on-premise solutions. For a VAR looking to offer added value services to customers, the implementation of on-premise RMM requires significant investment in server hardware and communications infrastructure, as well as staff training.
The survey revealed that almost half of respondents complain that it took one month or longer from initial purchase to be fully up and running. Indeed, for 20 percent of MSPs, it actually took six months or longer. These organisations are also struggling to manage the financial burden of staff training, with 41 percent stating that it takes longer than one month to fully train technicians on the RMM system; with 15 percent citing in excess of six months.
Of even greater concern is the fact that 56 percent of respondents admit that staff do not have time to learn the whole RMM system. And, of those who do try to learn the full system, 40 percent of IT support managers think technical teams get too buried in the detail of RMM tool deployment and lose focus on customers.
Given these figures, it is perhaps no surprise that over half of MSPs state it is difficult to show customers value from managed services contracts.
Flexible solution
In the current economy, VARs and MSPs keenly require an opportunity to both drive down operational costs and boost the competitive profile through the delivery of innovative, effective services to customers, which is why many have turned to RMM solutions. But, as these figures reveal, the investment in time, money and resources is simply too great to justify the traditional on-premise RMM model.
The alternative is to turn to cloud-based RMM technology. Just as growing numbers of organisations have embraced the pay as you go model for software applications, VARs and MSPs can now consider the benefits of a Software as a Service (SaaS) approach to RMM.
With all the core functionality of the RMM solution located in the cloud, the process of implementation is fundamentally simplified. VARs need only to load agents onto the customer’s hardware and communications equipment, a process which takes seconds, and then follow a simple installation routine, which includes default monitoring suggestions. As a result, VARs can be up and running with RMM within minutes: there is no time consuming configuration to undertake, no training necessary and, since the cloud-based system automatically updates itself, there is no need to schedule housekeeping tasks such as software patches and upgrades.
Clear pricing
The new generation of simple user interfaces requires minimal training, ensuring even a junior administrator can undertake the first level of troubleshooting, further reducing both upfront and ongoing costs. Furthermore, the cloud computing model also overcomes the complexity of traditional pricing which, according to the survey, is perceived as complex by 42 percent of respondents.
It also completely removes a problem cited by 53 percent of the survey respondents, of paying for areas of the system that are not used. Indeed, under the traditional on-premise RMM licensing, it is apparent that many actually have a significant investment in unused licenses. Furthermore, they are paying an additional 10 to 20 percent in support costs for on-premise RMM solutions. Following the pay-as-you–go cloud approach enables them to acquire only the licenses required on a month by month basis, at a fixed cost which includes support, enabling a flexible scale-up/scale-down model in line with business and customer requirements.
This flexible model allows users to offer a raft of different service options to customers, options which can be expanded and enhanced as required, enabling managed services contracts to reflect customer needs. VARs can also offer tailored, in-depth reporting solutions based on the in depth monitoring information to support customer organisations looking at how best to develop the IT infrastructure both during the recession and, critically, as markets begin to emerge back into growth.
Service value
VARs and MSPs have been attempting to leverage RMM solutions to attain a key differential in a challenging, competitive and price sensitive marketplace. Yet far too many have been deterred by the high cost of entry and extended time-frame to get up and running. A cloud-based approach to RMM now enables resellers to rapidly achieve a new level of service that delivers better uptime to customers, as well as lower cost of service and greater employee productivity.
For the reseller, cloud-based RMM is not only enabling far more efficient and effective use of resources, but is also delivering the in-depth information required to build a stronger customer relationship and support effective and relevant cross and up selling. Critically, this differential is being achieved without extensive upfront or ongoing investment in resources, training or staff, enabling the rapid ROI that is essential in the current market.
