What is Remote Monitoring Management (RMM) from a MSP?

With most business operations being heavily reliant on technology, keeping a constant check on your IT systems to ensure smooth functioning is a no-brainer. Nonetheless, hiring an in-house monitoring staff or relying on on-site support for break-fix upgrades will drain your budget. Remote monitoring management is all you need to get professional help for monitoring, maintaining, and fixing IT issues at affordable costs.

Remote monitoring management (RMM) refers to keeping your IT systems in optimal condition without technicians being physically present on the site. If you are wondering why use remote monitoring and management, let's count some key benefits of RMM software. RMM tools offer proactive monitoring, faster issue resolution, enhanced user experience using automation, all these and more at budget-friendly prices.

With dozens of RMM tools out there, it's not easy to find the RMM software that best suits your business needs. Let's understand what RMM is, which features you should look for, and the benefits of using RMM software.

What is remote monitoring management (RMM)?

Remote monitoring management (RMM) is a way of monitoring and maintaining your IT endpoints, networks, computers, and other connected devices from anywhere using trusted RMM software. With RMM, you grant remote access permission to a managed service provider or MSP allowing them to monitor, troubleshoot issues, and look after the upkeep of your IT systems from a remote location. In short, MSP remote monitoring and management is a hands-off approach to ensure your IT operations are up and running without hiccups.

Key Functions of RMM software you should look for

1. Easy to install
   To integrate remote monitoring management tools, your MSP needs to install client-side applications called 'agents' on your IT endpoints. Before you purchase an RMM plan, make sure the RMM installation process is hassle-free. Ask your MSP whether or not the RMM software has push-installation and auto-discovery features as these help in installing the RMM agent automatically.
2. Remote access
   If you ask us why use remote monitoring and management we would emphasize that RMM tools save you from manually troubleshooting IT issues over phone instructions. Built-in remote access is a must-have feature for every RMM software. When you sign up for MSP remote monitoring and management, your service provider should be able to not only monitor your IT systems but also fix them remotely without much of your involvement. 
3. Cross-platform compatibility and multi-device support
   One of the key functions of RMM software is multi-device support. The RMM tools you pay for should be compatible with all major operating systems – Windows, Linux, and macOS. Moreover, be it servers, PCs, phones, tablets, network switches, or any other device connected to your network, the RMM software should be capable of monitoring all these devices.
4. Automated patching
   Remote monitoring and management software also requires periodic updates to keep up with technological changes, fix security issues, introduce new features, etc. Your RMM tools should be kept up-to-date and most importantly make sure the RMM supports automated patching wherein the upgrade patches are automatically installed for both the RMM server and the agents.
5. In-depth reporting
   Detailed analysis of your IT systems is essential for their upkeep and maintenance. RMM tools offer just that! You should look for RMM applications with customizable reports and flexible reporting schedules. Once you get the RMM reports, you can check the health of your IT systems against your business SLAs and make informed decisions.

What are the benefits of RMM for small and medium-sized businesses?

1. Proactive monitoring
   Remote monitoring management tools make it easy for your MSP to monitor your IT systems 24/7. With RMM, managed service providers can keep a check on your IT infrastructure using a centralized dashboard rather than monitoring each component individually. This reduces error and most importantly, MSPs can collect monitoring data without your involvement.
2. Reduced costs
   With proactive monitoring, RMM software detects issues before it escalates into system failures saving you from huge losses. What's more, MSPs typically charge an affordable fixed monthly fee for monitoring your IT systems. This saves you from paying significant charges for break-fix upgrades and eliminates the need for onboarding a full-time staff.
3. Quick resolution
   After RMM agents are installed on your system, your managed service provider can provide instant remote support no matter where you are located. You don't need to wait for any technician to provide on-site support. All these are done remotely, be it monitoring, installation, configuration, and issue diagnostic.
4. Transparent reporting
   Transparency is one of the key benefits of RMM software that make it popular among small and medium-sized businesses. RMM tools can produce reports detailing how many times the MSP logged into your system using RMM, the number of alerts generated, tickets raised, etc.
5. Automation capabilities 
   MSP remote monitoring and management software can automate repetitive workflows to provide faster issue resolution and streamlined services. For instance, MSPs can write scripts to troubleshoot issues, automate ticket handling to serve customers better, set up automated alerts, etc.

Remote monitoring is smooth, simple, and efficient with MicroTech!

With 50 years of service in remote monitoring and management, we at MicroTech can confidently say that be it identifying suspicious network behavior or troubleshooting IT issues, we have experience in all things IT-related. Our remote monitoring and management solution provides 24/7 monitoring, issue diagnosis by trained technicians, periodic evaluation of your IT environment, and much more at competitive rates. Contact our IT experts today to understand the benefits of remote monitoring and management for your business!