What is ConnectWise and Why Should You Use it?

As an employee, it is important to understand that technology is the only thing that keeps you safely in business, and employers hunting. Managing IT infrastructure, securing systems, and increasing efficiency of IT services high stakes can prove difficult for managed service providers (MSPs) and IT departments. Enter ConnectWise, a scalable platform built to reduce the complexity of managing IT, service delivery, and business operations.

What is ConnectWise?

A complete software platform, ConnectWise is designed for MSPs, IT Departments, and other Technology Solution providers. SolarWinds Service Desk provides a connected experience that includes an array of IT service management and IT operations tools for businesses to streamline and automate their services. ConnectWise offers ticketing, remote monitoring, security, client relationship management, and billing solutions to assist IT teams in facilitating a high-level support experience that enhances overall service quality and minimizes the risk of downtime.

The platform also integrates a variety of customized modules around other domains of IT management, like helpdesk support, network management, project management, cyber-security, and billing automation. This integration enables IT teams to gain a single dashboard for managing all parts of the services they deliver, making the operations simple yet comprehensive.

Advantages of ConnectWise Key Features

1. RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management)

Remote Monitoring and Management is one of the prime USPs of ConnectWise. The RMM feature gives IT administrators control over remote monitoring of endpoints, servers, and devices across the network. Proactively keeping an eye on the health of these systems helps IT teams catch any issues before they blow up and create significant downtime.

Key benefits of RMM include:

• Automated maintenance: Define automated tasks to ensure that the device is working properly, secure, and up to date.
• Reduce travel time and downtime with remote troubleshooting. Technicians can troubleshoot devices without being physically present.

2. Service Desk and Ticketing

ConnectWise has an excellent service desk and ticketing system, which IT teams can leverage to respond to support requests and close them quickly.

Key features include:

• With a single pane of glass ticket management, all support tickets are logged and categorized in one platform, making it easy to keep track of the progress of each ticket.
• Automate ticket creation, assignment, escalation, and notifications to streamline processes, and never miss a process SLA.
• Manage SLAs: Monitor statutory compliance with response and resolution times agreed with IT departments to maintain a high quality of service.

3. Client Relationship Management (CRM)

MSPs and IT service providers can leverage ConnectWise to use as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool. CRM functionality works with the service desk, billing, and project management systems so your business can keep track of client interactions, monitor contracts, or automate billing.

Key benefits of CRM include:

• Manage client records: Create and store contact information, service history, and device settings overviews for individual clients.

• Service Management — Contract management: Predefined service to decision-makers that includes the property contract renting domain, track usage service, and automatically create invoices based on a specific conditions.
• Track customer satisfaction: When your team completes support tickets, ConnectWise can dispatch customer satisfaction surveys to help you monitor the success of your IT services and guide any necessary adjustments to your strategies.

4. Automation & Workflow Orchestration

One of the key differentiators for ConnectWise is its capability to automate routine tasks and streamline processes. Automation tools not only save time for IT teams, but also reduce data entry errors, giving technicians more time to work on high‐priority tasks. For example, common administration-driven tasks such as patch management, antivirus updates, and software distribution can be automated to run on all your managed devices.

Key benefits include:

• Automated Ticketing: Automatically send tickets to the appropriate technician depending on such characteristics as issues, rules, filters, and processes.
• Scripting: authors and deploys custom scripts to automate system maintenance tasks like reboots, virus scans, or software updates.
• Defining custom workflows- Create personalized workflows based on requirements, ensuring tasks are undertaken in a proper sequence and by the correct teams.

5. Project Management

ConnectWise has a project management module that focuses on implementing, monitoring, and tracking projects. Whether you deploy a new system, move data to the cloud, or install a new network, project management software makes sure your ship is sailing smoothly.

Key features include:

• Task Tracking: Divide major projects into smaller tasks and delegate them to team members.
• Timeline management: Make project deadlines clear in the timeline of each project; you can develop timelines as part of the milestones & deadlines phase.
• Queue time: Streamline resource control to control how resources are being used and make sure the right people are ready for the right tasks.

6. Cybersecurity Management

Protecting IT infrastructure is one of the most important issues in this long-time threat landscape.  ConnectWise offers a definitive range of solutions that help in protecting endpoints.

Key features include:

• Patch Administration: Automatically apply safety updates and software program patches to all inventory systems, so vulnerabilities are mitigated in a timely manner.
• Querying endpoint security: Find signs of malware, ransomware, and other threats before data can be corrupted.
• Audit-security -The ability to conduct regular audits of customer environments to ensure compliance with security standards and regulations.

7. Automated billing and invoicing

Billing and invoicing can be time-consuming.  ConnectWise’s billing and invoicing automation makes this current-generation SaaS tool perfect for tracking time spent on support tasks, monitoring resource usage, and automating billing processes.

Key benefits include:

• Report timing: Track hours on client support automatically and bill accordingly.
• Recurring billing – Recurring invoicing for subscription-based offers or managed IT services.
• Accounting integration makes your favorite accounting tools, such as QuickBooks, play nicely, ensuring your finances are always in check.

Trained eMazzanti professionals can you with ConnectWise and other valuable digital solutions.