Every MSP knows that there are several important pillars to endpoint management. Successfully managing each of these points is crucial to providing an overall fantastic client experience. Here are a few of what I consider the most important pillars to a successful MSP Management, and why:
- Data Management & Security
- Keeps your endpoints and connected networks safe from threats
- Keeps a client’s data safe from catastrophic Loss
- Standardization can assist in combating conflicts from multiple backup and A/V tools on your endpoints.
- Software Management & Deployment
- Increase productivity
- Standardize all endpoints in a client environment
- Endpoint Patching & Configuration
- Keeping endpoints up to date improves security and performance
- Standardizing OS Configurations can assist with providing your clients with simple and pain-free support.
- Monitoring & Reporting
- Provides data on common points of failure in the client’s environment
- Reporting shows a client and the MSP areas for improvement
- Reporting can provide Added Value for the MSP in the client’s eyes.
- RMM Management & Hardware Inventory
- Proper RMM Management can increase ROI that the RMM provides
- Accurate Inventory decreases labor, waste, and shrinkage.
That’s a lot to consider! One of the easiest ways for an MSP to come out ahead of the others in the market is by using Automation to manage most, if not all, of the above goals.
Why is Automation important for an MSP?
- Decreased Labor Cost
- Increased Availability to your clients
- Less prone to human error than manually resolving an issue
- Overall, a better bottom line and an exponentially better experience for your clients!
So, as one of the VSA Experts at ProVal Technologies, I wanted to share a small portion of the tools we can provide your MSP. I’ve chosen one of our most popular client requests for each of the above categories as a good sample of what we can offer to your team.
5.) BitLocker Initialization & Key Retrieval (Data Management & Security)
ProVal provides a custom, fully automated approach to enabling BitLocker encryption on your client’s endpoints. Almost any combination of BitLocker security protectors can be initialized using this solution. If using a Recovery key, this can be gathered automatically and saved to the VSA environment as a Custom Field for easy reference by your team.
4.) Stagnant Agent Removal (RMM Management & Hardware Inventory)
Using ProVal’s bespoke PowerShell API Integration tools, we can configure your VSA environment to automatically remove agents that have been offline for a customizable amount of time. Simply set the script to the number of days offline an agent must be before removal, and the script will remove any applicable agents every morning. Optionally, you can have this script skip any domain-joined machines, and you can also have the script email you a summary of any removed agents. A must-have for accurate RMM Seat billing!
3.) Soji – Disk Cleaner (Monitoring & Reporting)
By utilizing our in-house developed disk cleanup solution, in addition, to monitor triggers and policy, Proval can configure a fully functional drive monitoring system, which automatically cleans an endpoint’s drive of temporary files, failed patch data, and more. This solution is fully configurable to the type and letter of the drive, target % or flat free space, as well as the endpoint targets it is run on.
2.) Agnostic Application Removal (Software management)
Our Application Removal Agent Procedure has a high rate of success with most software, including many security programs. All that is needed is the (plain English!) name of the software, and it will remove it for you! If the software is particularly stubborn, the Agent Procedure can be configured to automatically restart the endpoint into safe mode, remove the offending application, then reboot to normal mode again, all with a single push of a button! No more spending hours sitting at the endpoint trying to remove that pesky RebWoot Security Software!
1.) Automated Feature Upgrades (Endpoint Patching & Configuration)
Patching is already difficult enough in most environments, and additional Windows Feature upgrades just further complicate the process. Fortunately, our Windows Feature Upgrade solution can automatically update an endpoint to the latest feature upgrade, with minimal endpoint interference. Reboots can be performed when convenient, and reporting is included in the VSA to determine why any failures may have occurred.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the content we have developed for VSA 9.5. If you’re interested in a demo of anything listed above, want to know if we have a specific solution for your environment, or if you just have a general question or comment, please feel free to reach out to us at sales@provaltech.com.
Written by: Dan Hick - VSA Certified Expert
ProVal Technologies - DevOps Engineer
Dan Hicks is a DevOps Engineer at ProVal Technologies with a diverse background in the industry. He has over 10 years of technical support experience, 5 years of experience as an MSP technician, and previously owned a PC repair business. Dan holds an Associate's degree in Applied Sciences in Information Technology. In his free time, Dan enjoys extremely spicy foods and gaming, as well as keeping his coding skills sharp. With a combination of technical know-how, hands-on experience, and a passion for technology, Dan is a valuable asset to ProVal Technologies